Resources

Resources for Park and Recreation Professionals

With help from our members and research partners, we make the following resources and tools available to equip parks and recreation departments, municipalities, urban design and landscape architecture firms, and advocacy organizations to enhance capacity and build equitable, healthy, and engaged communities.

Report
The Relationship Between Greenspace Exposure and Telomere Length in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
Science of The Total Environment
Living near green space could reduce a person’s biological age by 2.2-2.6 years, but can't offset the effects of discrimination and pollution.
Report
Neighborhood Greenspace and Neighborhood Income Associated with White Matter Grade Worsening: Cardiovascular Health Study
Alzheimer’s & Dementia/ University of Miami Miller School of Medicine's Comprehensive Center for Brain Health
A new study finds low income levels and a lack of green spaces are among the factors that can harm brain health.
Report
Surfacing Solutions: How Addressing Conflict and Reframing Challenges as Opportunities Can Create More Equitable and Sustainable Parks
Park People
Takeaways on trends, challenges and strategic directions in Canadian city parks in 2023.
Technical Tool
The Spectrum of Community Engagement to Ownership
Facilitating Power; Movement Strategy Center
Leaders across multiple sectors can use this spectrum to assess and revolutionize community engagement efforts to advance community-driven solutions.
Report
Key Park Equity Policies: Toward a 10-Minute Walk Park Equity Policy Framework
Trust for Public Land
This report outlines policy solutions and examples that help create scaled, sustainable change and address the park equity divide.
Report
Cornerstone Parks Reports on Stewardship and Park Use
Park People
This research from Canada shows that volunteer stewardship in large urban parks makes people happier and healthier and points to the need for equity.
Case Study
Inequalities in urban greenness and epigenetic aging: Different associations by race and neighborhood socioeconomic status
Science Advances
This research article studies the association between exposure to greenness and epigenetic aging in a large, biracial U.S. urban cohort.
Report
Neighborhood Park Service: Strategies to create an equitable and activated park system for the District of Columbia
Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness, with assistance from Catherine O’Donnell, GW Climate and Health Institute
This report provides policy recommendations for how the NPS and Congress can leverage greenspaces to create a better park system in Washington, DC.
Report
The Common Ground Framework: Building community power through park and green space engagement
Trust for Public Land
This paper explores how parks and green spaces can increase a community’s power, particularly communities of historically excluded groups.
Case Study
Development Fees and Park Equity in Los Angeles
Journal of the American Planning Association
This case study evaluates whether the equity-motivated changes in Los Angeles’ park fees ordinance (known as Quimby) resulted in equity gains.

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Resources

Resources for Park and Recreation Professionals

The Relationship Between Greenspace Exposure and Telomere Length in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Neighborhood Greenspace and Neighborhood Income Associated with White Matter Grade Worsening: Cardiovascular Health Study

Surfacing Solutions: How Addressing Conflict and Reframing Challenges as Opportunities Can Create More Equitable and Sustainable Parks

The Spectrum of Community Engagement to Ownership

Key Park Equity Policies: Toward a 10-Minute Walk Park Equity Policy Framework

Cornerstone Parks Reports on Stewardship and Park Use

Inequalities in urban greenness and epigenetic aging: Different associations by race and neighborhood socioeconomic status

Neighborhood Park Service: Strategies to create an equitable and activated park system for the District of Columbia

The Common Ground Framework: Building community power through park and green space engagement

Development Fees and Park Equity in Los Angeles

BECOME A MEMBER TODAY