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

    Ecology for Health: Design Guidance for Fostering Human Health and Biodiversity in Cities

    San Francisco Estuary Institute

    This document provides science-based guidance for designing urban spaces that foster both human health and urban biodiversity.

  • Report

    Resilient Cities at the Intersection of Climate and Health

    Resilient Cities Network and Yale University

    2023 survey of city leaders to identify priorities in climate and health, capacity and existing infrastructure, and opportunities for collaboration.

  • 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

    State of Finance for Nature in Cities 2023: Time to Assess

    United Nations Environment Program, Report authors: Eugénie L. Birch; Mauricio Rodas; Samuel Geldin; Amanda Lloyd

    This report examines the critical need and the challenges and opportunities for Nature-based Solutions in cities.

  • Case Study

    Parks That Protect: Leveraging Waterfronts for Resilient Communities

    Urban Land Institute

    Explores seven leading-edge waterfront park projects from around the world built to protect adjacent neighborhoods from climate threats.

  • Report

    Greenspace in American Cities: How Access to Parks and Nature Can Improve Health and Well-Being

    CityHealth, Beaumont Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, Trust for Public Land

    This report highlights disparities in greenspace access and outlines policy solutions that can ensure that all communities have access to public land.

  • Report

    The Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Report

    City Parks Alliance

    This report highlights the physical, mental, and environmental benefits that city parks provide and demonstrates how funds from the LWCF’s Outdoor Recreation L…

  • Report

    WHO-Green and New Evidence and Perspectives for Action Blue Spaces and Mental Health

    World Health Organization

    This report presents the results of two systematic reviews on types and characteristics of green and blue spaces and mental health.

  • Plan

    ASLA Climate Action Plan

    American Society of Landscape Architects

    To get on a pathway to zero emissions, ASLA is taking a significant step forward with this Climate Action Plan.

  • Member Exclusive

    Ecological Horticulture at the Presidio

    Presidio Trust

    Note that this guide is specific to the area it describes and includes design guidance for ecologically supportive urban landscaped areas.

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