The interactive mapping platform helps park managers understand the risks in their area and create long-term resilience plans.
A new tool helps park managers understand the potential impacts of climate change on their parks and plan accordingly, writes Peter Yeung in Next City. "NRPA [National Recreation and Park Association] and design firm Sasaki partnered to develop Climate.Park.Change, an interactive platform that launched last month to allow park professionals to explore the impacts of climate change by region – such as drought, heatwaves and erosion—and to discover proven, effective strategies to fight them."
The platform was developed to help parks find "strategies for mitigating climate challenges" using data specific to their area. According to Kristin Riker, director of public lands for Salt Lake City, the tool is "a really great database of park-specific, climate-related information and idea-sharing opportunities in the park and recreation realm to understand what’s been done, what’s worked and what hasn’t worked." Salt Lake City's Glendale Water Park, one of the case studies for the platform, presents "some interesting challenges" in terms of climate mitigation that Climate.Park.Change helped park officials analyze.
"Over time, the plan is also for the database to become richer and richer thanks to a function that lets park professionals submit their own strategies and experiences in the critical fight against climate change. The team also hopes to, where possible, increase the granularity of the data from country level down to city level."
FULL STORY: New Mapping Tool Helps Parks Plan for Climate Change
Op-Ed: Tech Can Enhance Parks
In the traditional view, nature and digital technology clash. But for many people, tech can offer ways to better engage with parks.
Parks as Community Lifelines: Supporting Residents During Times of Crisis
The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation demonstrates how parks serve as vital community infrastructure by adapting to crises, offering public health services, disaster relief, and essential support for residents in need.
Advancing Sustainability and Resilience Through Parks
The Urban Land Institute offers fact sheets describing five innovative ways that parks can reduce carbon emissions and mitigate climate threats while advancing health, equity, and quality of life in urban areas.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research