California's Department of Parks and Recreation is getting into the app business. It is hoped that CaliParks will help improve access to the state's parks for young people and minorities.
California is trying to draw people outdoors with the same technology keeping many of them in. "CaliParks is a web-based data-visualization app with information about the state's 12,000 national, regional, and urban parks, which collectively encompass more than 1.6 million acres. Besides letting users filter parks by distance and recreational activities — as well as peruse maps — the app also integrates crowdsourced images from Flickr and Instagram so you can creep on other people's great time outdoors."
The app's developers want to lessen the distance between digital community and the natural world. "In addition to enticing minorities, the app also hopes to remind young people that being outdoors and being online aren't contradictory. By harnessing social media, the app aims to tear down the walls separating parks from the rest of the world (figuratively speaking) and create a more interactive visitor experience."
CaliParks and the Parks Forward commission want to demystify and de-mythologize the outdoors. "For its part, the Parks Forward Commission wants us to stop thinking of parks as 'wilderness cathedrals' and more like 'one of those small churches in South L.A. where people go every weekend,' in the words of commission member Manuel Pastor."
FULL STORY: New App Reminds Us State Parks Aren't Just for White People
Making California State Parks More Climate-Resilient
A recently released report offers recommendations for keeping state parks healthy and robust, including acquiring additional land for conservation and recreation.
California's Top-Rated Park for Hikers Is Inside the City of LA
According to AllTrails, a popular fitness and travel mobile app, Topanga State Park has many highly-rated trails, most of which are of moderate difficulty and vary in length from three to seven miles.
Parks and Gardens as Spaces to Celebrate Lunar New Year
Parks and gardens serve as communal spaces that bring people together. As such, there are good reasons for them to host events and activities that celebrate Lunar New Year, an important festival deeply rooted in Asian cultures.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
USDOT Revokes Approval for NYC Congestion Pricing
Despite the administration’s stated concern for the “working class,” 85 percent of Manhattan commuters use public transit to enter the city.
Tiny House Villages for Addressing Homelessness: An Interview with Yetimoni Kpeebi
One researcher's perspective on the potential of tiny homes and owner-built housing as one tool to fight the housing crisis.
Preserving Altadena’s Trees: A Community Effort to Save a Fire-Damaged Landscape
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena Green is working to preserve fire-damaged but recoverable trees, advocating for better assessment processes, educating homeowners, and protecting the community’s urban canopy from unnecessary removal.
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.
Investigation Reveals Just How Badly California’s Homeless Shelters are Failing
Fraud, violence, death, and chaos follow a billion dollar investment in a temporary solution that is proving ineffective.
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.
Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
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