L.A. County's Strategy for Better Park Planning Explained

Los Angeles County's Community Parks and Recreation Plans (CPRPs) are an evolved methodology to process a broad range of data to better site and design community parks. CPRPs are explained by L.A. County park planner Clement Lau

2 minute read

March 30, 2016, 8:00 AM PDT

By wadams92101

Community Parks and Recreation Plans (CPRPs) represent Los Angeles County's latest approach for community-based park and recreation planning, writes L.A. County park planner Clement Lau. CPRPs should better plan parks in underserved communities in particular. They go beyond traditional park master plans by analyzing and addressing the park and greening needs of unincorporated communities in a comprehensive way that extends outside of the boundaries of existing parks. In particular, the CPRPs not only seek to improve existing parks, but they provide a roadmap to create new green spaces in non-traditional locations, make specific recommendations to increase the urban forestry, and advance local and regional sustainability goals. Also, the CPRPs are the products of extensive public outreach processes that not only included traditional public meetings, but involved partnerships with local community-based organizations and the application of various community engagement strategies, such as focus groups, stakeholder interviews, surveys, and tabling at community events.

Goals and criteria of CPRPs include:

Address climate change through Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission reduction or adaptation planning
Preserve and enhance recreational areas
Promote energy and/or water efficiency and savings
Ensure environmental justice regardless of race, ethnicity, or income class
Promote overall sustainability on various resources issues
Better placemaking
Lower cost to taxpayers & families
Benefits to public health & the environment
Greater responsiveness to demographics & changing housing market
Improved access & mobility

Lau goes on to describe CPRPs in more detail.

FULL STORY: Park Planning for Underserved Communities in Los Angeles County

Monday, March 21, 2016 in UrbDeZine

Landscape Architecture California Parks Recreation Los Angeles County Planning Climate Change Open Space View More

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