Parks
Feds Weigh Expansion of San Gabriel Mountains National Monument
The White House is sending a top-level cabinet member who oversees the U.S. Forest Service to the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles to hear public comments on the proposed expansion the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument.
Using Data and Partnerships to Build Sports Facilities
Data and partnerships have supported the recent development and improvement of sports facilities in underserved communities in Los Angeles County.
Houston Awarded $18.5M for Trail Linking Uptown and Memorial Park
The grant will make the freeway-bounded park more accessible to pedestrians and cyclists.
In Praise of the Endangered ‘Third Space’
The public spaces where people can spend time among strangers without buying something are crucial to healthy cities—and are quickly disappearing.
Former Landfill Doubles as Public Park, Energy Producer
Once the world’s largest dump, Freshkills Park now offers new city park space and powers local households with biofuel.
Opinion: How to Fund Better Houston Parks
Houston’s iconic signature parks mask a major underinvestment in green spaces for most of the city’s neighborhoods, according to a new report.
Parks Departments Try to Build New Green Spaces on Shrinking Budgets
Even as the role of parks and urban green space in public and ecological health becomes more apparent, city budgets are hard-pressed to meet the costs of park construction and maintenance.
Identifying Park Inequities Through Data Science
Researchers used a machine learning algorithm to analyze over 200 parks in Philadelphia, revealing insights about differences in access to quality parks.
Advancing Park Equity Through Needs Assessments
City Parks Alliance, in partnership with Prevention Institute, recently hosted a webinar about park equity and collaboration, focusing on the Los Angeles Countywide Parks Needs Assessment.
Diverse Perspectives of America Outdoors
Best-selling writer, podcaster and comedian Baratunde Thurston travels the country to better understand and explain people's complex relationship with the outdoors in a series on PBS.
A Data-Driven Approach to ‘Playspace Inequity’
Mapping playgrounds and their conditions can reveal how childhood play opportunities are inequitably distributed within cities.
Proposal Would Transform L.A.’s ‘Freeway to Nowhere’ Into Park, Housing
A never-completed freeway segment could see new life as a mixed-use development with housing, commercial space, and one of the county’s largest parks.
Philly Waterfront Park Breaks Ground
Penn’s Landing is an ambitious redesign of 11.5 waterfront acres.
Downtown Los Angeles Park Wins National Award
Vista Hermosa Natural Park, designed by the landscape architecture firm Studio-MLA, has won the ASLA 2023 Landmark Award. Completed in 2008, Vista Hermosa was the first public park built in downtown L.A. in over 100 years.
How to Avoid Green Gentrification
New parks are great—but some projects displace the very people the green spaces are meant to serve.
First Look: Silver Lake Reservoir Master Plan Adopted in L.A.
The Los Angeles City Council approved environmental review documents for the long-awaited Silver Lake Reservoir Master Plan, clearing the way to remake a defunct reservoir into active green and park space.
Celebrating California's Biodiversity
This year marks the fifth annual California Biodiversity Day, established in 2018 to celebrate and encourage actions to protect the state’s exceptional biodiversity.
Using GIS to Advance Park Equity and Prioritize Restoration of Degraded Lands
The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation uses GIS technology to identify priority areas for land conservation and restoration as part of its 30x30 plan to fight climate change and protect biodiversity.
New Park Space for an Old City
After 3,400 years, Athens will soon get its first large urban park. When completed in 2030, Ellinikon Metropolitan Park will be 600 acres (243 ha), about three-fourths the size of New York City’s Central Park, an enormous addition of green space.
Pershing Square, Downtown L.A.’s ‘Forgotten Park,’ Begins Long Awaited Revamp
A makeover that began in 2015 is finally underway in 2023, but the process of reconstructing Pershing Square is expected to proceed incrementally.
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.
Caltrans
Smith Gee Studio
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
