Parks + Recreation
Beyond leisure. Parks have long been playgrounds, escapes from the city, places for recreation and sport. But they must do more. By understanding their role as critical pieces of social infrastructure, we can leverage the power and scale of parks to take on issues of climate change, social and racial equity, public health, loss of biodiversity and habitat, and access to nature–all the while enriching the daily lives and well-being of all citizens. Through intensive engagement and analysis, learning about cultural traditions and signifiers, creative and expansive programming, integrating disparate agendas, and introducing new design languages, we can open up new roles for parks and open spaces, thereby better embedding them in the diverse communities they serve, and better integrating meaningful solutions to the multitude of challenges we now face.