Good News for Urban Parks

With four out of five Americans living in urban areas, you’d be forgiven for thinking that our cities’ parks would be at the front of the line when it comes to resources and funding. After all, the evidence is pretty clear that parks bring enormous benefits to local economies, as well as to people’s health, well-being, and quality of life. Plus, parks in urban areas provide opportunities to serve new, diverse audiences and communities.

But in spite of all the evidence, our cities’ parks haven’t always been given the attention and resources they deserve.

In a time of leaner budgets and belt-tightening, how can we make parks in urban areas serve our local communities in the best way possible?

The Value of Collaboration

The answer is partnerships and collaboration. By leveraging the strengths of many different stakeholders – from park agencies to non-profit or corporate partners to local community groups – we have the potential to make the sum of our efforts greater than the individual parts.

The Urban Agenda

Our friends at the National Park Service have embraced this idea. For the past three years, the Institute at the Golden Gate has been collaborating with the Park Service's Stewardship Institute and a number of other organizations to support an “Urban Agenda”. This initiative supports collaboration across the United States, especially in areas where the Park Service has a presence and can help make a positive difference in people's lives. While many people view our national parks as mostly rural or remote, in fact that national park system has parks in dozens of major cities around the country.

The Next Stage – Hiring Urban Fellows

The next stage of the urban agenda is to hire “Urban Fellows” in almost a dozen cities across the United States. These new program managers will support the Urban Agenda and focus on how parks can serve local communities and meet their needs in new and innovative ways. The vacancies were recently announced on the government’s job board.

Here at the Institute at the Golden Gate, we’re proud to be working with the Stewardship Institute and our friends across the Park Service to assist this important initiative. This spring, we’ll be helping onboard the Urban Fellows and will continue to act as a partner as the Fellows start working in their new roles.