July 16, 2025 • 25 mins
The Trust for Public Land’s ParkScore® Index each year ranks the 100 largest U.S. cities on factors such as park access, investment, and equity. In this sponsored episode, we explore how cities have turned their ParkScore data into action—investing in green spaces to spark civic engagement and foster a genuine sense of belonging.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Strawt Media.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Parks provide this really effective platform for people to sort
of casually on a day to day basis, just be
around and in the same space with people that are
different from them. Those small micro engagements are really important
for building this sort of civic muscle that allows you
to actually have more challenging conversations and more direct conversations
(00:32):
with someone that disagrees with you later down the line.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
This is Lucas Grinley from Next City show about change
makers and their stories. Truth is, there are solutions to
the problems of pressing people in cities. If you're listening,
I hope it's because you want to spread good ideas
from one city to the next city. On today's sponsored episode,
we're working with the Trust for Public Land to take
a closer look at some of the spaces that subtly
shape our communities, public parks. You might be surprised to
(00:58):
learn that one in three America ends, or about one
hundred million people don't have access to a park within
a ten minute walk of their home. Even when parks
are nearby, they don't always feel welcoming or provide the
amenities people need. So we have a lot of work
to do. That's where data tools and community led action
come in. For more than fifty years, Trust for Public
Land or TPL to its friends, has been working to
(01:20):
close the park equity gap. So far, they've protected four
million acres of land, created more than five thousand outdoor spaces,
and help secure one hundred and ten billion dollars in
funding that supports parks and green spaces. Now, over three
hundred mayors have signed on to their ten Minute Walk
commitment to ensure everyone has a park close to home.
Today's sponsored episode focuses on one of their most powerful tools,
(01:43):
the ParkScore Index. Launched in twenty twelve, ParkScore ranks the
largest US city park systems based on access, amenities and funding.
But it's more than just a ranking. It's a tool
we can use for change. We'll hear how cities like
Dallas and Lexington are using ParkScore data alongside community engagement
to drive investment and change policy. Joining us are Richard
(02:05):
Young of Civic lex and Lexington, John Jenkins from Dallas
Parks and Rec, and Kate Carney with More in Common USA.
But first, we're going to get the latest results from
the ParkScore Index and to share that news. We're joined
by Will Klin, tpl's director of research.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
The way the index works is kind of three core principles.
We're comparing cities, not agencies, so from the perspective of residents.
So we include all public and private park organizations across
each of the one hundred biggest cities, and then each
city is assessed on five categories key to excellence, acreage, access, equity,
investment and amenities. Acreage and access really balanced the need
(02:45):
for large regional parks and close to home parks, while
investment and amenities provide a measure of the quality of
the overall park system. Is there enough money and volunteer
power to maintain high quality parks? And are there a
wide range of activities for people to do? And recently
we added the equity category, is it fair and where
parks are distributed across the city and so drum roll.
(03:07):
And then this year, for the fifth year in a row,
washing DC ranked number one in our ParkScore Index, with Irvine,
California and jumping up to their highest ever spot at two,
with Minneapolis, Cincinnati and Saint Paul rounding out the top five.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
By the way, if you want to see how your
city ranked. It's all online. Visit TPL dot org slash
ParkScore to see the top one hundred cities. For example,
Denver crack the top ten for the first time in
many years. Here's will again from TPL.
Speaker 4 (03:38):
We do the rankings to get everybody's attention, but what
we care about is the why why are parks so important?
And once we can start that conversation and catch the
attention of where you rank, we can move and actually
have a deeper conversation talk about all the benefits that
parks provide. And so this year we release a special
report Parks the Great Unifiers, and documented two overarching trends
(04:00):
we're seen across the country right now. And for the
first time, we conducted national polling data to understand how
Americans connect with each other in outdoor public space. Residents,
regardless of political affiliation or other line of difference throughout
the United States value public parks and use them frequently,
suggesting that parks are among the least polarized spaces in
the US today. Why do parks break down barriers? Why
(04:22):
do community leaders often turn to parks as places to
do this? For one, people of all backgrounds love parks,
and so they happen to be in the parks at
the same time, so their natural venues for mixing two
people are more willing to have a conversation with somebody
they don't know before in parks. In our same survey
and polling data, we heard that two thirds of respondents
(04:43):
reported having a positive conversation with somebody new in a
park in the past year, and the top that off,
half of respondents said it was somebody who they thought
had a different social or economic background. All of these
factors make parks ideal venues for civic leaders to grow
that better park systems have more social connections between people
of different economic backgrounds, more volunteers, more civic organizations like
(05:08):
Alliance for Cook Park in Atlanta or the Open Center
for the Arts in South Lawndale and North Lowndale Community
Coordinating counts in Chicago over the last few years. Civic
leaders are stepping up in recent years to invest in
parks as these spaces where communities can come together. In
Fort Worth, Texas, their mayor, Maddie Parker, launched an initiative
to address some troubling trends. The city loses about fifteen
(05:28):
acres of natural open space to develop each week, and
the Good Natured Green Space Initiative aims to counter this
through public and private partnerships. Their increase investments in parks
and open space have seen the parks were rank about
twenty spots this year to seventy second. We see examples
of this across the country, with the overall investments in
city parks reaching a record high this year, even after
(05:49):
accounting for inflation. While this is something to celebrate, we
do see that cities across the country are facing challenging
budgets this year. We are hearing from everyone that there
are tough choices being made. Additionally, we've seen record high
increase in park access this year. This was one of
the original goals of launching the Park Score Index fourteen
years ago. In twenty twelve, when only sixty eight percent
(06:11):
of residents across the biggest cities lived within a tending
a walk up a park, up to seventy six percent
this year, there's millions of people who now have a
park within walking distance. Lastly, it's not just creating parks
or investing in parks, but it's the how that's important.
TPL released the Common Ground Framework set of strategies to
build community power through parking, green space engagement, and as
(06:32):
far of our survey, we track trends and adoption of
some of these key critical practices across the country and
we're seeing promising signs just the last year.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
What's great to see in that report is that more
cities say they're collaborating with residents most or all of
the time, and Will says more cities are compensating community
experts and offering workforce employment training in the park system.
Lots of good news. Next, I want to bring in
Kate Carney. She's the deputy director at More in Common, USA,
where she worked on a two year national study exploring
(07:02):
how people connect across lines of race, class, politics, and religion.
The report is called The Connection Opportunity. It's based on
surveying thousands of Americans to uncover both the appetite for
connection in the barriers that get in the way. It's
work designed to equip community leaders, including those in the
parks world, with insights on how to foster stronger, more
(07:23):
inclusive communities.
Speaker 5 (07:31):
So one key insights and this is one that we
weren't sure what we would find, but it's a really
hopeful one. Is most Americans value connecting across difference, and
they're also most interested in activities where they can work together,
especially in their communities. Seventy percent of Americans agree that
we have a shared responsibility to connect across difference, and
(07:54):
two thirds of Americans across all a host of different
demographics think that they can learn something new from connecting
with others who might share something different for them. And
that's again, do you see this as a learning opportunity?
We also asked Americans if they would be interested and
engaging in a whole host of different types of activities
where they might just happen to be interacting with someone
(08:15):
who's different from them. The thing that people are most
interested in doing broadly is working to achieve a mutual
goal that improves your community, which is something that is
just really beneficial for us all to engage in because
that's a really great way to be able to build connections,
trust with one another and improve the places where we live.
So what's folding them back? What are the barriers? So
(08:35):
we similarly we asked a whole host of different barriers
that people could face, and the most commonly cited barrier
to connection is a lack of opportunity, and so how
can we think about creating opportunities or helping people see
the opportunities in front of them where they're able to
build those connections with one another. Do you think other
(08:56):
people value and are interested in connecting cress difference is
the strongest predictor of if you're going to be interested
as well, and so it's really how can we think
about creating a culture of connection where parks really are
that Petri dish for connection that's right there in our
backyards and it's so important for us, I think, to
be able to think about them as an investment opportunity,
(09:18):
a space for people to have that opportunity to come together.
We can see other people connecting this that creates that
more and setting and it's the shared asset that we
can really come together for to improve in our communities.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
So far, we've explored what the research says. After the break,
we'll hear how public spaces are creating those opportunities on
the ground from leaders in Dallas and Lexington where we're
using parks to bridge divides and build civic muscle.
Speaker 6 (09:50):
Welcome back.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
Before the break, we explored data that shows most Americans
want to connect across lines of difference, but we often
lack the opportunity. Parks, it turns out, can be a
part of this. Now we turn to Richard Young, executive
director of Civic Lex in Lexington, Kentucky. You might remember
him from previous episodes of the Next City podcast. Civic
Lex is a nonprofit that helps people understand how their
(10:11):
local government works, connect with their neighbors, and participate meaningfully
in public decisions, from reshaping boards and commissions to covering
city hall and running civic education programs. Richard sees parks
not just as physical spaces, but as civic infrastructure, places
where small, everyday interactions build the trust and relationships that
(10:32):
help communities navigate big challenges.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
It's helpful for us to ask the question of like
why we think social connection and bridging divides is actually important.
But I think one of the things that I really
like to help sort of convey when we're talking about
bringing people together across difference, that it really is about
our sort of fundamental ability as a society to navigate crisis. Right.
The habits that we build in less chaotic times help
(10:59):
decide our ability to weather chaotic times. And I think
there's obviously a moral and ethical good around connecting across difference,
but there's also I think, like a governance good for it.
What better examples have we had in the past five years, right,
I mean, the COVID epidemic really stressed our ability as
a country as a society to actually navigate crises. And
if we spend more time being able to have these
(11:19):
conversations in less chaotic times, then we can navigate crises
like that better. I think parks are a really effective
way of bridging divides.
Speaker 6 (11:27):
Because of both the.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Permanence and the fact that they're accessible all the time.
Speaker 6 (11:34):
I think there's been there's.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
A lot of work happening right now across the country
around sort of like formalized and intentional bridge building, right,
like how do we bring people together to have conversations
about disagreement?
Speaker 6 (11:45):
And I think that's really important work.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
It sort of helps, really I think, concrete and formalize
that skill. But sometimes it's sort of like asking people
to run a marathon after not having trained, right, And
I think parks provide this really effective platform for people
to sort of casually on a day to day basis
just be around and in the same space with people
(12:08):
that are different from them. Those like small micro engagements
are really important for building this sort of civic muscle
that allows you to actually have more challenging conversations and
more direct conversations with someone that disagrees with you later
down the line. And I think both of those things
are really important. Right We need to be building into
our civic education systems ways to teach people to have
(12:30):
conversations across different civil discourse, deliberation, dialogue.
Speaker 6 (12:33):
All of that's really important.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
But without things like parks and public spaces that enable
people to really practice that every day in very, very
small ways, the big efforts to change people's orientation to
each other aren't going to be able to really have purchase.
I think that that is, like, you know, obviously, parks
are great for literally connecting people in physical space, also
(12:56):
really great platforms for building civic infrastructure, for building clubs, buildings,
so organizations. But I think it is that like day
to day micro connections that builds our capacity as a
society to weather challenges down the line.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
John Jenkins is the director of the Dallas Park and
Recreation Department, where he oversees more than four hundred parks
in an expansive system of trails, rec centers, and community partnerships.
In Dallas, parks aren't just unifying spaces, they're tools for
revitalization and economic development, and as John explains, they've also
become a powerful way to make the case for public investment,
(13:37):
using ParkScore data to win over voters and city leaders.
Speaker 7 (13:41):
Oh yeah, parks. We see it firsthand how parks are
truly bringing people together. It's like our tagline here Dallas
Parks or recreation is bringing communities together, and we see
it firsthand from our deck park. We have two different
(14:01):
deck parks here. We have one has been built Clyde
One Park. We have a second one is underway Hepperham Park.
And in those two cases we've been able to bridge
two different communities together. Clyde One has been a success,
but between bridge and uptown and downtown together. And then
we have in our southern sector of the town Happeron Park,
(14:23):
which was formerly known as Southern Gateway, and that park
is bridging unfortunately, neighborhoods that were divide it back in
the nineteen sixties with the freeway system, and this case
is bridging basically three different neighborhoods together, and we'd like
as you know, like the federal government likes to refer
to as restitching communities back together, and so we see that.
(14:47):
We also see, you know, where we're building unique playgrounds
now in a lot of our neighborhood parks, and these
playgrounds are really bringing neighbors out and they say they
move to their neighborhood because of their neighborhood park, and
they're saying that they have their opportunity to really get
(15:09):
to know their neighbors. And it's just amazing to watch
that transformation because I've been in the I've been a
park professional for thirty two years, and to see how
trails are connecting three or four different communities now because
we put a centerpiece park where the trails connected. Like
(15:29):
TPL there's going to this Trust for Public Land here
in Texas where they got a seven mile trail project,
but it's going to create it's going to go through
eighteen different parks and so now you got all these
different communities just all coming together because of a trail system,
connecting different parks, connecting different walks of life. And so yeah,
(15:54):
it is amazing to watch this transformation in real time,
you know, and real time. We just used the data
that was provided by TPL and others, because we just
formulated just the voters just approved our twenty twenty four
bond program, and we used the data from TPL, and
(16:18):
we presented that to our governing body, which is a
part board. We presented that data to the mayor and
city Council, and we presented that data to the voters.
In particular, we made sure they was aware of where
we hit part deserts. We made sure they was aware
of where there was an inequity in the system. We
(16:42):
made sure they was aware of the ten minute walk
where we had gaps. We made sure they knew where
our ranking was, because our mayor liked to remind the
voters here in Dallas, we want to be number one
in the TPL ranking, and so we used all of
that data to invest the voters which approved the biggest
(17:02):
bond package was in the history of the park system
three hundred and fifty million dollars I mean three hundred
and forty five million dollars. So that data was very
important on how we communicated to the appointed, to the elected,
and to the voters who was going to prove their
bond program and we had to make sure we commuted
it in a way that could understand the data. And
(17:25):
they did, and they was able to repeat a lot
of that data our supporters, our elected officials and appointed officials.
So it's very imperative that you have good data when
you're trying to get additional funding for your park system.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Yeah, I can just like really quickly check onto that.
Here in Lexington last year, our Parks Advisory Board really
spearheaded a process to add a ballot amendment here to
create a parks capital fund, and it passed overwhelmingly sixty forty.
And you know, a tax increase in a presidential election
(18:04):
year in Kentucky was certainly not guaranteed to pass. But
I think one of the things, you know, in talking
with them after the vote, I mean, I think they
were confident going.
Speaker 6 (18:14):
Into that because parks are just popular with the public.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
They said, the favorability rating for the city parks Department
was almost eighty percent in Lexington. And you know polling
that they ran and ran in advance of that vote,
or advance of having counsel put it on the ballot,
is that people are actually less likely to vote for
a council member that blocked that measure. I think it's
a really fascinating, you know, sort of example of just
(18:39):
how popular parks are. And yes, they provide I think
we can make a lot of arguments around social connection,
we can make a lot of arguments in there, but
they're also just very popular with the public, and that's
been certainly something that will now be impacting the future
of Lexington for you know, generations to come.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
We've heard how data from the parks score indexes helping
cities like Dallas and Lexington make the case for serious
investment in parks and that it works. After the break,
we'll hear why all this is personal for each of
our guests and how parks reshape the way they think
about connection and community Welcome back. We've looked at how
(19:21):
public parks do more than provide green space. They create
opportunities for connection and ultimately foster civic engagement. We've seen
how data, research and local leadership are working hand in
hand to make park access more equitable. To close out
the conversation, we asked, why does this work matter? Here's
Richard Young.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Yeah, I mean, I think you know the reason that
I started civic lacks and the reason that I think
our organization is so important to this community is that
you know, in increasingly uncertain times, is the federal landscape
looking the way it does in the state landscape here
looking the way it does, Gridlock and lenges with governance
seemed to be the norm, and so our ability to
(20:04):
make decisions as a local community becomes all the more
important in that context. And our ability to solve our
own challenges instead of relying on folks to solve challenges
for us, I think is really important. And for me,
the biggest lesson that I've learned through this work is
that there's a huge relationships right, social connection and relationships
particularly across the lines of difference, and particularly for us,
(20:27):
lines of difference related to civic power. Right. Who has
access to decision makers is really important? But also who
has access to information?
Speaker 6 (20:35):
Right?
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Like how are people consuming information about decision making in
our community? Is there an adequate source of information in
your community about how decisions are made and how people
can get involved in that, and.
Speaker 6 (20:46):
What are the processes that we actually use to make decisions? Right?
Do we have meaningful opportunities for co governance?
Speaker 2 (20:51):
And do have meaningful opportunities for people to really have
a say in their community's future. I think the current
crisis we're in as a country can certainly be seen
as a crisis of connection, but I think it's also
a crisis of agency.
Speaker 6 (21:03):
People feel like.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
They don't matter and belong and matter to their communities,
and you cannot If you don't matter to your community,
you can certainly never belong to your community. And so
when we're thinking about how we build places that build connection,
we also need to be thinking about how people are
getting information and how people are actually participating in decision making,
and all these things are so deeply integrated with each
(21:26):
other we can't just think of one in isolation. So
that's my biggest takeaway from this work.
Speaker 5 (21:31):
We have a shared future, whether we want it to
or not, and we have a responsibility or I personally
feel a responsibility to help shape that and be active
and shaping it in a way that in a world
that I want to live, that I want my future
kids to be able to live in, that my community
members of all differences feel a sense of belonging and
engagement and hopefulness. And that may sound you know, mushy,
(21:56):
or you know kumbayage is, but it's that sense of
and what I think is so great about this work
is that we all can play a role in big
and small ways. I think it's again putting on that
lens of connection and seeing the ways that you can help.
If you feel that sense of agency, how can I
help build a connection, a culture of connection that can
help make other people feel a sense of belonging or
(22:18):
you live in work, And because work has changed my life,
I've leaned into different spaces in my community because I
realized I do have an opportunity to help cultivate spaces
for people to come together where I didn't necessarily see
that before. And so I think it's about speaking those
opportunities that might actually be in front of you that
we all can take advantage of in our personal and
professional lives. Because there are so many forces now that
(22:40):
are just defaulting us into behaviors that make us more
transactional and more alone and even more comfortable in the moment.
And I think that's what's new about this time period.
It's really easy for me to you know, hang out
on my couch myself watching TV and not you know,
or scroll on my phone and not necessarily set up
my fond porch and say hi to somebody you know
(23:02):
it's from hunger. I can have the privilege of ordering
something on my phone and something comes to my door.
These types of behaviors, they default us into these again
moments that are not prioritizing connections. So we have to
be a little bit more intentional and taking that agency
to make that possible. And it's something that people want,
that we need, that we can do with all the
pieces are there, it's just how do we each think
(23:23):
about the role that we can play in fostering it.
Speaker 8 (23:26):
Yeah, I would just say from a park professional and
speaking for other park professionals across the country and the
wants who work for the Dallas Bar System, we're in
this business because we want to serve others, and if
our work can provide those type of open spaces or
(23:48):
folks that they normally would not have access to, that's
what we're here for.
Speaker 7 (23:53):
We are here to serve others and to create those
opportunities all across this continent, across the world through social connections,
through recreational connections, through environmental connections. I could go on
and on while we're all doing this work, and it's
(24:13):
all about creating that space, in this case is green
space that allows all of those interactions to take place
in our areas, all across all our different areas of
the country. When it comes to green space, that's just
what we do.
Speaker 6 (24:31):
We bring people together.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
We hope enjoyed the sponsored episode of Next City show
about change makers and their stories. Together we can spread
good ideas from one city to the next city. Thank
you for listening this week. Thank you to our partner,
the Trust for Public Land bringing together our guests. Will Klein,
director of Research at TPL, Kate Carney, Deputy director at
More in Common USA, John Jenkins, Director of the Dallas
Park and Recreation Department, and Richard Young, founder and executive
(25:11):
director of Civic Lex. Today's episode was adapted from a
sponsored webinar. To hear the full conversation, visit nextcity dot
org slash webinars. Our audio producer is Silvana Alcala, Our
show producer is Maggie Bowles, our executive producer is Ryan Tillotson,
and I'm Lucas Grinley, executive director for Next City. We'd
love to hear any feedback from our listeners. Please feel
free to email us at info atnexcity dot org and
(25:34):
if you haven't already, subscribed to the show on Apple, Spotify,
good Pods, or anywhere you listen to your podcasts.
Strawt Media.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Parks provide this really effective platform for people to sort
of casually on a day to day basis, just be
around and in the same space with people that are
different from them. Those small micro engagements are really important
for building this sort of civic muscle that allows you
to actually have more challenging conversations and more direct conversations
(00:32):
with someone that disagrees with you later down the line.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
This is Lucas Grinley from Next City show about change
makers and their stories. Truth is, there are solutions to
the problems of pressing people in cities. If you're listening,
I hope it's because you want to spread good ideas
from one city to the next city. On today's sponsored episode,
we're working with the Trust for Public Land to take
a closer look at some of the spaces that subtly
shape our communities, public parks. You might be surprised to
(00:58):
learn that one in three America ends, or about one
hundred million people don't have access to a park within
a ten minute walk of their home. Even when parks
are nearby, they don't always feel welcoming or provide the
amenities people need. So we have a lot of work
to do. That's where data tools and community led action
come in. For more than fifty years, Trust for Public
Land or TPL to its friends, has been working to
(01:20):
close the park equity gap. So far, they've protected four
million acres of land, created more than five thousand outdoor spaces,
and help secure one hundred and ten billion dollars in
funding that supports parks and green spaces. Now, over three
hundred mayors have signed on to their ten Minute Walk
commitment to ensure everyone has a park close to home.
Today's sponsored episode focuses on one of their most powerful tools,
(01:43):
the ParkScore Index. Launched in twenty twelve, ParkScore ranks the
largest US city park systems based on access, amenities and funding.
But it's more than just a ranking. It's a tool
we can use for change. We'll hear how cities like
Dallas and Lexington are using ParkScore data alongside community engagement
to drive investment and change policy. Joining us are Richard
(02:05):
Young of Civic lex and Lexington, John Jenkins from Dallas
Parks and Rec, and Kate Carney with More in Common USA.
But first, we're going to get the latest results from
the ParkScore Index and to share that news. We're joined
by Will Klin, tpl's director of research.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
The way the index works is kind of three core principles.
We're comparing cities, not agencies, so from the perspective of residents.
So we include all public and private park organizations across
each of the one hundred biggest cities, and then each
city is assessed on five categories key to excellence, acreage, access, equity,
investment and amenities. Acreage and access really balanced the need
(02:45):
for large regional parks and close to home parks, while
investment and amenities provide a measure of the quality of
the overall park system. Is there enough money and volunteer
power to maintain high quality parks? And are there a
wide range of activities for people to do? And recently
we added the equity category, is it fair and where
parks are distributed across the city and so drum roll.
(03:07):
And then this year, for the fifth year in a row,
washing DC ranked number one in our ParkScore Index, with Irvine,
California and jumping up to their highest ever spot at two,
with Minneapolis, Cincinnati and Saint Paul rounding out the top five.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
By the way, if you want to see how your
city ranked. It's all online. Visit TPL dot org slash
ParkScore to see the top one hundred cities. For example,
Denver crack the top ten for the first time in
many years. Here's will again from TPL.
Speaker 4 (03:38):
We do the rankings to get everybody's attention, but what
we care about is the why why are parks so important?
And once we can start that conversation and catch the
attention of where you rank, we can move and actually
have a deeper conversation talk about all the benefits that
parks provide. And so this year we release a special
report Parks the Great Unifiers, and documented two overarching trends
(04:00):
we're seen across the country right now. And for the
first time, we conducted national polling data to understand how
Americans connect with each other in outdoor public space. Residents,
regardless of political affiliation or other line of difference throughout
the United States value public parks and use them frequently,
suggesting that parks are among the least polarized spaces in
the US today. Why do parks break down barriers? Why
(04:22):
do community leaders often turn to parks as places to
do this? For one, people of all backgrounds love parks,
and so they happen to be in the parks at
the same time, so their natural venues for mixing two
people are more willing to have a conversation with somebody
they don't know before in parks. In our same survey
and polling data, we heard that two thirds of respondents
(04:43):
reported having a positive conversation with somebody new in a
park in the past year, and the top that off,
half of respondents said it was somebody who they thought
had a different social or economic background. All of these
factors make parks ideal venues for civic leaders to grow
that better park systems have more social connections between people
of different economic backgrounds, more volunteers, more civic organizations like
(05:08):
Alliance for Cook Park in Atlanta or the Open Center
for the Arts in South Lawndale and North Lowndale Community
Coordinating counts in Chicago over the last few years. Civic
leaders are stepping up in recent years to invest in
parks as these spaces where communities can come together. In
Fort Worth, Texas, their mayor, Maddie Parker, launched an initiative
to address some troubling trends. The city loses about fifteen
(05:28):
acres of natural open space to develop each week, and
the Good Natured Green Space Initiative aims to counter this
through public and private partnerships. Their increase investments in parks
and open space have seen the parks were rank about
twenty spots this year to seventy second. We see examples
of this across the country, with the overall investments in
city parks reaching a record high this year, even after
(05:49):
accounting for inflation. While this is something to celebrate, we
do see that cities across the country are facing challenging
budgets this year. We are hearing from everyone that there
are tough choices being made. Additionally, we've seen record high
increase in park access this year. This was one of
the original goals of launching the Park Score Index fourteen
years ago. In twenty twelve, when only sixty eight percent
(06:11):
of residents across the biggest cities lived within a tending
a walk up a park, up to seventy six percent
this year, there's millions of people who now have a
park within walking distance. Lastly, it's not just creating parks
or investing in parks, but it's the how that's important.
TPL released the Common Ground Framework set of strategies to
build community power through parking, green space engagement, and as
(06:32):
far of our survey, we track trends and adoption of
some of these key critical practices across the country and
we're seeing promising signs just the last year.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
What's great to see in that report is that more
cities say they're collaborating with residents most or all of
the time, and Will says more cities are compensating community
experts and offering workforce employment training in the park system.
Lots of good news. Next, I want to bring in
Kate Carney. She's the deputy director at More in Common, USA,
where she worked on a two year national study exploring
(07:02):
how people connect across lines of race, class, politics, and religion.
The report is called The Connection Opportunity. It's based on
surveying thousands of Americans to uncover both the appetite for
connection in the barriers that get in the way. It's
work designed to equip community leaders, including those in the
parks world, with insights on how to foster stronger, more
(07:23):
inclusive communities.
Speaker 5 (07:31):
So one key insights and this is one that we
weren't sure what we would find, but it's a really
hopeful one. Is most Americans value connecting across difference, and
they're also most interested in activities where they can work together,
especially in their communities. Seventy percent of Americans agree that
we have a shared responsibility to connect across difference, and
(07:54):
two thirds of Americans across all a host of different
demographics think that they can learn something new from connecting
with others who might share something different for them. And
that's again, do you see this as a learning opportunity?
We also asked Americans if they would be interested and
engaging in a whole host of different types of activities
where they might just happen to be interacting with someone
(08:15):
who's different from them. The thing that people are most
interested in doing broadly is working to achieve a mutual
goal that improves your community, which is something that is
just really beneficial for us all to engage in because
that's a really great way to be able to build connections,
trust with one another and improve the places where we live.
So what's folding them back? What are the barriers? So
(08:35):
we similarly we asked a whole host of different barriers
that people could face, and the most commonly cited barrier
to connection is a lack of opportunity, and so how
can we think about creating opportunities or helping people see
the opportunities in front of them where they're able to
build those connections with one another. Do you think other
(08:56):
people value and are interested in connecting cress difference is
the strongest predictor of if you're going to be interested
as well, and so it's really how can we think
about creating a culture of connection where parks really are
that Petri dish for connection that's right there in our
backyards and it's so important for us, I think, to
be able to think about them as an investment opportunity,
(09:18):
a space for people to have that opportunity to come together.
We can see other people connecting this that creates that
more and setting and it's the shared asset that we
can really come together for to improve in our communities.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
So far, we've explored what the research says. After the break,
we'll hear how public spaces are creating those opportunities on
the ground from leaders in Dallas and Lexington where we're
using parks to bridge divides and build civic muscle.
Speaker 6 (09:50):
Welcome back.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
Before the break, we explored data that shows most Americans
want to connect across lines of difference, but we often
lack the opportunity. Parks, it turns out, can be a
part of this. Now we turn to Richard Young, executive
director of Civic Lex in Lexington, Kentucky. You might remember
him from previous episodes of the Next City podcast. Civic
Lex is a nonprofit that helps people understand how their
(10:11):
local government works, connect with their neighbors, and participate meaningfully
in public decisions, from reshaping boards and commissions to covering
city hall and running civic education programs. Richard sees parks
not just as physical spaces, but as civic infrastructure, places
where small, everyday interactions build the trust and relationships that
(10:32):
help communities navigate big challenges.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
It's helpful for us to ask the question of like
why we think social connection and bridging divides is actually important.
But I think one of the things that I really
like to help sort of convey when we're talking about
bringing people together across difference, that it really is about
our sort of fundamental ability as a society to navigate crisis. Right.
The habits that we build in less chaotic times help
(10:59):
decide our ability to weather chaotic times. And I think
there's obviously a moral and ethical good around connecting across difference,
but there's also I think, like a governance good for it.
What better examples have we had in the past five years, right,
I mean, the COVID epidemic really stressed our ability as
a country as a society to actually navigate crises. And
if we spend more time being able to have these
(11:19):
conversations in less chaotic times, then we can navigate crises
like that better. I think parks are a really effective
way of bridging divides.
Speaker 6 (11:27):
Because of both the.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Permanence and the fact that they're accessible all the time.
Speaker 6 (11:34):
I think there's been there's.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
A lot of work happening right now across the country
around sort of like formalized and intentional bridge building, right,
like how do we bring people together to have conversations
about disagreement?
Speaker 6 (11:45):
And I think that's really important work.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
It sort of helps, really I think, concrete and formalize
that skill. But sometimes it's sort of like asking people
to run a marathon after not having trained, right, And
I think parks provide this really effective platform for people
to sort of casually on a day to day basis
just be around and in the same space with people
(12:08):
that are different from them. Those like small micro engagements
are really important for building this sort of civic muscle
that allows you to actually have more challenging conversations and
more direct conversations with someone that disagrees with you later
down the line. And I think both of those things
are really important. Right We need to be building into
our civic education systems ways to teach people to have
(12:30):
conversations across different civil discourse, deliberation, dialogue.
Speaker 6 (12:33):
All of that's really important.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
But without things like parks and public spaces that enable
people to really practice that every day in very, very
small ways, the big efforts to change people's orientation to
each other aren't going to be able to really have purchase.
I think that that is, like, you know, obviously, parks
are great for literally connecting people in physical space, also
(12:56):
really great platforms for building civic infrastructure, for building clubs, buildings,
so organizations. But I think it is that like day
to day micro connections that builds our capacity as a
society to weather challenges down the line.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
John Jenkins is the director of the Dallas Park and
Recreation Department, where he oversees more than four hundred parks
in an expansive system of trails, rec centers, and community partnerships.
In Dallas, parks aren't just unifying spaces, they're tools for
revitalization and economic development, and as John explains, they've also
become a powerful way to make the case for public investment,
(13:37):
using ParkScore data to win over voters and city leaders.
Speaker 7 (13:41):
Oh yeah, parks. We see it firsthand how parks are
truly bringing people together. It's like our tagline here Dallas
Parks or recreation is bringing communities together, and we see
it firsthand from our deck park. We have two different
(14:01):
deck parks here. We have one has been built Clyde
One Park. We have a second one is underway Hepperham Park.
And in those two cases we've been able to bridge
two different communities together. Clyde One has been a success,
but between bridge and uptown and downtown together. And then
we have in our southern sector of the town Happeron Park,
(14:23):
which was formerly known as Southern Gateway, and that park
is bridging unfortunately, neighborhoods that were divide it back in
the nineteen sixties with the freeway system, and this case
is bridging basically three different neighborhoods together, and we'd like
as you know, like the federal government likes to refer
to as restitching communities back together, and so we see that.
(14:47):
We also see, you know, where we're building unique playgrounds
now in a lot of our neighborhood parks, and these
playgrounds are really bringing neighbors out and they say they
move to their neighborhood because of their neighborhood park, and
they're saying that they have their opportunity to really get
(15:09):
to know their neighbors. And it's just amazing to watch
that transformation because I've been in the I've been a
park professional for thirty two years, and to see how
trails are connecting three or four different communities now because
we put a centerpiece park where the trails connected. Like
(15:29):
TPL there's going to this Trust for Public Land here
in Texas where they got a seven mile trail project,
but it's going to create it's going to go through
eighteen different parks and so now you got all these
different communities just all coming together because of a trail system,
connecting different parks, connecting different walks of life. And so yeah,
(15:54):
it is amazing to watch this transformation in real time,
you know, and real time. We just used the data
that was provided by TPL and others, because we just
formulated just the voters just approved our twenty twenty four
bond program, and we used the data from TPL, and
(16:18):
we presented that to our governing body, which is a
part board. We presented that data to the mayor and
city Council, and we presented that data to the voters.
In particular, we made sure they was aware of where
we hit part deserts. We made sure they was aware
of where there was an inequity in the system. We
(16:42):
made sure they was aware of the ten minute walk
where we had gaps. We made sure they knew where
our ranking was, because our mayor liked to remind the
voters here in Dallas, we want to be number one
in the TPL ranking, and so we used all of
that data to invest the voters which approved the biggest
(17:02):
bond package was in the history of the park system
three hundred and fifty million dollars I mean three hundred
and forty five million dollars. So that data was very
important on how we communicated to the appointed, to the elected,
and to the voters who was going to prove their
bond program and we had to make sure we commuted
it in a way that could understand the data. And
(17:25):
they did, and they was able to repeat a lot
of that data our supporters, our elected officials and appointed officials.
So it's very imperative that you have good data when
you're trying to get additional funding for your park system.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Yeah, I can just like really quickly check onto that.
Here in Lexington last year, our Parks Advisory Board really
spearheaded a process to add a ballot amendment here to
create a parks capital fund, and it passed overwhelmingly sixty forty.
And you know, a tax increase in a presidential election
(18:04):
year in Kentucky was certainly not guaranteed to pass. But
I think one of the things, you know, in talking
with them after the vote, I mean, I think they
were confident going.
Speaker 6 (18:14):
Into that because parks are just popular with the public.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
They said, the favorability rating for the city parks Department
was almost eighty percent in Lexington. And you know polling
that they ran and ran in advance of that vote,
or advance of having counsel put it on the ballot,
is that people are actually less likely to vote for
a council member that blocked that measure. I think it's
a really fascinating, you know, sort of example of just
(18:39):
how popular parks are. And yes, they provide I think
we can make a lot of arguments around social connection,
we can make a lot of arguments in there, but
they're also just very popular with the public, and that's
been certainly something that will now be impacting the future
of Lexington for you know, generations to come.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
We've heard how data from the parks score indexes helping
cities like Dallas and Lexington make the case for serious
investment in parks and that it works. After the break,
we'll hear why all this is personal for each of
our guests and how parks reshape the way they think
about connection and community Welcome back. We've looked at how
(19:21):
public parks do more than provide green space. They create
opportunities for connection and ultimately foster civic engagement. We've seen
how data, research and local leadership are working hand in
hand to make park access more equitable. To close out
the conversation, we asked, why does this work matter? Here's
Richard Young.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Yeah, I mean, I think you know the reason that
I started civic lacks and the reason that I think
our organization is so important to this community is that
you know, in increasingly uncertain times, is the federal landscape
looking the way it does in the state landscape here
looking the way it does, Gridlock and lenges with governance
seemed to be the norm, and so our ability to
(20:04):
make decisions as a local community becomes all the more
important in that context. And our ability to solve our
own challenges instead of relying on folks to solve challenges
for us, I think is really important. And for me,
the biggest lesson that I've learned through this work is
that there's a huge relationships right, social connection and relationships
particularly across the lines of difference, and particularly for us,
(20:27):
lines of difference related to civic power. Right. Who has
access to decision makers is really important? But also who
has access to information?
Speaker 6 (20:35):
Right?
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Like how are people consuming information about decision making in
our community? Is there an adequate source of information in
your community about how decisions are made and how people
can get involved in that, and.
Speaker 6 (20:46):
What are the processes that we actually use to make decisions? Right?
Do we have meaningful opportunities for co governance?
Speaker 2 (20:51):
And do have meaningful opportunities for people to really have
a say in their community's future. I think the current
crisis we're in as a country can certainly be seen
as a crisis of connection, but I think it's also
a crisis of agency.
Speaker 6 (21:03):
People feel like.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
They don't matter and belong and matter to their communities,
and you cannot If you don't matter to your community,
you can certainly never belong to your community. And so
when we're thinking about how we build places that build connection,
we also need to be thinking about how people are
getting information and how people are actually participating in decision making,
and all these things are so deeply integrated with each
(21:26):
other we can't just think of one in isolation. So
that's my biggest takeaway from this work.
Speaker 5 (21:31):
We have a shared future, whether we want it to
or not, and we have a responsibility or I personally
feel a responsibility to help shape that and be active
and shaping it in a way that in a world
that I want to live, that I want my future
kids to be able to live in, that my community
members of all differences feel a sense of belonging and
engagement and hopefulness. And that may sound you know, mushy,
(21:56):
or you know kumbayage is, but it's that sense of
and what I think is so great about this work
is that we all can play a role in big
and small ways. I think it's again putting on that
lens of connection and seeing the ways that you can help.
If you feel that sense of agency, how can I
help build a connection, a culture of connection that can
help make other people feel a sense of belonging or
(22:18):
you live in work, And because work has changed my life,
I've leaned into different spaces in my community because I
realized I do have an opportunity to help cultivate spaces
for people to come together where I didn't necessarily see
that before. And so I think it's about speaking those
opportunities that might actually be in front of you that
we all can take advantage of in our personal and
professional lives. Because there are so many forces now that
(22:40):
are just defaulting us into behaviors that make us more
transactional and more alone and even more comfortable in the moment.
And I think that's what's new about this time period.
It's really easy for me to you know, hang out
on my couch myself watching TV and not you know,
or scroll on my phone and not necessarily set up
my fond porch and say hi to somebody you know
(23:02):
it's from hunger. I can have the privilege of ordering
something on my phone and something comes to my door.
These types of behaviors, they default us into these again
moments that are not prioritizing connections. So we have to
be a little bit more intentional and taking that agency
to make that possible. And it's something that people want,
that we need, that we can do with all the
pieces are there, it's just how do we each think
(23:23):
about the role that we can play in fostering it.
Speaker 8 (23:26):
Yeah, I would just say from a park professional and
speaking for other park professionals across the country and the
wants who work for the Dallas Bar System, we're in
this business because we want to serve others, and if
our work can provide those type of open spaces or
(23:48):
folks that they normally would not have access to, that's
what we're here for.
Speaker 7 (23:53):
We are here to serve others and to create those
opportunities all across this continent, across the world through social connections,
through recreational connections, through environmental connections. I could go on
and on while we're all doing this work, and it's
(24:13):
all about creating that space, in this case is green
space that allows all of those interactions to take place
in our areas, all across all our different areas of
the country. When it comes to green space, that's just
what we do.
Speaker 6 (24:31):
We bring people together.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
We hope enjoyed the sponsored episode of Next City show
about change makers and their stories. Together we can spread
good ideas from one city to the next city. Thank
you for listening this week. Thank you to our partner,
the Trust for Public Land bringing together our guests. Will Klein,
director of Research at TPL, Kate Carney, Deputy director at
More in Common USA, John Jenkins, Director of the Dallas
Park and Recreation Department, and Richard Young, founder and executive
(25:11):
director of Civic Lex. Today's episode was adapted from a
sponsored webinar. To hear the full conversation, visit nextcity dot
org slash webinars. Our audio producer is Silvana Alcala, Our
show producer is Maggie Bowles, our executive producer is Ryan Tillotson,
and I'm Lucas Grinley, executive director for Next City. We'd
love to hear any feedback from our listeners. Please feel
free to email us at info atnexcity dot org and
(25:34):
if you haven't already, subscribed to the show on Apple, Spotify,
good Pods, or anywhere you listen to your podcasts.
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