Several cities are using mobile park and recreation services to augment existing parks and fill gaps in parks. LA County parks planner Clement Lau describes a sampling of mobile programs.
Many neighborhoods are park-starved, which undermines the health of their residents and the development of their children. Focusing only on permanent land-based park space ignores current needs. Actual open space parks can take a decade or more to put into place. Clement Lau, a Los Angeles County planner writes about a nimble approach adopted by several cities. These cities provide park and recreation services to underserved neighborhoods and populations by going mobile. While not intended replace real parks, this approach can mitigate the absence of parks before the root problem is fixed. The cities implementing such an approach include New York; San Francisco; Los Angeles; Cape Coral, Florida; and Boise, Idaho. The services are provided either as pop-up events, by mobile van, or scheduled programming. Services vary widely and can include hard goods like skateboard ramps, soccer goals, and basketball hoops, or soft goods like yoga classes, coaches, and volunteers to teach and play sports with children, and registration for camps. For example, writes Lau:
The City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks is planning to launch a mobile recreation program to bring a variety of outdoor activities to children and families in under-served communities. Each mobile recreation vehicle will provide differently themed activities ranging from sports to drama and dance to STEM activities. The program will commence on the weekends at four elementary schools in high park need areas.
For more detailed information on how cities are filling the gaps in parks, please see the source article.
FULL STORY: Meeting Park Needs Through Mobile Recreation
The Mall Is Dead — Long Live the Mall
The American shopping mall may be closer to its original vision than ever.
Report: Las Vegas, Houston Top List of Least Affordable Cities
The report assesses the availability of affordable rental units for low-income households.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA-to-San Francisco Night Train Closer to Reality
A train operator has entered into formal negotiations with Union Pacific to move the project forward with a projected launch date of 2025.
Lawsuit Aims to Stop Dodger Stadium Gondola
A proposed aerial tram project that would shuttle visitors to L.A.’s Dodger Stadium faces backlash from environmental and community groups.
Why Parking Reform Goes Hand in Hand With More Housing
To achieve the full benefits of ‘missing middle housing’ and make way for small-lot construction, cities must rethink parking mandates.
City of Yakima
City of Auburn
Baylands Development Inc.
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
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.