Revealed: New Parks Master Plan for San Diego

"The city of San Diego is on the precipice of replacing a decades-old way of thinking about its parks, emphasizing quality over quantity in a new planning approach that could have profound effects on disadvantaged neighborhoods and older ones already built to capacity," reports Jennifer Van Grove. 

The evolution of parks planning in San Diego is encapsulated in a draft version of the city's new Parks Master Plan, released in April. The previous park plan for the city dates back to 1956. 

Among the foundational changes proposed by the draft Parks Master Plan is a points system for quantifying the access of residents to quality parks. Today, the city’s parks standard is 2.8 acres for every 1,000 people. "Going forward, the standard will be 12 points for every 1,000 residents, with points representing the recreational value of the park’s size, features, connection to transit or programming," according to Van Grove.

The city will seek input on the draft from the public until the end of May.