How GIS Helps Plan Parks

This pandemic has put a spotlight on parks and our need for them for our health and well-being. It has also made clear that not neighborhoods are created equal and that some are severely lacking in parks and recreational facilities where residents can exercise and relax.

To address inequities in the distribution of parks and the funding needed to develop, operate, and maintain them, parks agencies are increasingly turning to GIS to help with planning, resource allocation, and decision-making. In this article, Los Angeles County planner Clement Lau explains how the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) has been using GIS. Specifically, he discusses the 2016 Los Angeles Countywide Parks Needs Assessment which was a historic and significant undertaking to engage cities and unincorporated communities within the county in a collaborative process to gather data and input to address data gaps and guide future decision-making on parks.

The Parks Needs Assessment was equity-focused and identified the communities with very high or high park need using GIS and the vast amount of data and public input collected through the process. Lau also shares that DPR has developed an internal user-friendly, web-based mapping and analysis tool called the Park Planning Viewer, which "effectively democratized GIS at DPR, enabling any staff to visualize and analyze parks data in relation to other layers of information, such as income, race/ethnicity, and various healthy indicators, and quickly prepare maps at their own computers." This tool is cost-effective because it saves DPR from having to buy individual GIS software licenses for all staff, and encourages all to think spatially, analytically, and comprehensively by having easy access to a variety of data.

The article demonstrates the increasing value of GIS as a planning tool and the importance of data to make informed decisions. As Lau explains, "Our ultimate goal is not only to produce pretty maps, it is about providing sound analysis that facilitates informed park planning, decision-making and resource allocation that benefit the communities we serve."