Advancing Park Equity in Los Angeles County

Parks are increasingly recognized as essential infrastructure which provides a wide range of benefits to communities. For example, numerous studies show that parks offer a variety of environmental, social, and economic benefits both within and beyond park boundaries. However, not everyone gets to enjoy these benefits because of park inequities, especially with respect to the provision and distribution of quality parks and investments in parks and recreational facilities. 

In this Parks & Rec Business magazine article, park planner Clement Lau explains how the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) plans with equity and implementation in mind, ensuring that its plans prioritize the neediest communities and do not end up just sitting on bookshelves. Examples of such planning documents include the 2016 Los Angeles Countywide Parks and Recreation Needs Assessment and Community Parks and Recreation Plans (CPRPs) for various unincorporated communities. The article focuses on the implementation of the CPRPs which is well under way, with a multitude of projects at varying scales and stages of development.