Parks

City Parks as Cooling Centers
Strategies for making parks cool, inviting community cooling centers during extreme heat.

Wish Granted: Former Brownfield Transformed to New Park
Wishing Tree Park in West Carson, California officially opened last month, replacing a brownfield site with a much-needed green space for recreation and respite.

Innovative Park Agencies Receive National Recognition
The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) recently announced the recipients of this year’s awards for innovation in health and wellness, equity, conservation, and park design.

Celebrating World Environment Day
Commemorate the 51st World Environment Day with this curated list of Planetizen articles highlighting research and projects that promote a healthier, more sustainable world.

Regenerating and Healing Land Through Parks
Through thoughtful planning and restoration efforts, parks can help heal degraded land, meeting multiple community needs, improving soil quality, restoring native vegetation, and creating habitats for wildlife.

Making California State Parks More Climate-Resilient
A recently released report offers recommendations for keeping state parks healthy and robust, including acquiring additional land for conservation and recreation.

LA County Releases Draft Community Forest Management Plan
LA County's Chief Sustainability Office just released the discussion draft of Room to Grow, the first Community Forest Management Plan for the county.

New Park Opens in the Santa Clarita Valley
The City of Santa Clarita just celebrated the grand opening of its 38th park, the 10.5-acre Skyline Ranch Park.

California’s Live Oaks in Focus
The new exhibit explores the hidden network that allows heritage coast live oak trees to communicate with one another.

Spring Fun at Los Angeles County Parks
L.A. County is offering a spring edition of its popular and award-winning Parks After Dark program, providing opportunities for residents to come together and have fun in safe and welcoming spaces.

California's Top-Rated Park for Hikers Is Inside the City of LA
According to AllTrails, a popular fitness and travel mobile app, Topanga State Park has many highly-rated trails, most of which are of moderate difficulty and vary in length from three to seven miles.

Denver Canal Trail to Receive $100 Million Upgrade
The funding will support maintenance and repair projects along the 71-mile High Line Canal.

LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.

Transforming Landfills into Parks
Learn about eleven landfills that have been transformed into beautiful outdoor recreation spaces.

New Waterfront Park Opens at the Port of Los Angeles
The $77.3 million new park offers unprecedented public access to the water’s edge for the Wilmington community where 18% of the total land area is taken up by oil refineries — almost 3.5 times more space than is dedicated to green space.
Los Angeles County Moves to Open Schoolyards to Public Uses
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors just approved a motion to extend and expand an agreement with the L.A. Unified School District for the use of recreational facilities at Walnut Park Elementary School.

Creating More Green Schoolyards in Los Angeles
Led by the Trust for Public Land, the “28×28” Initiative seeks to green 28 schools in Los Angeles by the 2028 Olympics.

The Importance of Botanical Gardens
Southern California is home to some of the best botanical gardens around. TimeOut just released its list of the top Japanese and botanical gardens, mansion and institution gardens, and urban and hidden gardens.

How the Great American Outdoors Act Improved Public Lands
The 2020 federal law has helped fund park maintenance projects and improve access to public lands.

Parks and Gardens as Spaces to Celebrate Lunar New Year
Parks and gardens serve as communal spaces that bring people together. As such, there are good reasons for them to host events and activities that celebrate Lunar New Year, an important festival deeply rooted in Asian cultures.
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