{"id":71001,"date":"2025-02-24T22:37:28","date_gmt":"2025-02-25T06:37:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=71001"},"modified":"2025-02-24T22:37:28","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T06:37:28","slug":"los-angeles-asks-residents-to-help-plan-the-future-of-citys-parks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=71001","title":{"rendered":"Los Angeles Asks Residents to Help Plan the Future of City\u2019s Parks"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By<\/span>Sophie Craypo<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Los Angeles is turning to the city\u2019s diverse residents in multiple languages to assess the state of more than 500 parks citywide and plot a course to fix a struggling park system.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A view of downtown LA from the famed Griffith Park. (Image via\u00a0Flickr<\/a>. Published under CC by 2.0 license.)<\/em><\/p>\n

Leer en espa\u00f1ol<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u4e2d\u6587\u7248<\/a>\u00a0\uff5c\ud55c\uad6d\uc5b4<\/a><\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES, Calif. \u2014 The park system in America\u2019s second largest city is embarking on an ambitious turnaround.<\/p>\n

In recent years, Los Angeles has plunged in a national ranking of park systems in the country\u2019s largest cities \u2014 to number 88 out of 100.<\/p>\n

A lack of adequate funding and inequities in access to parks is driving the decline, according to the Trust for Public Lands, which compiles the nationwide \u201cpark score.\u201d<\/p>\n

The problems have been decades in the making. In Los Angeles, nearly four out of 10 residents do not have a park within walking distance of their homes. Low-income residents of color are much more likely not to have a neighborhood park than wealthier white residents. The city faces a $2.1 billion backlog in deferred park maintenance and has been losing staff positions in recent years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf any Angeleno goes to their local park or their local swimming pool or tries to play basketball at one of the city courts, they\u2019re often in disarray,\u201d said Guillermo Rodriguez, state director for the Trust for Public Land.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez is among a coalition of park advocates supporting a citywide effort to improve parks and close the gap in access.<\/p>\n

Making matters more urgent, a parcel tax that provided up to $25 million a year for city parks is set to expire next year. And voters rejected a replacement measure in 2022.<\/p>\n

So, the city is now turning to residents for guidance and support. The city\u2019s department of recreation and parks and recreation is launching an ambitious effort to engage residents across the city in a \u201cpark needs assessment\u201d to understand what residents think of the city\u2019s parks and what kinds of changes they would like to see in the park system.<\/p>\n

Advocates hope the needs assessment will build a stronger case for increased future funding and allow all communities to have a say in what their city park system looks like for decades to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just looking at next year, the following year, or a few years out, but over the coming decades at what Angelenos need in their parks,\u201d said Jessica Henson, a partner with the urban design and landscape architecture firm OLIN, which is coordinating a team selected by the city to conduct the needs assessment.<\/p>\n

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