December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 45

Community Effort

W

hen does a neighborhood park become a park? If this question were
posted on NRPA Connect, the responses would be many and varied.
A planner may indicate this as the moment the respective authority
identifies in writing the given piece of land as parkland. The mayor might not call
it a park until a ribbon has been cut - even if still raw land. But, the community
living near this site won't call it a park until they can use it and enjoy it.
ing neighborhood park. Now, there is
no question whether Lincoln Heights
neighborhood has a park. Because,
they have THE park!

®
™

®
by

PORTER

CORP

And use and enjoy they can at this
year's Parks Build Community beneficiary - Lincoln Heights Neighborhood Park in Charlotte, North Carolina. While this park was officially
opened several years ago and contained a small playground and community garden, it was clear Mecklenburg
County Park and Recreation Department was not done with this space.
And it was clear the community wanted more. After looking at several parks
and parklands throughout the Charlotte area in mid-2013, NRPA staff
honed in on Lincoln Heights, knowing
the potential to transform this space.
On October 16, 2014, a crowd of
almost 200 NRPA Congress attendees and Charlotte residents broke the
proverbial bottle of champagne on
what is now Charlotte's most glitter-

TM

Neighborhood kids from the Lincoln Heights community jumped at the chance to
finally use the playground they had watched being constructed for weeks.

	

Made possible in large part through
the generosity of Playworld Systems,
Greenfields Outdoor Fitness, Poligon
by Porter Corp. and Cornilleau USA,
this park build transformed a fine
park into an amazing park. Complete
with a variety of play pieces that invite children of all ages to run, climb,
jump and swing, along with covered
seating for parents to visit while
keeping an eye on the youngsters, the
expanded play opportunities were a
hit even before construction was finished. Including the park system's
first outdoor fitness equipment installation further defined this neighborhood park as a special place for
residents to build stronger health and
community. Through great support
from Mecklenburg County providing considerable time and resources, the new and improved Lincoln
Heights Neighborhood Park opened
on schedule and with much fanfare.
The dedication of this park included a truly impressive high school
marching band performance, a few
incredibly aggressive rounds of table
tennis and one council member so
impassioned she took to swinging her
cane. NRPA has its sights set on Las
Vegas and by the time you read this,
we may have next year's Parks Build
Community site selected. It will take
a lot to top Charlotte, but thanks to
this year's Parks Build Community
success, we know just how to do it.
Learn more about Parks Build Community at www.nrpa.org/parksbuildcommunity.
- Jimmy O'Connor, NRPA's Director of Grants and Partnerships

W W W. N R PA . O R G | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 4 |

Parks & Recreation

43



December 2014 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2014 - Parks & Recreation

December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 1
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 2
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 3
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 4
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 5
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 6
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 7
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 8
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 9
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 10
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 11
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 12
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 13
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 14
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 15
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 16
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 17
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 18
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 19
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 20
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 21
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 22
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 23
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 24
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 25
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 26
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 27
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 28
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 29
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 30
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 31
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 32
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 33
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 34
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 35
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 36
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 37
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 38
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 39
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 40
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 41
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 42
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 43
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 44
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 45
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 46
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 47
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 48
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 49
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 50
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 51
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 52
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 53
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 54
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 55
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 56
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 57
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 58
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 59
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 60
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 61
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 62
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 63
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 64
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 65
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 66
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 67
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 68
December 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 69
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2020
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2020
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2009
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2009
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