June 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 46

C I T Y T H AT H E A LT H B U I LT

With each revitalization effort
and land acquisition, city leaders,
planners and experts in health and
well-being - including the medical
community and park and recreation
professionals - are bringing this
new/old perspective to the table. The
places we live, work and play today
must encourage healthy behaviors, be
attractive and facilitate deeper connections among residents. What follows are two examples of built environments that have embraced healthy
living through creative planning solutions, collaboration and innovation.
Los Angeles, California
In 2009, the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks
(LADRP) completed its citywide
Community Needs Assessment,
which highlighted some startling
deficits within its boundaries. " One
of the key findings was that, even
though [Los Angeles] had more than
420 parks and facilities and over
16,000 acres of parkland, the city's
park lands and facilities were not
equitably distributed and many communities did not have parks located
within a reasonable distance, " Darryl
Ford, of LADRP's Planning, Construction and Maintenance Branch,
says. " Additionally, the Needs Assessment identified walking and biking trails, small neighborhood parks
and fitness facilities as the three
most-needed amenities. "
Los Angeles is about as built-out
as an American city can be, so Ford
and his colleagues had to find a creative way to increase park access
and offer additional modes of active
transportation for citizens to reach
them. Thus, the 50 Parks Initiative
was created with the goal of establishing 50 new parks in underserved
areas of Los Angeles. When 50 Parks
launched, Los Angeles, like many
American cities, was in the midst of
44 Parks & Recreation

a severe economic downturn. Ford
says city leaders saw the increasing number of abandoned lots and
blighted space popping up across the
city as opportunities to acquire land
and expand park holdings. Not only
would this approach increase residents' exposure to nature and spaces
for exercise, it would also help mitigate environmental concerns and
raise property values of houses and
businesses nearby the new parks.
Because planners and designers
were working with small parcels in
many cases, Ford said collaboration
with neighborhood residents was
essential to make sure each park, regardless of its size, would serve their
needs. " For each new park site, the
city and/or its community partner
organizations engaged in a collaborative planning and design process with
area stakeholders in order to customize each park to the needs of local
residents, " Ford says.
The 50 Parks Initiative serves as a
case study for those municipal leaders who might believe their city is too
dense to add new parkland. There are
always opportunities to increase green
space and encourage healthier lifestyles
in residents, he says. " The key to identifying those opportunities is to work
closely with local stakeholders and residents, as generally they will be most
familiar with the needs and challenges
in their individual communities. "
Greensburg, Kansas
It's not just urban spaces that can benefit from training a health-concerned
eye on the built environment. Greensburg, Kansas, a very small town of 777
residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's most recent estimates, recently underwent a revitalization project that saw a number of health-related
improvements. It should be noted this
initiative was made possible in the
wake of a devastating 2007 tornado

| J U N E 2 0 1 5 | W W W. N R PA . O R G

that destroyed some 90 percent of the
town. Greensburg had already been
struggling in the lead-up to the 2008
economic downturn, losing residents
at a fast clip and, thus, working with
a diminished tax base. Still, planners,
city leaders and residents endeavored
to capitalize on the tornado's devastation by making several health-related
improvements to Greensburg's quaint
downtown. Stakeholders established
a Sustainable Comprehensive Master
Plan that has informed Greensburg's
continued revitalization. " Early in
the process, the design team created
a maps atlas that documented the existing conditions and opportunities, "
says Jim Schuessler, ASLA, director
of landscape architecture services for
BNIM, which worked on the project. " Within the atlas were city-wide
diagrams showing opportunities for
connection, road hierarchy, green
infrastructure and parks and open
space. The Master Plan documented
opportunities for future projects [including the goal of creating] a loop
trail around the city connecting many
of the natural environments, lake and
stream corridor to the school, city park
and other key community assets. "
BNIM worked with the Greensburg community to develop 12 goals
oriented toward making the city socially, economically and environmentally sustainable. " The goals included
water, wind, health, built environment and community, " Schuessler
says. " Within the built environment
goal, the design team was tasked
with building a community that encourages interactions between residents, welcomes guests and serves
as a model. Thus, there were many
health- and wellness-related components to each and every project. "
Greensburg's Main Street was
the logical hub of this process, and
Schuessler said particular attention
was paid to making sure connectivi-

June 2015 - Parks & Recreation

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