November 2019 - Parks & Recreation - 33

Investment - Is the park in a
neighborhood that has not received
previous investment, which can be
defined by the amount of funding,
types of facilities funded, whether
it serves the entire city or local residents and how much investment is
planned over time?
Constituents - Whom does the
park serve? Is it a local or citywide
park? Has the community identified a need and participated in the
planning process?
Amenities - Does the park provide amenities that are not found
nearby or provide facilities within
a quarter mile of home?
Access - Can residents access
the park easily and safely? Barriers,
both physical and perceived, can
define access. People may not feel
comfortable or safe crossing busy
streets or traveling through different neighborhoods.
Programming - Is there programming in the park? Does it resonate
with residents? Are there additional opportunities for activities?
Catalyst for Future Investment Have park improvements inspired
investments, such as access (bike
lanes or sidewalks), new housing or
retail or renovations to the existing
urban fabric surrounding the park?

Evaluation
Three parks within Baltimore City -
Florence Cummings Park, Canton
Waterfront Park and Henrietta Lacks
Educational Park - have been evaluated using the aforementioned metrics to demonstrate how each park
will serve the goal of social equity:
Florence Cummins Park
A master plan for the next 10 years
recently was developed for this park,
located in the Westport Neighbor-

hood of South Baltimore. With the
help of the community, a program
was established that included playgrounds, a refurbished and lighted
basketball court, and a baseball and
multipurpose field, anchored by a
community pavilion, grill area and
splash pad. This park, with funding
for the master plan and implementation provided by South Baltimore
Gateway Partnership and BCRP,
ranks high on the equity metrics. A
Kaboom Playground has already
been installed and phased implementation of other master plan
elements will begin soon, creating
important recreational resources for
this under-invested community.
Canton Waterfront Park
While Canton is one of Baltimore's
wealthiest neighborhoods, this park
provides equity by being one of few
green public waterfront parks in a
part of the city that is densely populated and impacted by heat island. A
robust community process ensured
that its long-term improvement will
serve all city residents as well as locals. The planning process included
improvements to park access for bicyclists and pedestrians, especially
families with young children, as well
as infrastructure for special events,
a playground and connection to the
Rail-to-Trail network.
Henrietta Lacks Educational Park
Formerly known as Ambrose Kennedy, this park was a neglected 1.75
acres in the Johnston Square Community. Today, Henrietta Lacks Educational Park is a model for 21st
century parks in Baltimore. Its reinvestment was sparked by Rebuild
Johnston Square, which rallied partners to make drastic changes to revive
the heart of the community. In 2017,

Focusing the equity lens
on the development of new
parks, maintenance of existing
parks and programming will
help Baltimore rise toward
prosperity.
Parks & People collaborated with
BCRP, Rebuild Johnston Square,
BUILD and The 6th Branch to
re-envision the park. These efforts
resulted in the creation of new walking paths, stormwater management,
landscaping, bathrooms to serve the
existing pool, a splash pad, new basketball courts and lighting for the
park. It now serves more than 11,000
people living within walking distance,
including students of the adjacent
Johnston Square Elementary School
and residents of Latrobe Homes, a
701-unit public housing project.

Rising Toward Prosperity
Equity cannot be achieved without
the restoration of funding for the
parks department to historic levels.
Since the 1960s, park funding has decreased by 60 percent; yet, the city has
more parkland and constituent services needs. As in many cities, parks
suffer from deferred or lack of maintenance and aging infrastructure.
A new model for park funding
is needed to address equity issues
within Baltimore's park system.
Focusing the equity lens on the
development of new parks, maintenance of existing parks and programming will help Baltimore rise
toward prosperity.
Zolna Russell, PLA, LEED AP, SITES AP, is Senior Landscape
Architect, Director of Sustainability for Floura Teeter Landscape
Architects (zrussell@flourateeter.com). Kate Brower is the Design
Planner II, Capital Division Baltimore City Department of
Recreation and Parks (kate.brower@baltimorecity.gov). Steven
Preston is the Parks Construction and Design Manager for Parks
& People Foundation (steven.preston@parksandpeople.org).

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November 2019 - Parks & Recreation

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