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Putting the Pieces Together
Since January I’ve spoken with leaders at city parks and their partners from Rose Kennedy Greenway in Boston all the way to Caras Park in Missoula, Montana, studying park conservancies, BIDs and...
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Belle Isle Conservancy: One Step at a Time
Belle Isle, the 985 acre island and city park in the Detroit River – and the crown jewel of Detroit’s park system – is in trouble. It has a backlog of cleanup, restoration, and environmental challenges...
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Innovative Governance
“There should be more than one way to run a park.” –Adrian Benepe So went the thinking behind the creation of Central Park Conservancy...
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A Park for the Ages
According to Wikipedia, Anish Kapoor’s contract to create the popular sculpture, Cloud Gate (more commonly known as the “Bean”) for Millennium Park, stated that the constructed piece should be expected...
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Leadership Innovation
“Sixteen years ago I was labeled as the Urban Mechanic and described as a sort of one-man ‘Mr. Fix-It’ when it came to the basics that make our city work. The nickname was overstated then, but it’s...
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One More Time: Entrepreneurial Governance
In the past few weeks, I’ve heard too many stories about incremental change and bureaucratic hurdles when it comes to rethinking city park management, and am reminded again how the business labs in...
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A P3 Throwdown
Last week I had the pleasure of being in Boston for an afternoon discussion among park advocates talking about public-private partnerships (P3s). The meeting took place during a two day visit of the...
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May’s Frontline Park
Each month, City Parks Alliance recognizes a “Frontline Park” to promote and highlight inspiring examples of urban park excellence, innovation, and stewardship across the country. The program also...
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Los Angeles: Angels in the Parks
Not all angels have wings. Some are clearly grounded and quietly working in Los Angeles city parks thanks to the partnership between the Recreation and Parks Department (RAP) and the Los Angeles Parks...
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Denver’s Civic Center Park: A Gathering Place In Search of a Crowd
Civic Center Park is located in central Denver just south of the Central Business District; it was an idea that originated with Denver mayor Robert Speer in 1904 when he proposed a series of civic...
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Summer Time and the Livin’ in Parks Ain’t Easy: The P3 Debate
Summer has officially arrived and as the temperatures rise and people head out to their parks, the conversation is once again heating up about the limited budgets of public park systems. Where are the...
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Piedmont Park – The Central Park of the South
There is an enormous amount being written these days on creating public parks and spaces – designing them and planning for their context within a community including connecting them to other things,...
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Philanthropy and Stewardship Meet Community Organizing in San Francisco
If I could peek into the future to see what private park organizations might look like in the coming years, I suspect they would resemble the San Francisco Parks Alliance – a new organization,...
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August’s Frontline Park
Each month, City Parks Alliance recognizes a “Frontline Park” to promote and highlight inspiring examples of urban park excellence, innovation, and stewardship across the country. The program also...
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North of the 60th Parallel: Anchorage Park Partnerships
I had the opportunity to visit the land of the midnight sun this summer and took time out to meet Beth Nordlund, Executive Director of the Anchorage Park Foundation. Anchorage is the northernmost city...
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The True Stars of Southern California (Part I)
By Catherine Nagel, Executive Director, City Parks Alliance Recently, a group of City Parks Alliance members visited a dozen park projects in Los Angeles and Orange County, as part of CPA’s 2013...
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Louisville: Private Resources for a Public Park
I’ve talked a lot in this blog about private public partnerships (P3s) where a public agency owns the land and a private partner collaborates on design, development, management or programming. But what...
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Public-Private Partnerships, Seattle-Style (Part 1 of 3)
This month’s Parks and Recreation magazine features an article on the challenges of public private partnerships. Acknowledging the benefits of a helping hand from the private sector, the article also...
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Public-Private Partnerships, Seattle-Style (Part 2 of 3)
Almost every city in America has a public-private partnership around one or more of its parks. Everyone is doing it, and everyone is asking the same questions about the best way to develop and manage...
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Seattle Parks and the Downtown Seattle Association: A Smart Marriage (Part 3...
This year the City Parks Alliance was one of the hosts to the International Downtown Association’s World Congress in New York. The theme, “People/Places/Partnerships,” focused on how leaders across...
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