Let's Talk Parks

MAY 6, 2021

The value of local parks has never been higher. Trails, open spaces, and parks are safe spaces to practice social distancing while still honoring our mental and physical health. In this article, I want to talk about how technology CAN work for parks and recreation professionals, even though the learning curve may seem challenging.

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Open Space Radio: Parks and Recreation Trends

JUNE 30, 2020

Today’s episode of Open Space Radio is all about what park and recreation professionals have been doing to creatively and safely engage their communities in the past few months and their plans for the summer ahead.

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Open Space Radio: Parks and Recreation Trends

MAY 20, 2019

This month, NRPA has been tackling all things related to marketing and communications. Our May issue of Parks & Recreation magazine was filled with articles and tips about branding your park and recreation agency , how to master Facebook ads , and the importance of raising awareness about the great work you do.

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Let's Talk Parks

AUGUST 22, 2021

Employees were scattered across town – pools, camps, parks, and recreation centers many miles away- and I didn’t want to send them another email that gets buried in their inbox. While I’m a certified park nerd (trademark pending), I wouldn’t recommend learning code for developing your intranet. We’ll get to that in a minute.

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Rebuilding Place in Urban Space

MAY 22, 2023

I am on the board of an independent park in Salt Lake City, well not that independent, as it is jointly owned by the city and county, but the land trust format means that the park has an opportunity for citizen oversight and input that is greater than the typical park. The next level is a "Friends of the Park" organization.

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Open Space Radio: Parks and Recreation Trends

SEPTEMBER 18, 2018

Lucky for us, Jessica Cannaday, CPRP, Marketing and Communications Manager with Oak Brook Park District, sent in an idea to cover universal recreation. Universal recreation is the philosophy driving Oak Brook Park District – the idea that park and recreation facilities and programs should be open and welcome to all.

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Open Space Radio: Parks and Recreation Trends

JUNE 25, 2020

The July issue of Parks & Recreation magazine is out now, and on today’s bonus episode of Open Space Radio we’re diving deeper into the cover story, “ Celebrating YOU This July.” Park and Recreation Month is a favorite for both of us, as Cort and I have both had the pleasure of managing the campaign in previous years.

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Open Space Radio: Parks and Recreation Trends

JULY 11, 2023

It is officially Park and Recreation Month, and it already has been so exciting to see how park and recreation agencies and communities across the country have been celebrating. On today’s episode, I wanted to highlight one of the wonderful submissions from our annual Park and Recreation Month Cover Contest.

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Open Space Radio: Parks and Recreation Trends

AUGUST 20, 2024

On today’s episode of Open Space Radio, we’re excited to chat with someone very influential in the outdoor recreation industry who is doing a ton of good work to raise awareness about protecting our environment. He also currently serves as the equity officer at East Bay Regional Park District in Oakland, California. Share it with us !

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Open Space Radio: Parks and Recreation Trends

APRIL 20, 2021

The program, Climate for Health, was founded by ecoAmerica and NRPA has partnered with them to bring the initiative to park and recreation professionals. How NRPA is committed to ensuring that park and recreation professionals are contributing to the overall resilience of their communities.

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Open Space Radio: Parks and Recreation Trends

APRIL 27, 2023

The May issue of Parks & Recreation magazine is out now, and on today’s bonus episode of Open Space Radio, we’re diving deeper into the feature article, “Building a Culture of Safety for Aquatic Facilities,” by Stephanie Shook, CPRP, the senior product manager of aquatics and instructors for the American Red Cross.

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Rebuilding Place in Urban Space

APRIL 27, 2023

The comment thread on the NPS post (" National Park Service as operator of local parks in DC ") a couple back reminded me I meant to write about "Loch Raven Reservoir" because it was written about in a recent Baltimore Sun column, " At Baltimore's Loch Raven Reservoir, a good walk spoiled." million customers.” million customers.”

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Open Space Radio: Parks and Recreation Trends

FEBRUARY 23, 2023

Tune in to the full conversation below to learn more about Cole’s journey and why serving as a lifeguard was so beneficial in preparing him for his future career. Related: · Instagram video highlighting Cole's story (produced by Craig!) · Cosumnes CSD website

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Open Space Radio: Parks and Recreation Trends

SEPTEMBER 10, 2019

Digital marketing can be a useful tool for park and recreation agencies that want to promote their programs, special events and other offerings to a broader audience. You’re wondering how the all-knowing internet knows you need this thing — but it does. And you do. That’s digital marketing.

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Open Space Radio: Parks and Recreation Trends

APRIL 4, 2023

April is Earth Month, and all month long, NRPA is celebrating the ways that parks and recreation is a climate hero. I encourage you to check out some of the top ways that park and recreation professionals are creating healthier, more sustainable communities and tackling the world’s toughest climate issues.

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Rebuilding Place in Urban Space

MARCH 26, 2024

For example the Salt Lake City park master plan, ReImagine Nature , does discuss programming and activation. Still, a majority of parks master plans don't address these items in a systematic enough way. The park allows all community members to enjoy the space simultaneously. Not so much public art. Seasonality.

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Open Space Radio: Parks and Recreation Trends

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

Tune in to the full episode below as Elvis and Kyle discuss NRPA’s public policy and advocacy team’s role in the organization and how they can assist in your agency’s advocacy efforts, as well as: Why park and recreation professionals in many states should pay extra close attention to their ballots today. Today is Election Day!

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Open Space Radio: Parks and Recreation Trends

AUGUST 15, 2017

According to economists, there are several reason rural residents aren’t moving such as cost of housing, fear of losing sense of community and support, state-level job licensing and cultural differences. and, specifically, for parks and recreation.

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zencity

FEBRUARY 23, 2023

If a new park has been built and no one knows about it, does the park exist? We don’t mean to get too philosophical here; the answer is obviously yes, the park exists. One of the most common challenges shared with us by our local government partners is around communication efforts.

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Open Space Radio: Parks and Recreation Trends

APRIL 12, 2022

On today’s episode, I’m excited talk about something that plays a critical role in building environmental resilience, cooling our neighborhoods, and improving the health of our communities: trees. He also is directly involved in the organization’s programmatic work, such as forest-climate science, policy development and communication.

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Open Space Radio: Parks and Recreation Trends

OCTOBER 10, 2023

Tune in to our full conversation below to learn some simple sustainability tips and how to effectively communicate sustainability efforts with your community. If you follow NRPA on social media, you likely already know Christina High. We have been very excited about this episode for a while now, and hope you enjoy it.

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GovLoop

DECEMBER 6, 2022

The underused Harbor Park area along the Connecticut River has great potential for residential, commercial and recreational use. That created a problem: How could the city design a community space without the input of the community? Rethink to Boost Participation. Virtual Tools Expand Outreach. “We

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Open Space Radio: Parks and Recreation Trends

MAY 18, 2021

Roxanne Sutton, NRPA Director of Communications and the creative mind behind launching Open Space Radio, will be moving on and pursuing some really cool new adventures soon — but this, unfortunately, means she will no longer be co-hosting the podcast. What words of advice she has for park and recreation professionals.

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Rebuilding Place in Urban Space

OCTOBER 12, 2022

Casey Anderson, chair of the Montgomery County Planning Board, in Forest Grove Park in Silver Spring in 2018. Although we talked shop from time to time over the years--never ex parte communication though. has 421 parks. We thank the commissioners for their service to our county.” We became friends, not just acquaintances.

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GovLoop

MAY 12, 2023

The underused Harbor Park area along the Connecticut River has great potential for residential, commercial and recreational use. That created a problem: How could the city design a community space without the input of the community? Digital platforms need to work with the public’s lives to be inclusive.

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Rebuilding Place in Urban Space

DECEMBER 5, 2023

The second cohort of the county's Community Planning Lab wrapped up last month after the class spent weeks learning about urban development and design, planning and zoning, public engagement, affordable housing, transportation, land use and more. Photo: David Jackson, Park Record. Citizen engaged planning practice.

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Rebuilding Place in Urban Space

APRIL 19, 2023

I think that parks, libraries, sustainable mobility programs, and other civic assets are potential touchpoints for civic engagement and participation. But parks agencies and libraries aren't set up to do this purposively. And they don't acknowledge civic engagement as an important element of parks practice in their master plans.

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Center for Community Progress

SEPTEMBER 1, 2022

This is an excerpt of Chapter 11 of Tackling Vacancy and Abandonment: Strategies and Impacts After the Great Recession, jointly produced by the Center for Community Progress, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. When left unmaintained, vacant lots become liabilities for communities.

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Rebuilding Place in Urban Space

AUGUST 9, 2022

The answer is doubling down on the value of place in terms of the special amenities that tend to distinguish center cities from the suburbs--walkability, transit, neighborhoods, commercial districts, nightlife, museums and other cultural assets, great public spaces and parks, etc. historic architecture 2. Photo: Green Minneapolis.

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Rebuilding Place in Urban Space

APRIL 22, 2024

Public facing civic assets--libraries, parks, schools, sustainable mobility programs like walking, biking, and transit, Safe Routes to School, public markets, farmers markets, etc. It's an interesting book.

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Super Library Marketing

JANUARY 21, 2025

Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library At the Library Marketing and Communications Conference this past November, I watched as Jody Lazar , Director of Community Engagement at Winter Park Library in Florida made half a dozen mouths drop to the floor.

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Rebuilding Place in Urban Space

FEBRUARY 19, 2025

Mobility shed/transit shed: This builds off Robert Cervero's concept of the commutershed, which I call the transit shed, or the area served by rail transit in those communities with fixed rail transit. I have more than 1,000 entries on this topic. By focusing on key concepts that "I've developed" here's a list.

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Rebuilding Place in Urban Space

FEBRUARY 17, 2025

The basic point was to write about best practice in ways that could be applied to other settings and how best to do it especially in DC, For example, I argued with this one guy in Columbia Heights who kept saying his community is unique. I said all communities are unique, but few are exceptional in that they can't be categorized and compared.

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