June 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 58

R O U N D TA B L E

sign spaces so that every one of our
public spaces is a high-performance
one, " he says.
Rather than just concentrating
on iconic parks like Central Park in
New York City or Millennium Park
in Chicago, cities should aim to have
every part of the public realm generate the kinds of benefits that these
iconic parks do.

After providing presentations covering the role parks and recreation plays in economic
development, health and wellness, green infrastructure and other urban issues, park and
planning directors fielded questions from attendees related to their own urban challenges.

how NRPA is giving greater attention to urban parks and said NRPA's
hope is that the roundtable is not an
end in itself, but merely a jumping-off
point for these diverse stakeholders
to come together on future initiatives
and meeting challenges. " That's how
we're going to change cities, " she said.
Specifically, big cities and urban
metropolitan areas are grappling
with a number of common challenges, such as growth and economic
development, ensuring the health
of urban populations, and replacing worn-out or outmoded infrastructure for stormwater with more
environmentally responsible - and
inexpensive - alternatives. More
effective and creative use of public
spaces can be an answer to meeting
these challenges.
The concept of an all-encompassing public realm is one city planners
have begun to embrace enthusiastically, yet their parks counterparts
have been slower to do so. David
Barth, a principal at the large design
firm AECOM and keynote speaker
for the opening session on how parks
are critical to economic development

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Parks & Recreation

and revitalization, said this idea of
looking at " the public realm " is particularly key as parks officials take
on more responsibility for lands and
public spaces and use public lands in
nontraditional ways. Parks leaders
must not think of these public spaces
in isolation, but need to look at parks
in the context of how they function in
achieving the goals of general plans
and city and county master plans.

Parks and Economic Development
From an economic development
perspective, the Great Recession left
many of America's cities struggling,
and public spaces can be part of revival efforts, especially for what are
now called " legacy cities. " In Kissimmee, Florida, for example, which
has a population of about 64,000, a
$35 million renovation of a major
waterfront park was undertaken
specifically as an economic development initiative. Barth says people
asked Mayor Jim Swan why, in the
middle of a recession, the city would
spend substantial funds on a parks
project. " The mayor said, 'Because
we're in a recession.'
" Here's a small community that
that saw the economic possibility

People asked [Kissimmee, Florida,] Mayor Jim Swan
why, in the middle of a recession, the city would
spend substantial funds on a parks project. " The
mayor said, 'Because we're in a recession.' "
Another critical factor for parks to
contribute to the success of cities is to
have only the highest expectations for
public spaces, based around a set of
25 criteria Barth has developed that
fall into the categories of social, environmental and economic benefits.
" We must consciously, purposely de-

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of redeveloping a park, " Barth says.
The result has been that people find
the park and then they find downtown. In essence, both entities are
bigger draws, which contributes to
Kissimmee as a whole.
James Shelby, Atlanta's commissioner of planning and community
June 2014 - Parks & Recreation

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