Geodesigning Parks for People Breece Robertson, GIS Director and Bob Heuer, Associate GIS

Director Esri International User Conference, July 2014

Community Gardens: NYC

Hoback Basin, Jackson, Wyoming

Our services

SE

RV

ICE

S

Conservation Vision and Geodesign

Conservation Finance

Conservation Transactions

Park Design and Development

Research and Education

Endangered Species Habitat

What about Human Habitat?

Where we came from…

….and Now…

ParkScore Shows Need Charlotte, North Carolina

Our Goals

Ø To connect people to nature and provide healthy places to recreate

Ø To make sure everyone has a park within a 10-minute walk

Ø Get mayors and city government aware of the problem and committed to solving it

Ø Get communities involved in the park creation and design process

Ø To put our resources where our impact will be greatest

Rates park systems in the 60 largest U.S. cities (Also provides obesity and other demographic statistics)

®

ParkScore® : Two Primary Components

1) Summary Rating: 1-to-5 park benches

2) Website (ParkScore.TPL.org) Ø Especially useful to city leaders Ø A roadmap for park improvement

ParkScore® - A Standardized Approach for Assessing City Park Systems

Red and Orange = Areas in Need of Parks

Trust for Public Land Report: Charlotte among Worst in Nation for Parks Charlotte Business Journal

Group Ranks Baltimore’s Parks 15th in Nation Baltimore Sun

San Francisco Park System Ranked Best in the Nation Huffington Post

Denver’s Park System Bests Bigger Cities, Still Has Room to Improve Denver Post

Trust for Public Land says Dallas’s Parks System is OK, not yet “World Class” Dallas Morning News

Oklahoma City Low on Parks Ranking List, but Should Move Up Soon Oklahoma City Oklahoman

Media Coverage: Policymaker Engagement

• “The mayor wants 100 percent of residents to be able to walk to a park. We’d be the first city to do that.” ØGeorge Dusenbury, Parks Commissioner, Quoted in Atlanta Journal-Constitution

• “To deliver a world-class city where everyone matters, we’re committed to maintaining, improving and expanding our active park system.” Ø Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, Quoted in The Denver Post

• “We will work toward moving up to the Top 10 when The Trust for Public Land issues their next ParkScore.” ØGeorge Chapjian, Director, Long Beach Parks and Recreation, LB Press-Telegram

Target for Impact: Park Evaluator Geodesign Tool

Houston Potential “Optimized” New Parks – Points created using Esri’s “Location Allocation Model” 5 New Parks in these locations would serve approximately 33,988 new residents

10 New Parks in these locations would serve approximately 57,477 new residents

Health! Not All Parks Are Created Equal

How we design & develop urban sites is as important as where they are located

TPL FitnessZone

ParkScore® : Target Populations of Greatest Need

Using Geodesign to select “Sponge Park” sites

Finding sites where “sponge park” solutions to storm water runoff overlaps with areas of high park need as identified by TPL’s ParkScore® rating system

, Cleveland

Cleveland’s Five Points area: Euclid and St. Clair Avenues, Ivanhoe Rd. E. 140th – E. 152nd

• Tagged in Parkscore® as an area with ‘high need’ for accessible greenspace

• High potential to re-use land bank properties or industrial sites for “sponge parks”

Cleveland: Giddings Brook: Buckeye, Woodhill & Fairhill to Baldwin

• Demographics • High Parks Need • Type of Park/Use • High Runoff Area • Available Land • Accessibility • Soils profile • Hydrology/Drainage • Funding zones/

overlays

Checking Our Work: Project Impact Estimator

Seattle Olympic Sculpture Park (before)

Olympic Sculpture Park (after)

Millennium Park, Chicago (before)

Millennium Park (after)

NYC Highline

Post Office Square, Boston (Before)

Post Office Square, Boston (After)

P.S. 180 Playground, NYC (BEFORE)

P.S. 180 Playground, NYC (AFTER)

Geodesigning Parks for People Breece Robertson, GIS Director and Bob Heuer, Associate GIS

Director Esri International User Conference, July 2014