Healthy Communities

Grassroots Community Residents Lead the Change for a Safer and Accessible Park

Successful parks are markers of healthy communities; children play, families spend time together, people of all ages exercise and relax, and the environment adds to the beauty, security, and economic value of the neighborhood. On the other hand, neglected, poorly maintained, or badly designed parks have the opposite effect: families and young children stay away, illicit activities proliferate, and the property becomes a threatening or discouraging eyesore.

Paper to Pavement: Putting Safe Routes to Parks Plans into Action

Colorful crosswalks. Temporary bike lanes. Playful paths. Creating new green space. These are just a few ways to improve local park access. We just wrapped up work with our first cohort of communities in the Safe Routes to Parks Activating Communities program, which provides individualized consultation, group trainings, and grant funding to nonprofits to improve safe, equitable park access in their communities.