City Parks Forum Briefing Papers

The City Parks Forum is dedicated to providing information on how healthy parks are fundamental to many aspects of community prosperity. These include improving economic health and vitality, reducing crime, improving public physical and mental health, creating a strong sense of community, supporting overall quality of life ... the list is quite long. All these issues are important to communities across the country, and to those both in and outside the parks profession.

While these benefits are understood broadly, they have not been compiled and presented in a way that explicitly shows these relationships. The City Parks Forum has produced a series of briefing papers on "How Cities Use Parks For ..." to meet this specific need. Our hope is that this series helps to support mayors, their parks advisors, private sector parks advocates, planners, and others in promoting parks and ensuring an urban parks legacy across the country.

How Cities Use Parks for ... Community Revitalization by Peter Harnik

How Cities Use Parks for ... Community Engagement by Mark Francis

How Cities Use Parks for ... Economic Development by Megan Lewis, AICP

How Cities Use Parks to ... Create Safer Neighborhoods by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Human-Environment Research Laboratory

How Cities Use Parks for ... Green Infrastructure by Mark Benedict and Edward T. McMahon

How Cities Use Parks to ... Help Children Learn by Robin Moore

How Cities Use Parks to ... Improve Public Health by Howard Frumkin, M.D., and Mary E. Eysenbach

How Cities Use Parks for ... Arts and Cultural Programs by David Rivel

How Cities Use Parks to ... Promote Tourism by John L. Crompton

How Cities Use Parks for ... Smart Growth by Kathy Blaha

How Cities Use Parks for ... Climate Change Management by Joseph A. MacDonald, AICP