How-To's, Features & More

Articles on planning events, children's play, and drawing diverse groups to your park - as well as backgrounders on unusual programs.

Cities of Joy
Austin ParksFest: Variety is the Key
Who says country music and triathlons don't go together? This "new Austin tradition" proves otherwise.
Tool Library Makes It Easier to Volunteer in Parks
Using a grant from Home Depot, the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy has created an innovative program to help the public participate directly in park improvements.
Cultivating Your Garden
Lois Weisberg, Commissioner of Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs, discusses the importance of having something going on - having something to celebrate - in urban parks, streets, and other public spaces.
Celebrating 25 Years of Bringing the Arts to The People
The Providence Parks Department Office of Cultural Affairs is tiny - headed up by two people and mainly staffed by volunteers - but its role in revitalizing the city has been huge.
Lessons from 25 Years of OCA
Parks directors, artists, politicians, developers, and others reflect on the broad and lasting accomplishments of Providence's Office of Cultural Affairs.
Planning Events
More than a dozen different guides covering all the ins and outs of events, from New York City's Partnership for Parks. Some of the information is thus New York-specific, but in general, these tipsheets tell you everything you need to know.
Cooking With Fire In Public Space
Four excerpts from Jutta Mason's book on how campfires and a communcal bake-oven dramatically changed a Toronto park.
What Role Can Programming Play in Creating Safer Parks?
Diverse activities and groups of users go a long way toward enhancing perceptions of security in a park. From Toronto Parks & Recreation's Planning, Designing and Maintaining Safer Parks.
Organizing and Programming Across Cultural Boundaries
Twenty strategies used by Friends of Meridian Hill, a parks group in a diverse Washington D.C. neighborhood. Submitted by the Friends' President, Steve Coleman.
NRPA's Urban Youth Initiative
Unique programs that employ both traditional activities and technological advances to capture the imaginations of young people.
Creating Playspaces by and for Children
Children can and should participate in creating and transforming their play spaces; a presentation by Roger Hart, Children's Environments Research Group.
Youth Programs Database
A growing database of success stories on youth-at-risk programs, from Canada's Leisure Information Network. Full reviews of partnerships involved, nature of the program, etc.
Urban Conservation Corps
New York City's Parks Council uses Americorps volunteers in parks.
Public-Private Partnership Increases and Diversifies Use
A public-private partnership reversed a decade of neglect in Hartford's central park through successful capital projects, diverse programs and effective fundraising.
WaterFire Art Installation Lights Up Downtown Providence
The story behind an award-winning fire-and-music installation by artist Barnaby Evans, which has had an impressive cultural and economic impact on downtown Providence.
Inappropriate Activities
Discourage "undesirable" situations in your park by evaluating and changing the physical conditions that support those situations. From Toronto Parks & Recreation's Planning, Designing and Maintaining Safer Parks
Jack-O-Launch
In the Denver Urban Gardens Pumpkin Launching Competition, 15 teams build catapult devises to fling pumpkins. Learn about this unusual event and organization.
Fundays In Houston's Parks
Parks and Recreation Director William Smith tells about the development of "Funday" events to draw kids and families to neighborhood parks throughout Houston.
Teen Centers
A study of teen centers across the United States and Canada by Dr. Peter Witt of Texas A&M University.
The Manhattan New Music Project's Site Specific Music Program
An ambitious, borough-wide series of live outdoor performances (scroll down the left side of the page for the "Site Specific Program" links).
Parks as Centers of Community Activity
Holiday Lights Cast Spotlight on Houston's Hermann Park
Houston's Holiday Lights in Hermann Park festival is a primer in how to use the winter season to your advantage.
Barton Springs and Creek: A Case Study
A case study about the successful efforts of a coalition of groups to preserve the "Soul of Austin" - Barton Springs - and its watershed.