‍

The Los Angeles Parks Needs Assessment, commissioned by the City of Los Angeles and compiled by landscape design company OLIN with input from multiple urban planners, community groups and thousands of residents, was posted online on Tuesday September 2nd. The PNA explains the long history of LA Rec and Parks, and lays out strategies to improve the quality and experiences of the LA Park system.

‍

Key findings of the Parks Needs Assessment include:

• Fewer than half of survey respondents said there are enough parks and rec centers within walking distance of their homes
• Fewer than 40% said parks are in either excellent or good condition
• L.A. invests less per capita in parks ($92 annually) than many other large cities, including Chicago ($182), Dallas ($232), Washington, D.C. ($407) and San Francisco ($583)
• The department’s maintenance and operations budget has been stagnant for years and its staff has been shrinking, with more trouble on the horizon as temporary funding sources dry up in the next few years
• Nearly two-thirds of survey respondents would support a bond, tax or levy for additional funding

‍

To calculate how to make better use of existing resources, the PNA used an approach developed in part by UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. The PerSquareMile tool broke the city into tiny grids and identified two dozen park sites where improved facilities would affect the largest number of people, and three dozen sites where conversion of schools and other public spaces into parks would serve hundreds of thousands of people.

‍

Residents have 45 days to weigh in online or at community meetings, to read an online copy of the Parks Needs Assessment and all the work that has gone into this assessment, go to needs.parks.lacity.gov.