Success Story
Establishment of the Urban Parks Institute
(1995)
Through the Urban Parks Institute, PPS collected a unique library of park resources and increased awareness of the significant role parks play in community revitalization.
An important part of PPS's work thirty years ago was focused on parks. We sought to broaden the perception that parks are important community places and not just facilities for recreation and active sports. In 1995, through a grant from the Wallace Readers Digest Fund, PPS established the Urban Parks Institute, which has developed a major resource center on urban parks and organized 12 regional and international conferences to discuss pressing issues involving urban parks. "Park Talk," a feature of the PPS newsletter, covers new developments and emerging trends in the field. A one-of-a-kind library on park design and management issues was created to help park professionals in cities all over the world learn from the experience and accomplishments of their far-flung colleagues. Available on PPS's Urban Parks Online website, this research center includes examples of successful strategies from dozens of expert practitioners in the field of urban parks.
Workshop participants at a conference organized by the Urban Parks Institute discuss the intricacies of fundraising for parks. |
