Parks

Parks come in all sizes, and The Trust for Public Land’s expertise spans the range. From our founding, however, we have cultivated a unique focus on urban parks and green space. Today, TPL is the only national conservation group dedicated to protecting land in and near cities for people to enjoy as parks, playgrounds, and other public spaces.

Our Center for City Park Excellence’s (CCPE) extensive research into what makes parks successful has become an indispensable tool for planners, decision makers and park advocates nationwide. We produce in-depth reports on the economic benefits of parks, designed to assist local governments, organizations and citizen groups plan and advocate for park creation and funding.

We also study the connection between parks and health, generating data increasingly cited by health practitioners and others concerned for the national increase in obesity and diabetes, particularly in children. All of this work gives us exceptional insight into what kinds of parks work in what kinds of locations. We have documented the efforts of communities nationwide to create and fund parks and are also leading providers of research that helps communities identify park needs and create custom solutions.