Advanced field building and narrative change to elevate park and land use equity.

Since the inception of our People, Parks, and Power (P3) initiative, we have emphasized field building and narrative change. PI has elevated the importance of parks as a public health issue, and the call for park equity and land justice has continued to grow among historically marginalized communities, conservation groups, funders, and public agencies. We have uplifted the connections between green space inequity and other community priorities, such as climate resilience, environmental justice, food security, Indigenous sovereignty, housing affordability, and racial justice. We had the opportunity to share the importance of addressing climate and environmental justice through park equity and power-building with colleagues at the American Public Health Association 2023 annual meeting in Atlanta and in an Op-Ed in Nonprofit Quarterly. This work has helped to elevate the relationship between green space equity, health, and climate resilience, and move community power-building out of the fringes and into the center of these efforts.

We have also worked to broaden the parks and green space field so that it embraces and represents the visions and concerns of communities that have suffered the impacts of green space inequities for generations. We were able to share perspectives from the frontlines through a series of webinars, in partnership with City Parks Alliance, engaging government and public agencies. Additionally, with support from academics in the field, we developed a community-centered agenda to inform future research on advancing park and green space equity. Implementation of this research agenda will help ensure community perspectives are foundational to future park and green space equity research.

Funders: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

Image by Grace Cotangco.