How This Initiative Took Shape

Part I: The History of Park Planning and Design, held in Charlottesville, VA (May 19-22, 2008), drew over 275 people from the public and private sector in the fields of history, landscape architecture, architecture, historic preservation and related fields participating. The conference examined lessons learned from previous park planning and design.

Part II of the conference, The Present and Future of Park Planning and Design, was held at the new Cavallo Point Lodge, at Golden Gate in San Francisco (December 9-12, 2008). Part II participants represented the municipal, state, and national park design and planning communities and drew 150 attendees who not only demonstrated an intense level of engagement but also expressed a clear message that this effort needs to proceed to the next level. Part II provided a lively and interactive forum for discussing the present and future of park planning and design. Moreover, it urged everyone to debate the role of professionals, civic leaders, teachers, and managers in creating and sustaining vital, high quality public parks in the 21st century. The last day of this conference was structured by a smaller invited "Design Congress," who synthesized the rich and varied thinking from the previous three days and proposed what we know as the first draft of six fundamental principles of park planning and design for the 21st century.

These six principles were the culmination of the two-part conference in 2008 that explored the past, present, and future of park planning and design:

Park Planning and Design Will Demonstrate:

Reverence for Place

Engagement of All

Sustainability

Expansion Beyond Traditional Boundaries

Informed Decision Making

Integrated Research, Planning, Design and Review Process

Based on the feedback we received, we have recently refined the six draft principles from 2008, and are ready to unveil the revised principles online!! 

This refinement comes after the first inaugural Designing the Parks Awards Program, which was in 2010, and the completion of the Parks for the People Student Competition, which was in August, 2012. The Designing the Parks Awards Program was sponsored by the National Park Service's Denver Service Center in partnership with Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. The first award cycle accomplished two important things: 1) recognized outstanding examples of park design that embody the design principles, and 2) provided illustrations for the Designing the Parks report. The Parks for the People Awards Program, a partnership between the National Park Service and the Van Alen Institute, chose seven national parks to act as studios for this design initiative. Student-faculty teams from eight universities were challenged to reimagine what America's national parks should look like in the 21st century.

The newly refined principles are a result of what we learned from these two awards programs. We were so inspired by the winners in the Desinging the Parks awards and were very impressed with the student proposals from the Parks for the People Competition! Please take a look at the refined principles below. Did we capture all the key concepts? If you have any suggestions or comments, please let us know through this website or our facebook page.

Park Planning and Design Principles:

Respect Place

Engage All

Model Sustainability

Design Beyond Boundaries

Communicate Clearly