Park planning and design will

• Openly communicate ideas and engage in community partnerships
• Build, design and promote dynamic linkeages and networks among parks, communities, natural systems.
• Seek joint/shared programming among park systems
• Broaden a visitors understanding of the ecosystem connections across parks
• Build parks and programs that enhance social, cultural, and natural expressions
• Create parks without borders
• Link systems and visitors
• Link parks - local to national.
• Design for interconnectivity.
• Enhance permeable boundaries.
• Broaden a visitor's understanding of resource connections and cultural links
• Design for managing park resources

This is important because

• Cognitive, physical and programmatic connections help create stronger park stewards.
• Fostering partnerships and build advocacy is critical for parks to survive.
• Parks should be catalysts for neighbor projects that promote healthy, interconnected landscape systems.
• Creates healthy park systems
• Heightens the quality and range of outdoor experience
• Reaches and connects new audiences
• Raises awareness of interconnections of physical, cultural, ecological and administrative systems

Core design considerations are

• Must consider people who do not visit parks and actively reachout.
• Design must look for opportunities to create gateways or portals among systems and parks.
• Plan and design creatively and resourcefully to achieve multiple goals.
• Seek design networks
• Communicate and promote human and nature relationships
• Strengthen physical connections (trails, transit) - experiental links
• Build intra-park relationships

Outstanding Examples

TBD