What Makes a Great Park Today?

As we celebrate Park and Recreation Month, let’s appreciate that parks remain some of our communities’ most beloved public spaces. From neighborhood playgrounds and community parks to waterfronts and trail networks, parks provide opportunities for play, connection, and relaxation. But the definition of a “great park” has evolved over time. While parks have always served as places for public recreation, today’s communities expect more. They want parks that are accessible, inclusive, reflective of local identity, environmentally resilient, and shaped by the people who use them. So, what makes a great park today?

A Legacy Rooted in Public Good

The concept of public parks as essential community infrastructure can be traced to landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, whose work helped shape the American parks movement in the 19^th century. Olmsted believed parks should provide all residents – regardless of background – with a respite from industrialization through access to nature, recreation, and public gathering space. His designs emphasized health, social interaction, scenic vistas, and the idea that public spaces could improve the quality of life for entire communities. He also recognized that the thoughtful arrangement of landforms, trees, pathways, and open spaces could shape how people experience and connect with a place – an approach that continues to influence landscape architecture today.  While the parks of today may look different than those of Olmsted’s era, many of the same principles remain relevant. Today’s parks build on that foundation while responding to the changing needs of modern communities.

Parks are More than Recreational Amenities

One of the strongest themes in modern park planning is placemaking – the idea that public spaces should strengthen the connection between people and place. Placemaking is a collaborative process that helps communities shape public spaces to maximize shared value and create places people want to gather. Great parks are not viewed solely as open spaces or collections of amenities. Instead, they function as community destinations that:

• Encourage social interaction
• Welcome and accommodate all users
• Support community events and programming
• Reflect local culture and identity
• Create a sense of belonging
• Strengthen connections between neighborhoods

In other words, successful parks transform spaces into places. Today’s parks are also expected to do more than support recreation. They help manage stormwater, expand tree canopy, improve ecological health, provide habitat for wildlife, and create more comfortable outdoor environments through shade, planting, and thoughtful landscape design. Great parks are both community assets and resilient public spaces that provide lasting environmental, social, and economic value.

Listening Before Designing

The best park projects begin by asking a simple question: What does the community want?

Community engagement has become one of the most important components of successful park planning. Effective placemaking depends on involving residents early and throughout the visioning and design process. Meaningful engagement can include public workshops and open houses, surveys and online engagement tools, stakeholder meetings, on-site pop-ups, and demonstration projects that allow residents to experience potential improvements before they are built. Equally important is reaching people who may not typically participate in planning processes. Youth, seniors, and other underrepresented voices often provide valuable insight into how parks are actually used and what improvements are most needed.

When residents help shape a park’s vision, they are more likely to use, support, and take pride in the final result. Community input also provides valuable insight into how a park should function, look, and feel, helping designers create spaces that reflect the community’s priorities while responding to the site’s unique opportunities and constraints.

Designing for Everyone

Today’s parks must serve a diverse range of users and activities. Modern park planning increasingly emphasizes universal accessibility, inclusive play opportunities, multi-generational recreation, flexible gathering spaces, safe pedestrian circulation, and connections to trails and surrounding neighborhoods.

Thoughtful planning, landscape architecture, and engineering collectively bring these elements together into a cohesive experience. The arrangement of pathways, gathering spaces, seating, shade trees, planting areas, lighting, and site amenities influences how people move through and enjoy a park. Great parks balance active recreation with opportunities for quiet reflection, exploration, and connection with nature while creating spaces that feel intuitive, comfortable, and welcoming.

Great parks recognize that different people use public spaces in different ways. The most successful designs create opportunities for active recreation, passive enjoyment, social interaction, and community events within the same space. They also create a strong sense of place by responding to the site’s natural features, surrounding context, and community character rather than relying on one-size-fits-all solutions. The most memorable parks appeal to the senses through seasonal color, shade, views, textures, and thoughtfully composed landscapes that invite people to slow down, explore, and return throughout the year.

Great Parks are Designed and Built over Time

Meaningful change in a park doesn’t always require a massive investment upfront. Small-scale improvements can create immediate impact and build momentum for future projects. Communities often begin with beautification efforts, seating and gathering areas, trail improvements, public art, programming and events, and small accessibility upgrades. Over time, these investments can work together to evolve into cohesive, larger-scale park improvements.

Equally important is designing improvements that are durable, maintainable, and adaptable. Parks should continue serving their communities for decades, allowing future enhancements to build upon a strong foundation while responding to changing recreational needs and community priorities.

Understanding the value of great public parks, many government agencies and not-for-profit organizations offer technical and funding support for park planning, design, and construction. The NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) offers some of the most popular park funding programs in the State: the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), the Municipal Parks and Recreation (MPR) Grant Program, the NY PLAYS Initiative, the NY SWIMS Initiative, and the Recreational Trails Program (RTP). Resources are available to bring your community’s park vision to life!

This Park and Recreation Month, we celebrate the parks that enrich our communities today – and the planning, partnerships, and investment that will help shape the great parks of tomorrow.

Creating parks requires thoughtful planning, meaningful community engagement, and a clear vision for the future. At Barton & Loguidice, we partner with municipalities, counties, and community organizations to help bring that vision to life. From park master planning and community visioning to landscape architecture, recreation facility design, grant funding assistance, and construction administration, our team works with clients through every stage of the process. For more information regarding our services in this area, contact Nicole Cleary or Grace DeSantis.