Urban Parks in the United States

Community Space

Successful urban and regional parks create identity for the communities around them—as evidenced by the many neighborhoods that share the name of the park at their core, like the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago.
From the late 1800s through today, parks have been a point of pride for a city. Emerging towns in frontier America would boast of their parks in promotional materials designed to lure investors and settlers from the East. The wide array of early postcards depicting local parks is additional evidence of communities' pride in them.
Urban parks are typically open, public places that can hold many people at once. These features have led them to be put to use as formal and informal gathering spaces, for civic or community events, and for planned or spontaneous events. Parks have even been put to unexpected dramatic use in times of crisis as as a place for people to gather and for authorities to provide services to those in need.
Much as early promoters touted many social and economic benefits of parks, advocates today cite impacts like the following:
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Parks attract non-resident visitors who put new dollars into local economies.
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Proximity to parks and open space enhances the value of residential properties and produces increased tax revenues for communities.
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Open space captures precipitation, reduces stormwater management costs, and protects underground water sources that often provide drinking water.
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Trees and shrubs reduce air pollution control costs.
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<li>Parks provide habitat for wildlife.</li>
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Band Concert, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Ill.

Parks at the Heart of Their Communities

Frederick Law Olmsted and Central Park

Types of Parks

Park Design

Park Features and Facilities

Speaker at Gateway Park, Minneapolis, Minnesota

As publicly-owned land, parks have long been used to stage a wide variety of civic events and activities. 
They provide a neutral space for community members to come together for parades, political rallies, and protest marches; for Fourth of July and Memorial Day celebrations; to host visiting dignitaries; and for other elements of a city or region's public life.
Features such as bandstands or amphitheaters can be used for rallies or speeches, boulevards or parkways provide excellent routes for parades, monuments can be a focal point for a memorial or ceremony, and gardens provide lovely backdrops for important photo opportunities. Many parks were designed with an expansive meadow or open space specifically to accommodate large groups of people at such events.

Parade near the Lugo House and around the Plaza of Los Angeles, ca. 1927

World War I memorial in Loring Park, Minneapolis, Minnesota

[African American schoolgirl christening one of the jeeps in the War Bond Rally in Washington Park on June 4, Chicago, Illinois.]

Urban Parks in the United States

Civic Space

Civic Space