Where do Californians need more parks? That’s a crucial question for the California Department of Parks and Recreation’s Office of Grants and Local Services (OGALS), which administers grants to local parks agencies using federal and state funds. For its most recent strategic plan, the OGALS team took an innovative approach to ensure funds were distributed equitably.
The Park Access tool measures where Californians need more parks, and is driven by park data from CPAD and demographics from the American Community Survey. With CPAD’s inventory of 14,000 parks, OGALS could confidently assess how well California communities were being served by parks.
Agencies and organizations are increasingly sharing their geospatial data on easements, and concerns about privacy and trespassing are fading. Read GreenInfo Network’s 2018 memo on the history of CCED, the pros and cons of publishing easement GIS data, and our findings that there is still no evidence that trespassing or privacy violations result from sharing data. If you work for a land trust or other easement-holding agency, this report may be of particular interest to you.
Unprecedented in scope and scale, the Los Angeles Countywide Parks and Recreation Needs Assessment is a comprehensive study of the diverse parks and recreation facilities throughout LA County’s cities and unincorporated communities. The Parks Needs Assessment gathered data to determine the scope, scale, and location of park need in Los Angeles County. Since its completion in 2016, the Parks Needs Assessment has been invaluable in informing planning and decision-making regarding funding for parks and recreation.
