With more than 30 parks scattered around a city of over 75,000 people, the Kalamazoo Parks Department knew its five-year recreation plan update process would not be a simple capital improvements plan update. It needed to engage with residents, capitalize on the recently adopted Imagine Kalamazoo Master Plan, and ensure quality recreational amenities in all neighborhoods.

Working with McKenna and our partners at OCBA, the Parks Department divided the City into sub‑regions to make it easier to determine the level of parks service in each neighborhood. We then developed a metric to determine whether park service was adequate—“All residents should be no more than a 10-minute walk from a park worth walking 10 minutes to get to.”

With that goal in mind, the project team initiated a comprehensive public engagement program, including holding summer ‘pop-up’ events in the parks. Based on the community feedback, we developed recommendations for improvements to every park in the City, with most parks planned for improvements in under five years and the rest upgraded in under ten years.

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