Parks are newly viewed as a vital puzzle piece in urban infrastructure

Parks are becoming part of a city's infrastructure to provide environmental, social and economic roles in addition to recreation.

The big picture: After decades of a lack of investment in parks, planners are reimagining how they can use spaces that were previously unattractive.

What's happening: Sharing the cost across utilities, health and housing programs, and economic development initiatives has made it easier to pay for parks with multiple funding sources.

The parks serve several purposes: Playgrounds for recreation, linear parks for pedestrian and cycling routes, reservoirs for stormwater management, or central squares for pop-up fairs and gatherings.

• In Houston, voters approved a $100 million bond effort to transform 3,000 acres of land along nine bayous into a vast network of parks and trails.
• In Philadelphia, The Oval in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art is a parking lot during the winter, but in warmer weather becomes a place for family activities. It's slated to be a permanent park.
• San Francisco installed a playground at the foot of City Hall to revive the neglected Civic Center Plaza.
• Providence, Rhode Island, turned a former brownfield site into a park with a bicycle pump track, trails and a parkour course. Its rain gardens reduce flooding.

What they're saying:

"Cities are doing this to remain economically competitive to attract families and young workers who eventually create their own families. But they're also making sure they're creating opportunities for existing residents who have weathered the storms of disinvestment."

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