​City Parks Alliance 2012 International Urban Parks Conference New York City, July 14-17 

In July, FHCP president, Laurie Goldman attended the City Parks Alliance 2012 International Urban Parks Conference in New York.  The action packed conference provided FHCP with fresh insights and new ideas from the wealth of information, networking opportunities and park tours.  From original thinking to sustainable innovations to strategic planning and budgets, the Re-Imagining Parks for the 21^st Century conference provided FHCP with a larger and deeper platform from which to build the Hollywood Central Park.  The significance of this Conference and its implications for the Hollywood Central Park cannot be overstated.  The Conference communicated up-to-the-minute facts and intelligence on all matters relating to parks.  As a result, FHCP’s base of “park” knowledge has expanded exponentially.

Conference highlights:

• 850 park advocates attended the conference representing 210 cities and 20 countries.

• The conference described best practices in transforming our urban communities in significant ways which included urban infrastructure, programming, advocacy and funding.
   
• Peter J. Madonia, CEO, Rockefeller Foundation described urban parks as key places for social and environmental transformation, great equalizers – people come together, free and available to everyone and are astounding laboratories.  Urban parks provide cities with greater resiliency.
   
• Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City in his July 16^th keynote address described his ambitious parks agenda for NYC:  all New Yorkers are a 10 minute walk to a park.  Urban parks make a neighborhood more inviting, help to grow economy, enhance property values and quality of live and attract new residents and businesses.   Urban parks are a powerful catalyst for community development and private investment.  Parks are an investment that pays back five times more than is spent to build the park.  Parks provide and promote health and fitness, sustainability, volunteerism and service and learning and sharing.

• Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior in his July 17^th keynote address explained that 80% of our population lives in urban communities and there is a tremendous nature deficiency among our citizens.  He put forward the idea that we must establish a new generation of urban parks. We must put parks where most of the people in America live because the great cities of the future, those with the vibrant and thriving economies will be the cities with the most parks.  The Secretary articulated two arguments to make when advocating for urban parks.  First, economics are the key.  Outdoor recreation and preservation have created 9 million jobs.  According to the Outdoor Industry Foundation, from 2011 to 2021, parks will create 14 million full time jobs, excluding tourism which is estimated to be another 6-7 million jobs.  Second, are the health benefits.  60% of Americans are obese and our children spend 4 minutes a day playing outside and 5-6 hours a day in front of TV’s and computers.  Increase in disease is directly related to indoor living – being outdoors is the direct solution.  Encouraged the attendees to move forward and create a great outdoor agenda for the 21^st century.
   
• Four panel discussions and more than 25 break-out session covered topics from parks and nature as a form of healing, to designing parks for revenue to the future of our cities: urban parks will make your city the most livable on earth to re-imagining poverty and isolation through parks.