We are working with the Raleigh Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources Department on a plan update to their 2014 Parks System Plan. This update will confirm what the 2014 System Plan has accomplished already, identify how Raleigh has changed over the past decade, and create ways to meet future park needs.
The Parks Plan Update will guide equitable investments for the City’s parks, nature preserves, greenways, facilities, and programs. Over a 12-month planning process, our team will complete three major engagement milestones, which will include pop-up events, community-wide workshops, online updates, and mini-surveys. This engagement is critical to the plan update, and will allow us to understand what nearby residents value about Raleigh’s parks and programs and what a future vision for the parks system could look like.
The first phase of the Parks Plan update focuses on conversations with park stewards, partners, residents, and visitors to understand what the Raleigh community needs and values most in Raleigh Parks. In the second phase, our team is working with the Raleigh Leadership team to understand what has been accomplished since the 2014 Parks System Plan was adopted, and what changes could happen to the plan framework to make it a successful roadmap for the future. Based on our learnings from Phase 1 about the Raleigh community’s needs and values – we will establish a shared vision and guiding principles for how Raleigh’s park system, recreation programs, and related policies should evolve over the next ten years and beyond. In the third phase, we will work together with community members and city leaders to set priorities and define specific initiatives that will move us toward our shared vision for the future. The resulting plan will serve as a roadmap for creating a more equitable, inclusive, and interconnected park system.
We are collaborating with a range of project partners, each of which lending a technical and creative lens to the plan update. Our team includes McAdams Company, who we are working closely with throughout our community engagement process, BerryDunn, who is working on an update to Raleigh’s User Fee Policy and Recreation Programming plan, and Toole Design Group, who is serving in an advisory role to help guide the future of Raleigh’s greenway network and overall connectivity.
Select Awards
APA North Carolina Chapter, Marvin Collins Award for Specialized Planning. 2025
