The City of Palm Springs is a unique desert community nestled at the base of the San Jacinto Mountains. Located on the ancestral lands of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, who continue to steward over 31,500 acres in and around Palm Springs, the city is home to 44,000 residents and attracts over 14 million tourists annually. To meet the evolving needs of both visitors and locals, Palm Springs has undergone significant transformations to enhance its walkability, bikeability, sustainability, and resiliency. Central to these efforts is the City’s parks and trails system, which plays an important role in fostering community and a sense of place for all.
Every decade, the Parks and Recreation Department updates its Parks & Recreation Master Plan – a strategic roadmap to address community values, future needs, and priorities for parks and recreation facilities, programs, and services. In this latest iteration, the City has partnered with Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI) to lead the project. Our team is supporting community engagement and conducting a comprehensive inventory and needs assessment for the park system. The project also harnesses the expertise of Pros Consulting, to manage demographic analysis, recreational trends, and financial forecasting, and ETC Institute, responsible for administering a city-wide survey on community needs.
This collaborative effort aims to create a vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable parks and recreation system that reflects the diverse needs of Palm Springs’ residents and visitors. Through an inclusive participatory planning process, our team has held multiple town halls, working groups, and community workshops with City staff, parents, students, seniors, and more to better understand their vision for the park system. This engagement will be paired with a community-wide survey, which is actively collecting data on where, how, and why people use the city’s parks, recreational programming, and facilities. The Master Plan will guide the City’s future investments and priorities over the next ten years, ensuring that Palm Springs remains a thriving community and premier tourist destination.
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