Building Equity into Parks and Rec. – Minneapolis, MN

This content is available to members only. Members, please log in below to view! Not a member? Join us now to unlock this and other exceptional content.

Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board examines its neighborhood and regional parks and recreation centers with an equity lens.  The system also created a racial equity plan.

To determine priorities for park rehabilitation and capital investment, MPRB uses a 23-point scoring method that considers community characteristics and park characteristics. Under community characteristics, MPRB considers racially concentrated areas of poverty, neighborhood population density, the neighborhood’s youth population and crime statistics. Park characteristics looks at specific assets within each park, including park asset condition, age of park assets and proportion of value.

A similar process is used for evaluating regional parks. When looking at park assets, the MPRB considered park usage, past investments, Americans with Disabilities Act, natural resources and trail quality.

Each of MPRB recreation center receives baseline funding needed to operate. Other funding  is determined by community characteristics, such as youth and senior populations, vehicle access and median household income, and site-specific characteristics, such as operating hours, number of programs and gym sites.

MPRB’s Racial Equity Action Plan supports ongoing internal transformational change to ensure a continued high level of service to the evolving community. This plan has several goals, including engaging all communities, reflecting the community’s diversity in its workforce and providing programs and services that respond to and reflect the community’s needs.

For more information and copies of the matrix systems used, visit https://www.minneapolisparks.org/about_us/racial_equity/