Residents and property owners benefit greatly from a good urban park system, in the form of increased property values and quality of life.  The private sector has an important role to play in park development and maintenance, from planning through financing and maintenance.  Avenues of participation may be as informal as “friends” groups and park clean-ups, or as formal as conservancies and land trusts; they may be voluntary (organization membership) or compulsory (betterments.)  

The most successful new parks and rehabilitations are those where sufficient thought has been given to four key principles:

• Visioning and organization
• Design and permitting
• Construction and supervision
• Stewardship and programming

Without these efforts, the result will be poorly conceived designs, little community buy-in, and no long term commitments to maintenance or programs on the part of neighborhoods or government agencies.   Projects will begin to degrade the day the ribbon is cut and will fail to reach and benefit a broader audience.  This is not a good use of limited private or public dollar.  

Park management and maintenance is a more complicated, onerous, and expensive task than restoring parks in the long run. In special cases, maintenance endowments should be considered to support private maintenance crews with specialized skills.

Public-private partnerships on park development and maintenance have demonstrated great success in Metro Boston and elsewhere.  Innovative financing tools that benefit from and reinforce real estate development trends have been a key tool for urban park development for many years (the development of Boston’s Franklin Park and the Emerald Necklace were funded through betterments and that era’s equivalent of District Improvement Financing.)  Special linkage fee structures can be used to support park development in those areas currently underserved by open space.  

The Department of Conservation and Recreation Partnerships Matching Funds Program in the Office of External Affairs and Partnerships is creating new models of stewardships to protect and sustain the natural, cultural, historical, and recreational public resources of the Commonwealth for future generations.  Through the provision of a dollar-for-dollar match for private, non-state funding, partners can contribute to capital projects needed to maintain the Commonwealth's parks system.  Contributing to organizational capacity building by enabling private partners to work closely with DCR, the Partnerships Matching Funds Program strengthens working relationships between DCR and its Friends groups, civic organizations, institutions businesses and individuals.

Municipalities should also seek opportunities to direct youth jobs programs to service in parks and playgrounds or training programs focused on horticulture and open space.  The benefits of youth jobs programs extend beyond the work experience and the physical improvements to open space; such programs help toeducate youth, create awareness of parks issues, and build an open space constituency.

18.a    Property owners and residents should create and support conservancies and friends of parks groups

18.b    MAPC, advocacy organizations, and municipalities should develop a model for using linkage or impact fees to support park development in underserved areas

18.c    MAPC, advocacy organizations, and municipalities develop a model for value capture tools such as a “Park Improvement District”

18.d    Municipalities and organizations should direct more youth jobs programs to service in parks and open space

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