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Past Investment: 1990-2003

The issue…

Parks help connect people to the natural world – and to each other. As places to play and learn, and as public forums where people come together, parks are essential to the health of urban communities. In many cities where parks have been left to decline, public-private partnerships are emerging to spur reinvestment in open spaces.

The response…

The Wallace Foundation’s Urban Parks Initiative was designed to improve the quantity and quality of urban parks for public use, particularly in low-income neighborhoods, and to broaden urban leaders’ understanding of the importance of parks to the health and vitality of cities.

The strategies…

Since 1990, grants totaling $38.6 million have supported 19 public/private partnerships in 17 cities to create new parks in under-served neighborhoods, urban reforestation, restoring landscape and bringing new activities to both neighborhood and metropolitan parks. Wallace supported national and regional forums to share lessons on park development and their contribution to community revitalization. In 2000, $3 million in final grants were awarded to support urban park collaborations, physical improvements, and intergenerational activities, and to help establish a premier national organization to represent urban parks and possibly provide a network for encouraging informal learning through park projects around the country.

The accomplishments…

The Urban Parks Initiative:

Is securing 350 acres of new parkland and 50 miles of new greenway trails, restoring 300 acres of existing parkland, and leveraging over $150 million in public/private commitments.
Is drawing new visitors through innovative activities, grounded in careful study of park use.
Has shared the lessons of effective park development with the broader field through a series of publications and Urban Parks Online www.pps.org/urbanparks. In 2001, The Urban Institute published Public Use of Urban Parks: A Methods Manual for Park Managers and Community Leaders.
Is building a network of park practitioners and city mayors, who participate in the Foundation-supported City Parks Forum.

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News Room Highlights
	Philadelphia Tackles Effort to Double Arts Audiences
	Editorial Salutes Wallace Grantee Mosiac Youth Theatre of Detroit
	Ten Philadelphia arts organizations receive Excellence Award grants totaling $5.3 million from The Wallace Foundation.
	City parks can play a broader role than traditionally understood in advancing urban policy objectives, three briefs from the Urban Institute conclude.

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--Preparing School Leaders for a Changing World: Lessons from Exemplary Leadership Development Programs – Final Report

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