November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 42

CONNECTING WI TH COMMUNITIES
park and recreational needs of
residents and visitors through programming,
facilities, land acquisition
and stewardship, and other
activities. DPR has a dual role of
being the municipal park agency
for the 1 million residents living
in unincorporated areas (tinyurl.
com/mujxcwv6) and the regional
park agency for the more than 10
million residents countywide. As
such, DPR operates and maintains
a wide variety of facilities, ranging
from local parks to natural areas to
regional parks to special-use facilities,
like arboreta and botanic gardens.
Carrying out this dual role is
no easy task. After all, L.A. County
is large and diverse, covering 4,000
square miles, and is home to 88
incorporated cities and more than
120 unincorporated areas.
Strategic Planning
For more than two years, DPR
worked
alongside
and
community
members, partnering agencies and
organizations,
other
stakeholders
to develop a meaningful
and bold strategic plan (tinyurl.
com/2s67jp9u) for the department's
future. The plan seeks to
deepen connections with the communities
it serves; increase park
equity and access; improve stewardship
of public lands, trees and
other resources; support staff; and
advance organizational excellence.
The strategies and actions of the
plan reflect DPR's priorities to improve
the health and wellness of
L.A. County residents, especially
historically under-resourced communities
and communities of color.
The plan affirms and centers DPR's
work on equity and provides a roadmap
to address the significant park
and recreation needs identified in
the Los Angeles Countywide Parks
Needs Assessment (PNA) (tinyurl.
com/mrx3yx8a) and Parks Needs
Assessment Plus (PNA+) (tinyurl.
com/s7wy6enc).
Completed in
2023,
was developed with
the
plan
extensive
community engagement and an
anti-racism, diversity and inclusion
(ARDI) (tinyurl.com/2p9nss9t) focused
framework. It reflects DPR's
commitment to prioritize funding
and staffing for programming and
park access initiatives that redress
the social, racial, gender-based and
environmental injustices that adversely
impact the most vulnerable
communities.
The strategic plan contains the
following goals:
1. Promote play and well-being of
youth, families and seniors.
2. Strengthen
programs, experiences
and engagement in community.
3.
Increase park equity and access
to innovative park space.
4. Invest in staff and volunteers.
5. Provide stewardship of public
lands, natural resources and urban
forestry.
6. Advance organizational excellence.
September
Meetings
As part of its strategic plan, DPR
made a commitment to hold annual
public meetings in September
to update community members
about park facilities, recreational
programming and capital projects,
as well as provide an opportunity
for them to identify priorities that
should be addressed in DPR's annual
budget. September 2023 was the
first time DPR hosted the meetings,
with more than 60 meetings held
at local parks and nature centers
across the county. Public input received
through these meetings and
surveys (more than 730 completed)
highlighted the need to improve
42 Parks & Recreation | NOVEMBER 2 0 2 4 | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
park safety and expand programming,
which became priorities in
DPR's budget submission to the
L.A. County Board of Supervisors.
DPR learned a lot throughout
starting from when
the process,
staff first received training in preparation
for the meetings to when the
meetings were held to when debriefs
took place after the meetings.
Key lessons gained highlighted the
importance of:
* Following through on the commitment
to implement the recommendations
of a strategic plan.
* Proactively and regularly engaging
community members and
offering them opportunities
identify
priorities and inform
budget and other resource allocation
decisions.
* Taking the time to listen to and
have conversations with community
members.
* Dedicating time and resources to
prepare, train and mobilize staff
to run public meetings.
* Providing both online and paper
versions of surveys in multiple
languages so that people can
complete them in the format and
language they are most comfortable
with.
* Translating diverse public input
gathered through the meetings
and surveys into specific budget
requests.
* Evaluating the various aspects of
the meetings and developing specific
strategies for improvement.
* Debriefing with staff to better
understand their experiences and
perspectives, and collectively determining
how to improve the
process for next year.
Benefits of Regular
Public Engagement
DPR recognizes the importance
of regularly updating and engagto
http://tinyurl.com/s7wy6enc http://tinyurl.com/mujxcwv6 http://tinyurl.com/2p9nss9t https://parks.lacounty.gov/strategicplan/

November 2024 – Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2024 – Parks & Recreation

November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - Intro
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - Cover1
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - Cover2
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 1
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 2
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 3
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 4
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 5
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 6
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 7
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 8
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 9
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 10
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 11
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 12
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 13
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 14
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 15
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 16
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 17
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 18
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 19
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 20
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 21
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 22
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 23
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 24
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 25
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 26
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 27
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 28
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 29
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 30
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 31
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 32
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 33
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 34
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 35
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 36
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 37
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 38
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 39
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 40
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 41
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 42
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 43
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 44
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 45
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 46
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 47
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 48
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 49
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 50
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 51
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 52
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 53
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 54
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 55
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 56
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - Cover3
November 2024 – Parks & Recreation - Cover4
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2021
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com