
On July 15, right in the middle of Park and Recreation Month, three of ASLA’s Professional Practice Networks (PPNs)—Children’s Outdoor Environments, Environmental Justice, and Parks & Recreation—collaborated to host an open dialogue on the future of parks and play.
ASLA members were invited to take part in this virtual forum as an opportunity to converse with peers about their observations and experiences, new developments being planned or currently underway, and what they are seeing locally in terms of park and play space usage or changes in use.
PPN leaders and members came together for small-group discussions within Zoom breakout rooms focused on what’s happening in parks and playspaces, and what landscape architects are hearing from clients and stakeholders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Forum Facilitators:
- Ilisa Goldman, ASLA, Children’s Outdoor Environments PPN Co-Chair
- Ken Hurst, ASLA, Children’s Outdoor Environments PPN Co-Chair
- Amy Wagenfeld, Affil. ASLA, Children’s Outdoor Environments PPN Officer and past Co-Chair
- Heidi Cohen, ASLA, Children’s Outdoor Environments PPN Officer
- Missy Benson, ASLA, Children’s Outdoor Environments PPN Officer
- Chad Kennedy, ASLA, Children’s Outdoor Environments and past Co-Chair
- Chingwen Cheng, ASLA, Environmental Justice PPN Co-Chair
- Tom Martin, ASLA, Environmental Justice PPN Co-Chair
- Bronwen Mastro, ASLA, Parks and Recreation PPN Officer
- Matt Boehner, ASLA, Parks and Recreation PPN Officer
Four discussion topics and prompts were provided to spark discussion and input from attendees, who ranged from students to firm principals who came from across the U.S., along with a few based internationally. Below, we recap key points, recurring trends, and takeaways from the conversation.