Rejuvenating Neighborhoods and Communities Through Parks—A Guide To Success www.NRPA.org National Recreation and Park Association © 2011 All Rights Reserved 38 The Catalyst Project – Build, Connect, and Sustain While recognizing that neighborhood improvements are often complex and far-reaching goal, Partnerships for Parks broke it down into three steps • Build by working with partners to increase participation, local pride, and leadership within the neighborhood parks • Connect by linking people, ideas, and efforts to develop common goals and move toward reaching those goals • Sustain by creating a framework for continued park stewardship as well as identifying successful approaches to sustainability The Build Phase Although Partnerships for Parks identifies “build” as its initial phase of neighborhood rejuvenation through parks, this step has little to do with building anything physical Rather, it refers is the building of partnerships that increase leadership and pride within neighborhoods The goals of this stage included: • Attracting people to parks through recreational programs • Making strategic improvements to facilities and programs • Providing training and resources supporting park leadership Source: Catalyst: Step One. Partnerships for Parks The Partnerships for Parks concept of “build” as its initial phase of neighborhood revitalization has little to do with building anything physical. Specific techniques of the build phase included these: • The 3Rs approach One of Partnerships for Parks’ initial projects addressed the challenge to re-establish a connection with the neighbors living in proximity to High Bridge, the oldest bridge in New York City The partnership embarked on a 3Rs approach: reintroduction, reinvention, and rediscovery The initial meetings with 20 community organizations resulted in 36 park hikes for 200 children from six local schools and new events co-sponsored by park neighbors with the support of the partnership • People to people. In developing community relationships with neighborhoods surrounding the four historic Harlem parks, the partnership learned these lessons: Meet people where they are. Some of the park groups in this area were long established, while others were just getting started The partnership tailored its support to each situation Make new friends The partnership made a new friend and partner, St James Presbyterian Church, which resulted in a successful teen basketball tournament This led to other co-sponsored events Find shared interests. Park volunteers organized a meeting among four different areas of the community, which resulted in a decision to work together on a concert series (Source: Catalyst: Step One Partnerships for Parks)
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