Parks & SHade

More parks. More trees. More shade.

The goal

A Los Angeles where every community has access to green space that’s well maintained and joyful.

The problem

Only 62% of Angelenos live within a ten-minute walk of a park. In Chicago and New York, that number is closer to 99%. Los Angeles is a different kind of city but the gap isn't just geography, it's investment. Los Angeles spends $92 per person on our parks, while peer cities spend between $137 and $583. The result of this chronic disinvestment is deferred maintenance, too few recreational facilities, and entire communities that have no green space within walking distance.

Our plan

  • Champion more budgetary resources for our parks by backing the Charter Reform Commission's proposal to increase the parks set-aside in the city charter. We will treat that set-aside as a floor, not a ceiling, and pursue additional revenue sources to keep our parks funded.

  • Open 100 Community School Parks: school campuses that open their grounds to the public after hours for free recreation. This is a proven model that would increase the percentage of Angelenos living within a half-mile of a park from 62% to 80%, without acquiring more land.

  • Reform outdated rules that inhibit private and nonprofit donations to our parks and make lasting partnerships to care for our parks hard to create.

  • Build shade where Angelenos wait. Add at least 600 new bus shelters before the 2028 Games, prioritizing the highest-ridership stops.

  • Plant 100,000 street trees before the 2028 Games, prioritizing the neighborhoods with the least shade and the most heat. 

  • Finish the LA RiverWay: an unbroken path along the river has been a dream since the 1990s, but the missing 8-mile stretch through Downtown breaks the route. We will form a Joint Powers Agreement with LA County and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority to finally complete, manage, and operate the Upper RiverWay from Canoga Park to Downtown.