Parks and recreation systems have evolved in remarkable ways over the past two decades. No longer just playgrounds and ballfields, parks and open spaces have become recognised as essential green infrastructure with the potential to contribute to community resiliency and sustainability. To capitalise on this potential, the parks and recreation system planning process must evolve as well. In Parks and Recreation System Planning, David Barth provides a new, step-by-step approach to creating parks systems that generate greater economic, social, and environmental benefits. Barth first advocates that parks and recreation systems should no longer be regarded as isolated facilities, but as elements of an integrated public realm. Each space should be designed to generate multiple community benefits. Next, he presents a new approach for parks and recreation planning that is integrated into community-wide issues. Chapters outline each step, evaluating existing systems, implementing a carefully crafted plan, and more, necessary for creating a successful, adaptable system. Throughout the book, he describes initiatives that are creating more resilient, sustainable, and engaging parks and recreation facilities, drawing from his experience consulting in more than 100 communities across the U.S. Parks and Recreation System Planning meets the critical need to provide an up-to-date, comprehensive approach for planning parks and recreation systems across the country. This is essential reading for every parks and recreation professional, design professional, and public official who wants their community to thrive.

"Expertly written, skillfully organized and deftly presented, Parks and Recreation System Planning: A New Approach for Creating Sustainable, Resilient Communities is an ideal textbook and instructional reference on the subject of developing and upgrading community parks and recreational resources. Enhanced for academia with thirty pages of Appendices, eight pages of Notes, and an eight page Index, Parks and Recreation System Planning is unconditionally recommended for all community, college, and university library Parks/Recreational Development collections and Urban/Land Use Planning supplemental curriculum studies lists." - Midwest Book Review

"Barth provides a much-needed contemporary approach, calling for park and recreation systems to address inequities and climate change and become more interconnected and integral to a more equitable public realm." - The Dirt

"An accessible and flexible text, it should find its way into undergraduate and professional development courses designed to introduce and improve parks and recreation system planning practice." - Journal of Urban Affairs