Community Building Resources
This resource toolkit has been crafted to equip you and your organization with information meant to support the implementation of the Community Building pillar of the Strategic Plan. Your best resource is eConnect, where you can ask questions and connect with other Park and Recreation professionals who may have the answers to your questions.

Ideas and Contacts for Community Building Initiatives

Urban Design & Built Environment

The Community Development Institute
Florida Department of Health Built Environment Training Materials
Harwood Institute for Public Innovation
A Tool for Planners, Parks & Recreation Professionals, and Health Practitioners [Center for Disease Control & National Park Service]
Sample Document: Consultant's Guide to Park Design & Development [San Diego, CA]
Community Building: How to Do it, Why it Matters [International City/County Management Association]
Safe Routes to Parks resource page [NRPA]
Low Impact Development Center
City Parks Forum  [American Planning Association]
National Complete Streets Coalition
Every Place Counts Leadership Academy [US Dept. of Transportation]
Urban Bikeway Design [National Association of City Transportation Officials]

Healthy Lifestyles

Guide to Community Preventative Services
Urban Land Institute Building Healthy Places Initiative
Parks Build Healthy Communities [NRPA] 
North Carolina Statewide Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan [WalkBikeNC]
Parks for People [The Trust for Public Land]
NYC's Green Cart Program


Homelessness
Technology that's helping the Homeless
Giving the Homeless Running Water
Rethinking Homeless Shelters

Media (Videos, Graphics, Podcasts) 

Videos

Podcasts

Road Signs PedCast [ChangeLab Solutions]
ITE-CIHT Joint Podcast on Health and Transportation [Transportation Radio]

Graphics

Books

Planning for Recreation and Parks Facilities: Predesign Process, Principles, and Strategies [Jack Harper, 2009]
Anatomy of a Park: Essentials of Recreation Area Planning and Design [Donald Molnar, 4th Ed. 2015]
Design for Outdoor Recreation [Simon Bell, 2008]
Outdoor Recreation and the Urban Environment [Stephen Williams, 1995]

Policy Planning

Urban Design & Built Environment

A Model Complete Streets Resolution for Local Governments [ChangeLab Solutions]
The Changemaker's Guide [ChangeLab Solutions]
Farmer's Markets: Land Use Policies, etc. [ChangeLab Solutions]
Urban Agriculture [American Planning Association]
Best Complete Streets Policies [Smart Growth America]
Built Environment Approaches Combining Transportation System Interventions with Land Use and Environmental Design [The Community Guide]
Getting the Wheel Rolling (A Guide to Using Policy to Create Bicycle Friendly Communities) [ChangeLab Solutions]

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Articles, Studies Reports

Urban Design & Built Environment

Measuring Community Capacity Building [Aspen Institute]
Active Transportation and Parks & Recreation  [NRPA]
Benefits of Urban Parks  [International Federation of Parks and Recreation Administration]
Air Quality Effects of Urban Trees and Parks [NRPA]
What Makes a Community Livable? [The American Institute of Architects]
Urban Parks as Partners in Youth Development [The Urban Institute and The Wallace Foundation]
The Role of Parks in Shaping Successful Cities [American Planning Association]
City Parks, Clean Water Report [The Trust for Public Land]
ParkScore [Trust for Public Land]
Living in Cities, Naturally [Benefits Hub]
How Neighborhoods Affect the Health of Older Americans [Population Reference Bureau]

Healthy Lifestyles

Parks Build Healthy Communities [NRPA] 
Designed to Move: Active Cities [Active Living Research via Benefits Hub; Alberta Recreation and Park Association]
From Fitness Zones to the Medical Mile: How Urban Park Systems Can Best Promote Health and Wellness [Trust for Public Land]
The Case for Healthy Places [Project for Public Spaces]
Food Access Research Atlas [USDA]