What Do You Want in a Park? Boston Wants to Know

What makes a park great? Is it the amount of open space, the prevalence of natural features, shade trees, trails, benches, gardens or playgrounds? Is it a community garden, like Berkeley, or a nice space with benches, like Library Park? 

The city of Boston has begun its effort to plan for the preservation of open space and the development of parks through 2021, and wants input from residents through a new online questionnaire. 

The planning process will consider all of Boston’s public spaces including parks, playgrounds, squares, malls, community gardens, cemeteries, trails and harbor islands, and consider demographics and socio-economic trends and how they fit into park use, officials said. 

Officials also plan to target natural areas for preseracation, such as rivers, harbors, wildlife and vegetation. 

“Public participation is crucial to the success of the plan and the key ingredient to helping us make our parks and open spaces better,” the Parks Department said in a statement. 

Residents can fill out the survey here.

Copies of the questionnaire are also available at the Boston Public Library branches and the Boston Centers for Youth and Families community centers through May 24, by emailing openspaceplan2015@cityofboston.gov or by writing to the Boston Parks and Recreation Department. 

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