成立背景与全国性使命
美国城市公园联盟（City Parks Alliance）成立于 2000 年秋季，是全美唯一一家专门致力于城市公园事业的全国性独立会员组织。联盟由城市公园管理者与倡导者共同创立，最初脱胎于 1990 年代由 Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund 发起的”城市公园倡议”。联盟总部位于美国首都华盛顿特区，业务范围覆盖美国与北美，汇集了公民与社区领袖、政府机构、公园与娱乐主管部门、企业与基金会等数百家成员单位，通过排他性的网络、活动和项目，搭建起跨部门的专业社区，使各方能够在城市公园这一关键基础设施上协同合作。
组织架构与会员体系
联盟采用基于组织预算规模的阶梯式会员体系，涵盖公共机构、非营利组织、慈善基金会和企业等不同预算规模的成员单位。会员可享受参与联盟网络研讨会、工作坊和公园研学之旅的独家机会；以折扣价格参加两年一度的 Greater & Greener 全球城市公园大会；加入 Mayors for Parks 市长联盟并参与联邦倡导；接入 Park Resource Library 与 Funding Hub 等专业资源库；以及通过继续教育活动获得专业发展学分。联盟以会员为核心开展日常运营，所有政策研究、案例推广和倡导活动都服务于成员单位的实际工作需要。
倡导议题与政策推动
联盟将”城市公园是城市公平、韧性与繁荣的关键基础设施”作为核心倡导立场，积极推动联邦层面的立法与资金支持。2018 年通过《Great American Outdoors Act》实现了城市公园历史性的联邦资金突破；2024 年再度力推 Outdoors for All Act 获得国会两院跨党派支持，并促成 Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership（ORLP）联邦专项拨款计划落地。联盟组织全国数百位市长组成 Mayors for Parks 联盟，共同呼吁联邦、州与地方政府加强对城市公园的公共投资。
Greater & Greener 国际大会与研究出版
两年一度的 Greater & Greener 国际城市公园大会是全球城市公园领域规模最大的专业盛会，已在圣路易斯（2007）、西雅图（2024）、休斯敦、奥斯汀、克利夫兰等城市举办，吸引来自全美与全球的城市领导者、设计师、慈善家与公园管理者参会。联盟同时持续发布权威研究报告，包括《City Parks: Essential Infrastructure and a Smart Investment》、《Active Parks, Healthy Cities》、《Closing the Gap: Public and Private Funding Strategies for Neighborhood Parks》、《Parks and Green Stormwater: A Win-Win for Urban Resilience》以及《Parks and Technology》系列报告，为城市公园投资决策提供实证依据。
城市公园的多重社会效益
联盟通过研究、案例推广和政策倡导，系统论证城市公园在五大领域的社会效益：一是促进公众健康，鼓励积极生活方式、改善心理健康并降低医疗成本；二是带动城市经济，吸引居民与企业、提升税收、刺激私人投资和就业机会；三是应对气候变化，通过吸收雨水、缓解热岛效应和过滤空气与水体污染物，提升城市气候韧性；四是促进社会公平，通过社区参与和公平的公园投资模式，将绿地资源优先导向最需要的社区；五是增强社区凝聚力，居民通过社区公园形成更紧密的邻里关系，相关研究显示公园周边住宅区的犯罪率显著更低。
Founding and National Mission
Founded in fall 2000, City Parks Alliance is the only nationwide, independent membership organization in the United States solely dedicated to the future of city parks. The Alliance grew out of the Urban Parks Initiative launched in the 1990s by the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Alliance serves as a collective voice for urban park leaders across the U.S. and North America, bringing together civic and community leaders, government agencies, park and recreation authorities, businesses, and funders through an exclusive network of events and programs.
Organizational Structure and Membership
The Alliance offers a tiered, budget-based organizational membership structure that welcomes public agencies, nonprofit organizations, philanthropic foundations, and businesses of varying budget sizes. Members gain exclusive access to webinars, workshops, and Park Study Tours; discounted registration to the biennial Greater & Greener international conference; participation in the Mayors for Parks coalition and federal advocacy campaigns; entry to the Park Resource Library and Funding Hub; and continuing education credits through professional development programming. All of the Alliance’s research, publications, and advocacy efforts are designed to support the day-to-day work of its member organizations.
Advocacy Priorities and Policy Wins
The Alliance’s central advocacy position is that excellent city park systems are critical infrastructure for building more equitable, resilient, and thriving cities. The Alliance played a leading role in the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act in 2018, securing historic federal funding for urban parks, and more recently championed the bipartisan Outdoors for All Act. The Alliance also organized the Mayors for Parks coalition of hundreds of U.S. mayors, who collectively call for robust public investment in city parks at the federal, state, and local levels.
Greater & Greener Conference and Research
The biennial Greater & Greener international conference is the largest gathering of urban park professionals worldwide, having been hosted in cities such as St. Louis (2007) and Seattle (2024), with additional study tours held in Houston, Austin, and Cleveland. The Alliance also publishes a steady stream of authoritative research, including City Parks: Essential Infrastructure and a Smart Investment, Active Parks, Healthy Cities, Closing the Gap: Public and Private Funding Strategies for Neighborhood Parks, Parks and Green Stormwater: A Win-Win for Urban Resilience, and the Parks and Technology report series, providing empirical evidence to support park investment decisions.
Multiple Benefits of Urban Parks
Through practitioner-centered research, field building, and advocacy, the Alliance demonstrates the value of urban parks across five key dimensions: (1) public health — encouraging active lifestyles, improving mental health, and lowering healthcare costs; (2) economic vitality — attracting residents and businesses, expanding the tax base, and creating jobs; (3) climate resilience — absorbing stormwater, mitigating the urban heat-island effect, and filtering air and water; (4) social equity — directing investment to communities with the greatest need through community engagement and equitable funding models; and (5) community cohesion — bringing neighbors together, with research showing lower crime rates in residential areas adjacent to parks.
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