IPRA Webinar Series, November 11, 2020 Rich Dolesh, former VP of Strategic Initiatives, NPRA Brendan Daley, director of Strategy and Sustainability, Chicago Park District

1. Top Trends in Parks and Recreation for 2021
IPRA Webinar Series
November 11, 2020
Rich Dolesh, former VP of
Strategic Initiatives, NPRA
Brendan Daley, director of
Strategy and Sustainability,
Chicago Park District

2. “Covid, covid, covid…”

3. Center for Infectious Disease and Prevention
Indoorspread of COVID-19 can be
lessened, experts say How the Coronavirus Spreads Indoors
and What Can Be Done About It
Can HVAC Systems Spread COVID-19?
Experts answer this and other questions about
the role HVAC plays in virus transmission
What Steps Can Be Taken
To Improve Indoor Ventilation?
Covid and
Ventilation

4. Rec program trends

5. Special Events

6. Special Events - Virtual Grandstands

7. Digital Reality is the New Reality

8. Expanding wifi access in communities where
there is little access

9. Quantum leap in public information and
community meetings
• Schools, transportation, parks and recreation, even all staff meetings

11. NRPA.org

13. Crowd-sourced data will demonstrate the overwhelming
value of local and urban parks
• Prevention of urban heat island effect
• Real-time reporting of safety repairs and
maintenance needs
• Geo-locating misuse of water and energy
• Smart parks, smart benches, smart
patrons
• 5G capabilities will be like rocket fuel to
technology applications

14. New Cleaning Technology

15. Geo-fencing, RFIDs, and Drones
Discover
Drone swarms for search and rescue
Location-aware technologies for monitoring visitors, parking areas
Beer and pizza delivery in parks—it’s coming soon!
Shephertz42 blog

16. However, data privacy
and data protection is
suddenly a big issue for
parks and recreation
• What personal data
are you collecting?
• How secure is it?
• What are you doing
with it?

17. Transportation Trends

18. Micromobility
devices will
fundamentally
alter the way
people use
transportation
infrastructure,
parks and trails

19. “Dallas is transforming
school playgrounds into
city parks — and it
couldn’t come at a more
crucial time
It was always hard for us to
understand why, in a city with
too few parks, school
playgrounds closed when the
school bell rang in the
afternoon and were off limits
on weekends.”

21. Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune

23. North America Has Lost Nearly 3 Billion Birds Since 1970
The staggering population loss of 29 percent of North
American birds could signal an ecological crisis
The threats parks are facing from climate change are
accelerating rapidly
• Drought, wildfires, floods, extreme heat, and other climate crises will
increasingly impact park infrastructure, wildlife, and natural resources
• Critical losses of birds, amphibians, mammals and insects will change
the natural character of parks
• Climate-induced changes will produce some of the biggest challenges
facing parks in the coming years.

24. Every new park will be designed with resiliency in mind
• More than any other public spaces, parks will be viewed
as multi-benefit landscapes
• Designed with green infrastructure stormwater management and
flood prevention
• Designed for provision of shade and prevention of heat in urban
areas, cool pavements, green roofs, renewable energy sources
• Designed to be usable before dawn and after dark, if not 24/7
• Will be more innovative than most public spaces
• Will promote social resiliency, not just environmental resiliency

25. “Greater access to air quality data can improve public awareness
about the relationship between air pollution and human health. Air
quality data collection efforts deeply rooted in the places where
people live, work, study, and play can also support increased
community engagement in local policy making.”
From Meeting of the Minds, “The Power of Data from Urban Air Quality Networks” Hill
and Lukanov, 2019
Low Cost, Wearable, Air Quality Monitors Will Provide Real Time
Proof of the Critical Health Benefits of Local Parks

26. Urban spaces transformed into new kinds of
parks

27. Parks of the future- underground, linear,
parklets

28. Underground Parks – The LowLine

29. Environment
Engineered "super-enzyme"
gobbles plastic waste at six
times the speed
By Nick Lavars
September 28, 2020

30. Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction
 How you can make
Superforecasting
work for your agency

31. Top Trends in Parks and Recreation for 2021
Thank you
Rich Dolesh, former VP of Strategic
Initiatives, NPRA
dolesh@gmail.com
Brendan Daley, director of Strategy and
Sustainability, Chicago Park District
Brendan.daley@chicagoparkdistrict.com