Neighborhood parks, which generally range in size up to , serve as a social and recreational focal points for neighborhoods and are the basic units of a park system. Many include a

playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people wi ...

. Neighborhood parks provide relief from the built environment for residents. They may offer a range of facilities and passive or active (programmed or unprogrammed) recreation in response to demographic and cultural characteristics of surrounding neighborhoods, with opportunities for interaction with nature. Neighborhood parks are largely accessible by foot,

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

, or

public transit Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of wh ...

within at least a quarter-mile radius from residences, providing easy access especially for children and senior adults. Types of

neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...

parks include mini-parks, or

pocket park A pocket park (also known as a parkette, mini-park, vest-pocket park or vesty park) is a small park accessible to the general public. While the locations, elements, and uses of pocket parks vary considerably, the common defining characteristic of ...

s, and may be further described by their predominant recreational offering. They may provide greenscape, recreation centers, sports fields, or playgrounds. A greenscape is a landscaped park, often with a large un-programmed lawn, primarily for passive recreation. A recreation center is a facility that supports myriad park activities, including sports and other recreational activities appropriate to the population or community that uses the park. pocket parks are the smallest in size, designed to serve the immediate surrounding neighborhood. Generally, size limits the ability to serve multiple recreational functions. Many park systems are underfunded and rely upon grassroots neighborhood-park groups and associations. Many of these groups join together in broad coalitions to advocate for better park maintenance and government accountability.

Location and access

A neighborhood park should be centrally located, if possible, within its service area and should be uninterrupted by non-residential roads or other physical barriers. The site should be generally flat and usable. It should be accessible by way of interconnecting

trails A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...

, public transportation, sidewalks, or low-volume residential streets. A neighborhood park primarily serves residents within about 1/4 mile of the park, without physical or social barriers to the boundaries. Ease of access from the surrounding neighborhood, central location, and linkage to greenways are key concerns when selecting a new park site. The site itself should allow active and passive recreation uses. Since one of the primary reasons people go to a park is to experience a pleasant outdoor environment, the site should exhibit some innate aesthetic qualities. “Left-over” parcels of land that are undesirable for development are not generally desirable for neighborhood parks. The expressed wishes of nearby residents should guide the development or redevelopment plans for each park. Creating a sense of place by bringing together the unique characteristics of the site with the vision of the neighborhood is vital.

Amenities

Essential

*Park

Signage Signage is the design or use of signs and symbols to communicate a message. Signage also means signs ''collectively'' or being considered as a group. The term ''signage'' is documented to have been popularized in 1975 to 1980. Signs are any ki ...

{{citation needed, date=September 2016 (park name and relevant code signage) *

Turf Sod is the upper layer of turf that is harvested for transplanting. Turf consists of a variable thickness of a soil medium that supports a community of turfgrasses. In British and Australian English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', ...

area *

Perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

beds *Benches *Paths *

Dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

bag dispensary and signage *Trash can *

Trees In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only p ...

*Opportunity for at least one active use

Ideal

Flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

beds *

Lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight. ...

*Informational

kiosk Historically, a kiosk () was a small garden pavilion open on some or all sides common in Iran, Persia, the Indian subcontinent, and in the Ottoman Empire from the 13th century onward. Today, several examples of this type of kiosk still exist ...

Bathrooms A bathroom is a room in which people wash their bodies or parts thereof. It can contain one or more of the following plumbing fixtures: a shower, a bathtub, a bidet, and a sink (also known as a wash basin in the United Kingdom). A toilet is al ...

Barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (often shortened to BBQ worldwide; barbie or barby in Australia and New Zealand) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that employ live fire and smoke to coo ...

grills and picnic area *Drinking Fountain *Trash receptacles, including

recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This concept often includes the recovery of energy from waste materials. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the propert ...

bins *Lighting *Bicycle parking *

Public art Public art is art in any Media (arts), media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and phy ...

*Recreation Center *Clubhouse *Swimming pool *Children's play area *Athletic fields and courts *

Trails A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...

* Reserved open space Parks