A regional park is an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

Definition

A regional park can be a special park district covering a region crossing several jurisdiction boundaries, or a park system of a single jurisdiction, such as a province, county, or city.

By country

Canada

Saskatchewan

There are 101 regional parks in Saskatchewan. All parks are operated by volunteer boards.

Italy

Regional parks in Italy are administered by each region in Italy, a government unit like a U.S. state.

Ireland

Distinguished from

National Parks in the Republic of Ireland This is a list of national parks of Ireland. The chart below shows the national parks in Ireland. The first park established in Ireland was Killarney National Park located in County Kerry in 1932. Since then a further 7 national parks have been ...

, which are owned and run centrally by the state's National Parks and Wildlife Service, Ireland's regional parks are managed and operated by individual local authorities in Ireland. Examples include Ballincollig Regional Park (managed by

Cork City Council Cork City Council () is the local authority of the city of Cork in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Before 1 January 2002, the council was known as Cork Corporation. The council is responsible for ho ...

), Millennium Regional Park (

Fingal County Council Fingal County Council () is the local authority of the county of Fingal, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities that succeeded the former Dublin County Council on abolition on 1 January 1994 and is one of four local authorities in County ...

), and Malahide Demesne Regional Park (also Fingal County Council).

Lithuania

A law to establish regional parks in Lithuania took effect in 1992. As of 2022, there were 30 such regional parks (''regioniniai parkai'').

New Zealand

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, regional parks are administered by regional councils rather than the

Department of Conservation Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

territorial authorities Territorial authorities ( Māori: ''mana ā-rohe'') are a tier of local government in New Zealand, alongside regional councils. There are 67 territorial authorities: 13 city councils, 53 district councils and the Chatham Islands Council. Dist ...

United States

Definitions

In the United States, a regional park is sometimes referred to as a 'Metropolitan Park (Metropark)' or as an

open space reserve An open space reserve (also called open space preserve, open space reservation, and green space) is an area of protected or conservation ethics, conserved land or water on which Real estate development, development is indefinitely set aside. The ...

. The terms ''region'' and ''metropolitan'' can have different meanings in U.S. local government agencies. Regional parks can be administered by a regional park board, a

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

or other units of

. A special authority can be set up, under the joint jurisdiction of two or more government bodies or as an independent park district to administer parks. Individual parks may or may not cross governmental boundaries. The park district holds the authority, similar to fire protection districts, to manage and raise taxes to cover park acquisition and management costs.

Midwest

Examples of large regional park systems are the

Cleveland Metroparks Cleveland Metroparks is an extensive system of nature preserves in Greater Cleveland, Ohio. Eighteen reservations, which largely encircle the city of Cleveland, follow along the shore of Lake Erie and the rivers and creeks that flow through th ...

in Northeast Ohio, Huron-Clinton Metroparks in Southeast

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

; and the

Three Rivers Park District Three Rivers Park District is a special park district serving the suburban areas of the Twin Cities including suburban Hennepin, Carver, Dakota, Scott, and Ramsey counties. Three Rivers's mission is "To promote environmental stewardship throug ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. In Ohio, under

Ohio Revised Code The ''Ohio Revised Code'' (ORC) contains all current statutes of the Ohio General Assembly of a permanent and general nature, consolidated into provisions, titles, chapters and sections. However, the only official publication of the enactments o ...

Chapter 1545, metroparks such as the Cleveland Metroparks Park District,

Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks The Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks are a group of 20 regional park, metropolitan parks in and around Columbus, Ohio. They are officially organized into the Columbus and Franklin County Metropolitan Park District. The Metro Parks system ...

have their own Police Departments with sworn police officers. The

Toledo Metroparks Metroparks Toledo, officially the Metropolitan Park District of the Toledo Area, is a public park district consisting of parks, nature preserves, a botanical garden, trail network and historic battlefield in Lucas County, Ohio. Founded during ...

, and

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

Five Rivers Metroparks are also in the state.

California

The

East Bay Regional Park District The East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) is a Special-purpose district, special district operating in Alameda County, California, Alameda County and Contra Costa County, California, within the East Bay (California), East Bay area of the San Fra ...

and

Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) is a non-enterprise special district in the San Francisco Bay Area. Formed in 1972 by voter initiative, it has acquired and preserved a regional green belt of open space land and provides oppo ...

have extensive parklands in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

, protecting habitat and offering recreation.

United Kingdom

Scotland

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, regional parks are defined to co-ordinate the management of areas of attractive countryside that are of importance for recreation due to their proximity to population centres. The parks have been defined and are managed by

local authorities Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

. As of 2018, Scotland had three regional parks: *

Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park Clyde Muirshiel Regional parks of Scotland, Regional Park is the collective name for areas of countryside set aside for conservation and recreation on the South River Clyde, Clyde estuary in Scotland. The park covers an area of of Inverclyde, N ...

Lomond Hills Regional Park The Lomond Hills are a group of hills on the border of Fife and Kinross-shire in central Scotland, including East Lomond, West Lomond, and also Bishop Hill. At , West Lomond is the highest point in the Lomonds as well as the highest point in Fi ...

* Pentland Hills Regional Park

England

Lee Valley Regional Park Lee Valley Regional Park is a long linear park, much of it green spaces, running through the northeast of Greater London, Essex and Hertfordshire. The park follows the course of the River Lea (Lee) along the Lea Valley from Ware in Hertfordshi ...

Northern Ireland Lagan Valley Regional Park

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Regional Park

Regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Urban studies and planning terminology Urban planning