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Participation and Grants The City Parks Forum program is no longer holding forums or providing grants. However, please browse through these program pages and take advantage of the wealth of information available. Participation
Together these parties explore the ways in which parks affect the quality of life in urban communities and examine methods to strengthen public-private partnerships in park development. Each city's team participates in a two-and-a-half-day event where they engage in a dialogue with their peers about specific park problems they are facing in their community. Each mayor presents their city's case problem, followed by a facilitated discussion of the issues and an exploration of possible approaches to take. In addition, CPF faculty gives presentations on topics related to the case problems. Each forum also includes tours, presentations by local officials, and opportunities for informal networking. Mayor Murphy of Pittsburgh at the Nine Mile Run park site, talking to the press as Mayors Johnson, Ashe, and Norquist look on. Grants
To help them see real results, cities that successfully complete the program are eligible for a challenge grant of $10,000 to $35,000 that can be used back home to help implement some of the lessons learned at the forum. Grants will be awarded for specific activities that will have been identified as having community-wide impact. Periodic and final reports by participating cities on how the grant monies were used will be required. Go to Making a Difference to read about current CPF grant projects. If you qualify to participate and are interested in becoming a part of The City Parks Forum, please contact the Program Director. Grant recipient Deanna Foster of the Hope Community discusses the Children's Village concept with Minneapolis participants. | |
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The
primary participants of The City Parks Forum are mayors of cities with a strong
mayor form of government and populations ranging from 100,000 to 800,000. In
addition to mayors, participants include the mayor's principal park advisor,
such as the planning director or parks administrator, and a private sector community
leader, such as the CEO of a nonprofit park friends group or a local corporate
sponsor. 
The
impact that The City Parks Forum has on participants extends well beyond the
symposium. Our goal is to provide the cities that come to a forum with specific
tools and approaches that they may implement to address their parks problem.