Urban park

An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (in North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (UK), is a special green area found in cities, busy suburbia, and other incorporated places. These parks give people a place to relax and have fun, offering lots of green space and spots for recreation. Unlike wild areas, urban parks are usually carefully landscaped by design.

The work of caring for and keeping these parks nice is often done by government groups, especially at the local level. Sometimes, special groups called park conservancies, “friends of” groups, or even private companies help out with this job.

Urban parks can have many different features, depending on how big they are and what resources are available. You might find playgrounds, beautiful gardens, paths for walking or running, places to ride horses, sports fields and courts, restrooms for the public, spots to rent boats, areas for shows and performances, and places to have barbecues and picnics. Experts say that having parks close to where people live—in a place you can reach within a 10-minute walk—helps everyone in many ways.

History

A park is an open space for people to enjoy, usually owned and cared for by local government. Grass is kept short to keep pests away and to make picnics and sports more pleasant. Trees are chosen for their beauty and shade, and also to help cool cities.

Some of the earliest parks include La Alameda de Hércules in Seville, built in 1574, and Városliget (City Park) in Budapest, Hungary, which started in the middle of the 18th century. In England, Princes Park in Liverpool opened in 1843, designed by Joseph Paxton. It was one of the first parks built just for people to enjoy, and it influenced many other park designs.

In the United States, Boston Common, bought for public use in 1634, is considered one of the first municipal parks. Early parks often started as rural cemeteries before becoming places for recreation. As cities grew, larger parks were created on the edges to give people a place to relax in nature. These parks later added features like zoos and museums. In the early 1900s, smaller neighborhood parks with playgrounds and swimming pools were built to serve local communities. Today, many cities have pocket parks—small green spaces in busy areas that offer a place to sit and relax.

In the United Kingdom, there are about 27,000 public parks, which receive around 2.6 billion visits each year. Many of these parks have historical importance and are cared for by local authorities, though funding for their maintenance has been decreasing.

Uses

Parks can be places for different kinds of fun. Some parks have areas for active play, like playgrounds, ball fields, swimming pools, and skateparks. These places need lots of care and planning.

Other parks are for passive fun, like picnic areas, benches, and walking trails. These areas let people enjoy nature with little planning needed. People can walk, run, horse riding, mountain biking, snowshoeing, or skiing, or just sit and watch birds, paint, take pictures, or have a picnic.

Smaller neighborhood parks are becoming more important in busy cities. People are working together to take care of these parks when they need help.

Park types

A linear park is a park that is much longer than it is wide. One common example is when old railway tracks are turned into a park called a rail trail or greenway. Some well-known linear parks in North America are New York's High Line and the Village of Yorkville Park in Toronto.

In the UK and some parts of Europe, there are special areas called recreation grounds, often just called "recs." These are places for kids to play, sometimes with a duck pond, big grassy areas, many trees, and bushes. When these play areas are all by themselves, not part of a bigger park, they are called a playground.