Washington has a lot of parks less than one acre in size. While challenging to program and maintain, their location within Washington neighborhoods provide opportunities to improve the park system at a manageable scale with big results.
Washington has 7,617 acres of parks and open spaces which comprise almost 20 percent of the city.
Fort Stevens is one of the Fort Circle Parks and the only restored Civil War fortification in Washington, DC.
Background and Context
Washington's parks and open spaces are well-loved and help define the city. The development of Washington, DC as a federal city and national capital resulted in a park system where almost 90 percent of the District of Columbia’s 9,500 acres of parks are owned by the National Park Service. The system's quality and capacity, however, has not grown with demand. Parks in the overall park system are planned, maintained, and managed by federal and District agencies to meet different missions, which can lead to challenges in use, planning, enhancements, and maintenance.
CapitalSpace provided the first comprehensive analysis for Washington's parks and open spaces in almost 40 years, and offered a platform to identify shared opportunities to improve the park system and address issues. The partners identified Six Big Ideas to create a system that is safe and accessible; includes a variety of parks and open spaces that connect communities; incorporates stewardship and celebrates natural, cultural, commemorative, and historic spaces; provides a diversity of passive and active recreation; contributes to a healthy, sustainable, and livable city; and serves as a model of citizen engagement and parks and open space management and collaboration.
Key Information
- Prepared by:
National Capital Planning Commission
National Park Service
Government of the District of Columbia - Adopted by NCPC: April 1, 2010
Download Full Plan
Current
The CapitalSpace Plan is used as a reference and policy document to inform current project and planning initiatives. This includes NCPC's current update to the Comprehensive Plan's Federal Parks & Open Space Element. The element will provide a policy framework for the federal government to conserve and enhance the region's parks and open space system, as well as examine issues related to the maintenance and management of urban parks and activation and waterfront development. NCPC is currently working on an update and anticipates that the revised element will be presented to the Commission in 2018. NPS and NCPC completed a Small Parks Management Strategies report in 2017.
Plan Chapters
Overview
A summary of the plan, including its vision, and snapshots of its Six Big Ideas and Action Plan.
About Washington's Parks and Open Space
A brief history about park and open space development in Washington.
Big Idea 1: Link the Fort Circle Parks
by implementing a greenway and making the parks destinations.
Big Idea 2: Improve Public Schoolyards
to help relieve pressure on nearby parks and better connect children with the environment.
Big Idea 3: Enhance Urban Natural Areas
and better connect residents to encourage urban stewardship for natural resources.
Big Idea 4: Improve Playfields
to meet the needs of residents, workers, and visitors.
Big Idea 5: Enhance Center City Parks
and open space to support a vibrant downtown.
Big Idea 6: Transform Small Parks
into successful public spaces, forming a cohesive urban network of green spaces.
Moving the Plan Forward
Further collaboration, implement ideas, and maximize resources for our city's urban park network.
Acknowledgements
A list of participants who were essential in the completion of this plan.
