Lexington Park Equity Accelerator

A program that encouraged residents to get involved in park and greenspace planning in Lexington, KY.

Overview

The Lexington Park Equity Accelerator was supported by a grant from the Trust for Public Land (TPL) and led by CivicLex, LFUCG’s Divisions of Planning and Parks & Recreation, Seedleaf, Mizari Suarez, Rona Roberts, and Barbara Sutherland.

The project unfolded in three parts over 1.5 years: focus groups, community workshops, and a funding opportunity.

Focus Groups

We hosted facilitated conversations with residents to learn about their experiences with parks and green spaces, and how they felt about getting involved in park policy decisions.

Community Workshops

We hosted six workshops throughout Lexington that provided information about the history of park planning, current policy impacts, and how to get involved. Parks & Recreation and Planning staff were present at each of these meetings to answer questions and connect with residents about our local parks.

Funding Opportunity

12 projects related to parks and green spaces were selected to receive $1,000 each. Each project was supported by staff members from Parks & Recreation and Planning to help navigate the process and to build relationships between local government and residents. These projects included a monarch butterfly garden, a pop-up community library, accessibility repairs, a water balloon rally, and more.

From this project we learned that residents care deeply about our parks, but it can be challenging to connect policy decisions to everyday experiences. It’s important to create multiple opportunities to discuss local policy and decision-making before asking people to get involved.

Impacts

  • A group of residents revived their neighborhood association

  • This project informed a successful ballot referendum campaign to create a dedicated funding source for parks in Fayette County.

  • The project funded 11 completed community park and green space projects throughout Fayette County

Numbers

$12,000 for projects in parks and green spaces in Fayette County.

Over 100 residents attended a focus group or workshop about park and green space history, policy, and decision-making.