What is a Parks and Recreation Master Plan?
This Parks and Recreation Master Plan is a 10-month community planning process, designed to:
- Identify parks and recreation needs in the city
- Anticipate future demand
- Build a shared vision for improvements to the parks and recreation system
The master plan will analyze Knoxville Parks & Recreation as a whole, providing system-wide recommendations for the department’s parks, programs, facilities, services, and maintenance operations.
The plan provides guidelines for implementing the recommendations over a long-range timeline, expected to be 10+ years. Projects will be prioritized for phased implementation, including:
- Short term (1-3 years)
- Mid-term (4-6 years)
- Long-term (7-10 years)
Why plan for parks now?
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) traditionally required that local departments create or update their Parks and Recreation Master Plan every 5 years to help guide State funding allocations. While TDEC is now revising their strategy for parks and recreation master plans, it has been over 15 years since Knoxville last updated a parks and recreation master plan, so it is an appropriate time for the Knoxville Department of Parks and Recreation to develop a new plan.
Knoxville is experiencing population growth, with an estimated increase of close to 10,000 residents in the last five years. This growth requires understanding how all residents, both new and old, can be equitably served by the parks and recreation system, particularly as the city continues to grow.
Lastly, the City has been developing a variety of planning initiatives in recent years, including:
- Greenway Corridor Study
- One Year Plan
- Urban Forest Master Plan
- Design for the Urban Wilderness Gateway Park
The Parks and Recreation Master Plan seeks to build on these efforts as the City advances a comprehensive vision for Parks and Recreation.
How can I share input?
We’d love to hear your thoughts on improving Knoxville’s parks and recreation programs! Community feedback is a primary goal of the plan and will ensure that the plan’s recommendations are citizen-driven. You can share input in-person at a public meeting or a community event, or online anytime.
