Equity and Inclusion

WED-A06: Equity by Design: Community Engagement and Prioritization in La’s Park Needs Assessment

Wednesday, September 16, 2026

8:30 AM - 9:45 AM PT

1.25 PDH, LA CES/HSW

Speaker(s)

Sarah M. Swanseen, ASLA, PLA, AICP (she/her/hers)

Senior Landscape Architect and Planner
OLIN
Los Angeles, California
Jon Christensen

Adjunct Assistant Professor
UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
Venice, California
Eric V. RIley, Jr., Affil. ASLA (he/him/his)

Planning Principal
Kounkuey Design Initiative
Los Angeles, California

The 2025 LA Park Needs Assessment guides 25-years of investment across 16,000 acres of parkland. This session explores a community-driven process to prioritize park spending, balancing climate resilience, social equity, and recreation. Discover how the PNA merges innovative tools with hyper-local lived experience to reflect LA’s diverse communities.

Learning Outcomes:

Understand how a large municipality is using both community input and technical innovation to strategize future park investment, planning, design, operation, and management at all scales.
Learn strategies for addressing disparities in park access and park supply through innovative mapping processes.
Learn how technical processes for analysis and prioritization of funding can expand beyond top-down analytics to incorporate both system-wide data as well as community input and concerns.
Explore strategies for social resilience and equity such as innovative community engagement and outreach to interest groups with diverse concerns to inform planning recommendations at a foundational level.