Project Implementation

FRI-C07: Parks Master Class: Designing for Sustainable Operations and Stewardship

Friday, September 18, 2026

1:15 PM - 2:30 PM PT

1.25 PDH, LA CES/HSW

Speaker(s)

Jayne S. Miller, CPRP (she/her/hers)

Principal
PROS Consulting
Ypsilanti, Michigan
Connie J. Chung, AICP (she/her/hers)

Managing Partner, Los Angeles
HR&A Advisors
Los Angeles, California
Ashley Langworthy, ASLA, PLA, AICP, LEED AP

Principal + Founder
Miasto
Seattle, Washington

Landscape architects design parks to last for generations, yet stewardship is often missing from design conversations and decisions. To sustain quality parks over the long-term, designers must understand how operations, maintenance, staffing, and revenue shape and sustain success. This ‘Master Class’ delivers practical tools to integrate stewardship with design.

Learning Outcomes:

Evaluate the economic context for park planning and implementation across the US, and identify concrete strategies for making public park projects more financially sustainable.
Describe how maintenance and operations budgets are developed and identify key design factors that influence them.
Identify the pitfalls of designing without a maintenance, stewardship, and safety lens, and apply strategies to avoid them.
Apply concrete design strategies to strengthen park operations in terms of year-round community use, programming, and maintenance.