Parks Without Borders: How It Works

Parks Without Borders focuses on three areas of the park: entrances, edges, and park-adjacent spaces. This new design approach will help unify park spaces with the neighborhoods they serve. It will make entrances more welcoming, convenient and easy to find. It will make park boundaries greener and more comfortable with furnishing and amenities and make parks safer by improving sight lines. It will also create new centers of community activity out of underused areas next to parks.

Learn more about how Parks Without Borders works on entrances, edges and park-adjacent spaces below.

Entrances

Good entrances are inviting, drawing you in and allowing you to see into the park. They are lovely and exciting, enhanced by things like plantings or art and are easy to find from far away. Good entrances also include amenities such as seating to make them destinations for relaxation and community.

NYC Parks can improve entrances using the following tools, among others:

Edges

The perimeter or edge of a park belongs to the neighborhood. More open park edges allow better views into the park. They make nearby streets feel connected to the park and park spaces accessible to the neighborhood. Low fences make park edges friendlier and more attractive. Adding seating or other amenities to edges can improve the park and the neighborhood, providing new spaces to enjoy the beauty of a park and interact with neighbors. These improvements can also make parks and streets safer by improving people's views of both spaces.

NYC Parks will improve edges using the following tools, among others:

Park-Adjacent Spaces

Whether it's an extra-wide sidewalk or an empty corner of a park, there are many spaces where the park meets the neighborhood that can become settings for community gatherings, celebrations of local culture, or art displays.

NYC Parks will improve park-adjacent spaces using the following tools, among others: