The city of Los Angeles engaged in a very important exercise last year by consulting its population about their needs and wants regarding parks. As news outlets that serve many of the city’s diverse communities, we urge city leaders not to turn your backs on what the residents told you.
More than 100,000 people provided input to the Parks Needs Assessment, which illustrated a system in crisis: Los Angeles’s park system faces a maintenance deficit of billions of dollars, and its annual budget is far below what is needed.
In just five years, the city’s park system has dropped from 49th to 90th out of the 100 largest cities nationwide. Los Angeles spends $92 per resident on parks, compared with an average of $283 in other major cities. The demand is undeniable. According to Park Needs Assessment data, city parks recorded roughly 119 million visits between April 2024 and March 2025, underscoring how heavily Angelenos rely on these spaces even as investment falls far short of need.
Chronic underfunding is the central challenge facing the park system, limiting maintenance and expansion in underserved areas. Years of scarce resources have led to visible deterioration, including closed facilities and basic upkeep issues despite dedicated staff. And its main funding formula has remained frozen since 1937. The imbalance is reflected in budget trends: while the city’s overall budget grew 68%, parks funding rose only 35%. Most of that increase went to paying increasing utility bills. As a result, the system continues to struggle to meet community demand.
The diverse media organizations publishing this editorial have chronicled the importance of parks as places to gather, preserve traditions, and build relationships and understanding with other cultures. Parks have also been exalted as places that allow immigrants to create new and important memories, celebrate with family and friends, and provide respite and healthy exercise and play for themselves and their children as they adapt and grow in their new homes. Often, parks are the only places where low-income families can gather, send their children to play sports, make friends, and, for older adults, remain active and socially engaged.
We are all encouraged by the city Charter Reform Commission’s recent decision to double the city of Los Angeles’s park funding allocation, and we request that the Mayor of Los Angeles and the City Council support including this provision in the municipal charter reform proposal that will go to voters in November. We also request that the mayor and other top leadership support reasonable measures to raise further funding for parks, because the city that is about to host matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the XXXIV Summer Olympic Games deserves serious improvement to its park system. The residents who make this city what it is also deserve safe, well-maintained, and accessible parks that reflect the pride and potential of their communities.
Learn more about efforts to improve LA parks by visiting the Greening Communities homepage.
