Save the Date:
The 2010 Great Park Summit will take place March 5, 2010, from 8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Miami. This year’s theme will be Partnerships/An Economic, Social and Environmental Health Plan. We hope to see you there. Please continue to refer back to this website, as there will be  updates as information becomes available. For more information contact John Bowers, Special Projects Administrator, at 305-755-5447.

If you are interested in sponsorship of the 2010 Great Parks Summit, please contact Donna Peyton  at 305-755-7804.


Executive Summary  | Vision  | Principles  | Map

Miami-Dade County is facing the same population growth issues as many other metropolitan areas, a diminished quality of life, increased congestion, declining recreation and conservation open space, visual blight, limited transportation options and social inequities. With the population expected to increase by three million residents in the year 2025 and up to 4.5 million by 2060, additional pressure will be placed on an already stressed physical, social, and economic environment.

This Park and Open Space System Master Plan envisions that great parks, public spaces, natural and cultural areas, streets, greenways, blueways, and trails can form the framework for a more sustainable community. Such a plan for the public realm cannot be considered as an isolated system, but one that is integrated into the overall fabric of the community and one that will create the kind of place where residents want to live, employers want to do business, and tourists want to visit.

The goal of this Master Planning process is to “create a seamless, sustainable system of parks, recreation and conservation open spaces for this and future generations."

Great Parks are for everyone, and should provide a diverse and balanced system of active and passive recreational opportunities. The County’s Vision is that residents of every neighborhood, urban, suburban, rural, incorporated and unincorporated, have equal access to places to walk, to exercise, to socialize and to engage in a healthy, active lifestyle.

Great Public Spaces  often define the great cities of the world. As Miami-Dade County develops more densely, there will be a need for great, attractive, usable public spaces that provide an opportunity for meaningful recreation experiences. These can be anything from neighborhood plazas to great waterfront vistas and promenades.

There is especially great potential for new transit station parks/urban plazas that would serve as the central gathering places for transit oriented developments (TODs). These public spaces could have a small service area radius of about one quarter of a mile, and serve local residents’ needs for walking, meeting, informal play, and special events. Not only would they provide another outlet for recreation and social interaction, transit-oriented parks would also act as a place-maker and a form-giver to TODs.

Great Natural and Cultural Places can be celebrated in a system of Zones (clusters of Environmentally Endangered Lands and Cultural Resource Centers) that: provide a variety of education activities and programs; elevate the public’s appreciation and understanding of the County’s natural ecosystems and cultural amenities; engage the surrounding neighborhoods; and link the sites with the other elements of the open space system through streets, greenways, and water trails.

Great Greenways and Water Trails can form an interconnected system that: provides transportation alternatives and reduces traffic congestion; creates new recreational opportunities; increases property values; protects natural resources; and encourages tourism and business development. These trails strengthen connections across the County, from Broward to Monroe Counties, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Everglades.

Great Streets can be created through the redevelopment of existing arterial and collector roads to: create urban form and identity; improve aesthetics; provide for bicycle/pedestrian safety and comfort; and to improve the social, physical and economic environment for land uses along the corridors. To facilitate the creation of great streets, Miami-Dade County must move beyond vehicular performance-based street design and instead design streets that are defined by their role in the community. While all streets should have a minimum level of accessibility to all modes of transportation, not all streets require the same details.

Equity - Every resident should be able to enjoy the same quality of public facilities and services regardless of income, age, race, ability or geographic location.

Access - Every resident should be able to safely and comfortably walk, bicycle, drive and/or ride transit from their home to work, school, parks, shopping and community facilities.

Beauty - Every public space, including streets, parks, plazas and civic buildings, should be designed to be as aesthetically pleasing as possible, and to complement the natural and cultural landscape.

Multiple Benefits - Every single public action should generate multiple public benefits to maximize taxpayer dollars.

Seamlessness - Every element of the County, including neighborhoods, parks, natural areas, streets, civic centers and commercial areas, should be connected without regard to jurisdiction.

Sustainability - Every action and improvement of the Park System, including facilities, programs, operations and management, should contribute to the economic, social and environmental prosperity of the County.

Following these principles, Miami-Dade County can expand its Parks and Open Space System to form the foundation and framework for a seamless, livable and sustainable community. Imagine a future Miami-Dade County where:

• Every resident in the County can walk (within 5 minutes) to a central neighborhood park and civic space for picnics, special events, informal play and socialization.
• Every resident can safely and comfortably walk, bicycle, or take transit to community parks, recreation centers and special use/sports facilities.
• Parks provide for a balance of active and passive uses.
• The County Parks Department works with every municipality and the School District to provide public access to schools, city parks, and County recreation areas.
• Equitable public access is provided to lakes, beaches, and other major natural features.
• Conservation areas and critical habitat are protected from over-use and negative impacts.
• An interconnected network of shaded and safe bikeways and trails connect to parks, neighborhoods, schools, employment centers, civic buildings, and other community destinations.
• Existing streets are transformed into tree-lined boulevards and parkways that define the County’s urban form.
• Bus transit is provided to every park and civic site.
• Public art, signage and cultural/historical exhibits are integrated into every park and public realm/infrastructure project to “tell the County’s story” and to create a sense of place.
• The County’s significant cultural and historical sites are protected, maintained, and promoted.
• Park improvements are used as catalysts for neighborhood stabilization and/or redevelopment.
• Parks are designed to reduce energy and water consumption, and to serve as models for sustainable development County-wide.
• Parks are designed to be flexible in order to accommodate ever-changing recreation trends and demographics.
• Residents of surrounding neighborhoods are engaged in the planning and design of each park.

 
...a seamless, sustainable system of great parks, public spaces, natural areas & cultural areas, greenways, water trails, and streets?