Race: a starting place.

The Indianapolis Department of Parks and Recreation is the primary parks agency for the more than 860,000 residents of Marion County, Indiana. The Department's roots are within the pre-1969 boundaries of the City of Indianapolis. Since that time, the Department's jurisdiction has grown to the boundaries of the county. This encompasses the entire range of possible parks and communities. These include intensely urban plazas, small parks in declining urban neighborhoods, parks in middle-class suburban subdivisions and larger natural parks on the rural fringes of the county. Because of the steady outward growth of Marion County's population, Indy Parks is challenged to balance the needs of the historic city parks with the needs of populations in the other eight townships. Half of this task is in operating, maintaining and adding to the capacity of established city parks. The counterpart to this is Indy Parks' challenge to offer services and programs in the outlying areas of the county. There are noticeably fewer parks and built facilities in these areas, requiring Indy Parks' staff to employ creative strategies and partnerships to ensure delivery of park and recreation services to all of Marion County's residents. The 2009 Indianapolis-Marion County Park, Recreation and Open Space Plan describes the present state and future vision for recreation opportunities in Marion County, Indiana. This plan also summarizes the progress and accomplishments of the previous comprehensive plan, dated 2004. 96% of the 2004 Plan's actions were completed and documented. 4% of the actions were at least begun, and should be completed in the 2009 Plan. The existing county-wide park and recreation facilities , natural and cultural features, demographics and universal accessibility conditions are identifi ed to provide a starting point for future planning. Through a process of citizen participation and survey, Indy Parks has also identifi ed and prioritized the rec re ation al needs of the community, enabling them to identify trends, directions and opportunities for the park system. The changing demographics of the city and county necessitate timely reevaluations of the present and future recreational needs of the county. PLAN PURPOSE This Plan documents the current status of Marion County Parks and Open Spaces. It also develops a blueprint for the creation and preservation of open spaces, recreation facilities and parks that: • Refl ects community values, goals and priorities. • Identifi es creative alternative methods to achieve these goals. • Integrates easily into:-the formation of City …