Culver City Parks Plan
OLIN led the Culver City Parks Plan with a team including Geosyntec, Agora, The Robert Group, and Leland Saylor. This plan envisions a future for the approximately 85-acre Culver City parks system, including two community parks, nine neighborhood parks, and two parkettes, that will serve a diverse and growing city population through 2040 and beyond. The parks are beloved, high-value places with extensive programming, vegetation, and connections to surrounding neighborhoods. Building on previous planning efforts and the City’s recently adopted General Plan 2045, the plan identifies park, water, ecological, and community needs and opportunities to enhance the current parks system through the lens of equity. The final plan, on track to be adopted in early 2025, will also act as a tool to guide City decision-making related to parks and recreation planning, developing, programming, and funding on a long-term basis.
The project's robust community engagement included in-person and virtual community-wide meetings and meetings with key groups and commissions. To reach a wider range of residents, the team utilized both digital and analog methods of community outreach including an online and paper survey, flyers, mailers, and social media posts. Over the course of the planning process, the team strived to meet park users where they are through a series of pop-up events at the farmers market, community events, and festivals. A full day of parks-oriented activities were conducted with over 200 children at the youth summer camp program.
The goals of the parks plan prioritize accessibility, sustainability, climate resiliency, programming, ecology, and funding. Individual opportunities and draft project proposals tailored to each of the thirteen parks were also identified. Overall, the Culver City Parks Plan charts a course for a biodiverse, equitable, and actively-programmed parks system.
Location
Culver City, CA
Owner
City of Culver City
Status
Plan Adopted February 2025
Key Team Members
Jessica M. Henson, Partner-in-Charge
Joanna Karaman, Project Manager
Andrew Dobshinsky, Planning Associate
Sarah Swanseen, Senior Landscape Architect
Andrea Binz, Landscape Designer
Kate Lawler, Visual Communications Manager
Awards
2025, American Planning Association, Los Angeles Chapter, Award of Merit in Planning Excellence
