Poster #63 - Integrating Privately-Managed Parks into Urban Policy and Planning Frameworks

• In Event: Friday Poster Reception

Abstract

Urban park planning primarily focuses on public parks or spaces, often overlooking recreational areas maintained by Homeowners’ Associations (HOAs) and multi-family housing developments. These privately-managed spaces are used daily by residents but are inconsistently documented and rarely included in official datasets or planning processes. As a result, they remain unrecognized in assessments of neighborhood amenities, access, and spatial equity.

This study presents a methodology for identifying HOA-managed parks in residential areas, using Raleigh, North Carolina, as a test case. Public parcel records were filtered based on land use codes and descriptive fields, and geographic data from OpenStreetMap were incorporated to expand spatial coverage. Candidate parcels were verified using satellite and street-level imagery to assess the presence of recreational features such as open space, playgrounds, or pools.

A total of 148 parcels were identified as potential HOA parks. Of these, 61 were confirmed as functioning or perceived parks based on physical attributes. Although not included in official park inventories, these spaces serve as everyday recreational environments. Considering that only around half of Raleigh’s 200 public parks are categorized as high-use, HOA-managed parks represent a significant, yet largely unaccounted for, component of the city’s green infrastructure.

The systematic exclusion of privately-managed parks from zoning classifications, infrastructure funding priorities, and green space audits results in policy blind spots. These gaps compromise the accuracy of resource assessments and reinforce disparities in access to recreation. Integrating HOA parks into formal planning frameworks would enable more comprehensive land use strategies and support equitable investment in neighborhood-level amenities.

Author

• Junga Han, North Carolina State University
  Presenting Author