About

Indianapolis/Marion County is the fifteenth largest city in the United States, and it is by-far one of our country’s most livable big cities. For those who reside and work here, our Indianapolis has a quality about it that makes even the heart of a bustling downtown feel like home. Visitors are drawn from all over the globe to enjoy our top-notch professional sports venues, a thriving convention industry and numerous cultural attractions. And when they arrive, they too experience the Hoosier character and hospitality that make Indianapolis special.

Indy Parks and Recreation provides parks, greenspaces, trails, and recreation opportunities for Marion County residents and visitors. The agency offers 214 parks, 11,254 acres of greenspace, 130 playgrounds, 155 sports fields, 153 miles of trails, 23 recreation and nature centers, 20 aquatic centers, 22 spray grounds, 13 golf courses, and four dog parks. Indy Parks also provides a range of sports, art, education, and recreation programs and more than 2,400 programs throughout the year.

We connect communities by providing places and experiences that inspire healthy living, social engagement, and a love of nature.

With over a century of history advancing the value of parks, Indy Parks is committed to protecting and enhancing the community's assets for the future. We will be a leader in making Indianapolis a vibrant, happy, and healthy place to live. By providing premier greenspaces and recreation opportunities, we welcome all residents, regardless of race, gender, socio-economic status, ability, or identity, to connect to nature, to the community, and to themselves. Our work is vital to contributing to the economic, social, and environmental health of our city.

Indy Parks will be a leader in making Indianapolis a vibrant and healthy place to live by applying a racial equity lens to future planning that better reflects the multicultural community we serve. Indy Parks is committed to providing equitable and inclusive access to programs, services, amenities, and greenspaces. We strive to identify and invest in a more equitable workplace culture by focusing on policies and practices including budget allocation, procurement, partnerships, hiring, employee training, and advancement.

A Comprehensive Master Plan is a roadmap and a shared vision for the future shaped by community values, unmet needs and evolving demographics and trends.

The Comprehensive Master Plan was completed in 2017 as a component of Plan2020: Indy’s Bicentennial Celebration.

As a nationally accredited agency, Indy Parks and Recreation seeks to update its plan every 5 years, thus resulting in this 2022 Comprehensive Master Plan Update.

Did you know that spending time in parks and participating in recreation activities can improve you and your family's health? Research has consistently shown that even moderate exercise, a 30-min walk, and just time outdoors in nature boosts your physical, mental, social, and emotional well-being. We have all likely experienced these benefits of parks, trails, and open spaces during the pandemic. From property values to economic impact and building a sense of community, parks and recreation provides a tremendous benefit to Indy.

This plan builds on the 2017 Plan and seeks to update the roadmap to reflect our changing community needs in a more inclusive and innovative manner, so that everyone can truly access the variety of Indy Parks’ offerings in an equitable manner.

This plan has the following key goals

• Ensure an inclusive community outreach process to identify the community’s current needs
• Learn from the best systems around the country and measure our progress since the last plan
• Seek national re-accreditation through CAPRA (Commission for the Accreditation of Parks and Recreation Agencies)
• Position the Department for future funding and partnership opportunities to continue implementation
• Have a vision that is equitable and realistic to move us forward

The community engagement process offers a variety of ways to provide your input starting with the open-ended comment box on this digital engagement platform: www.PlanIndyParks.com

We have launched an App to provide feedback from any location at any time: HAPPiFEET Indy Parks – download it here on Apple Store or Google Play.

Share your feedback through the online survey Participate in community and neighborhood focus groups Attend the public meetings Email us at Neelay.bhatt@BeNextPractice.com

Find opportunities through the Engage (link) Page to share your feedback through the online survey, participate in community and neighborhood meetings, download the app or email us at Kavita.Mahoney@indy.gov

The City of Indianapolis Parks and Recreation Department staff is leading this work internally and are collaborating externally with Next Practice Partners, a national leader in inclusive and innovative planning based in Central Indiana.

Other local community engagement partners include Engaging Solutions, The Learning Tree and The Immigrant Welcome Center