Further, RAP delivers essential citywide services, including violence intervention programs like Summer Night Lights; childcare through programs, recreation, and summer camps; and emergency management services, such as operating shelters during crises and cooling centers during heat waves.
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The Park System
The City of Los Angeles park system encompasses more than 16,000 acres of land at around 500 park sites. In addition to parks owned, operated, or managed by the City, other entities such as the federal, state, and county governments as well as land conservancies and non-profits manage, own, and operate parks within City boundaries. All of these parks together are important to the well being of Angelenos.
RAP Parks Organized by Size
This assessment is focused on parks that are owned, operated, or managed by the City of LA Department of Recreation and Parks (RAP).
Existing Classifications
The City currently divides all parks in Los Angeles into one of three park classifications.
Neighborhood Parks
Neighborhood parks provide space and facilities for outdoor and indoor recreational activities. They are intended to serve residents of all ages in the immediate neighborhood and are generally smaller, ranging 1–5 acres in size.
Community Parks
Community parks are designed to serve residents of all ages in several surrounding neighborhoods. Community park facilities serve a much wider interest range than those of neighborhood parks and are larger in size, ranging 15–20 acres.
Regional Parks
Regional parks provide facilities typically found in neighborhood and community parks as well as offering specialized recreation facilities such as lakes, golf courses, wilderness areas, and museums. Regional parks serve residents living throughout the entire city of Los Angeles and are generally over 50 acres in size.
With so few classifications, the current system includes vastly different parks in each category. For example, neighborhood parks include both the 105th St Pocket Park, which is under a quarter of an acre, and Bee Canyon Park, a park over 20 acres. The regional park classification includes Little Landers Park (1.1 acres), Stoney Point Park (29 acres), and Venice Beach (161 acres)—three parks with very different sizes, contexts, and uses. The new system of classifications defined in the PNA more accurately reflects the broad range of sizes, amenities, design, usage, and programming that exist in LA’s recreation and parks facilities today. Additionally, as parts of Los Angeles continue to see increased density, new types of parks and recreation facilities will be needed.
The expanded classification system in the PNA is meant to help set mutual expectations among the City, residents, partner organizations, and developers about how different parks and recreation facilities look and function.
Park Amenities
Across the park system, there are thousands of park amenities, including active and passive areas, recreation facilities, habitat or natural areas, trees, and iconic structures like the Griffith Observatory or the Greek Theatre. Since the system is so vast, it can be difficult to encapsulate the extent of features.
During 2024, RAP completed an assessment of about 34 types of recreational amenities at 355 sites. RAP completes this assessment annually.
These amenities are rated as good, fair, or poor and help provide a detailed understanding of a facility’s current condition. These annual condition scores help inform RAP’s decision-making processes regarding maintenance, repairs, and future investments.
