Palm Springs Park & Recreation Master Plan

WGI developed a conceptual plan for Village Park in Palm Springs, Florida, as part of the Village’s Parks & Recreation Master Plan. As the primary park and gathering space in the community, the Parks Department wanted to reimagine the space to better align with the public’s current needs while creating a space that allowed flexibility and efficiency for future programming. The conceptual design for the future Village Park centers around the concepts of community gatherings, socialization, and the hosting of Village events.

The plan transforms the park into a dynamic gathering area complete with a multitude of recreation amenities, including a large pavilion, water feature, shaded seating areas, ninja course, and climbing rope sphere. An amphitheater becomes the park’s focal point, emphasizing the importance of community events and social gatherings. The plan establishes a new entrance worthy of the Village’s most beloved and important park

along the site’s northern portion. Pathways are incorporated throughout so residents can casually stroll throughout the space. The conceptual design also includes multiple and improved connections to the surrounding neighborhoods, making it easier and more efficient for residents to bike or walk to the new park. Finally, new canopy trees provide ample shade to visitors, while designated areas for landscaped flower gardens and public art beautify the park.

Project Highlights:

• Public Engagement

• Minority Engagement

• Master Planning

Community Events

• To engage with young families, our team hosted a booth at two Village holiday festivals with children’s activities customized to each event. During these events, we conducted a mobile version of the online survey for the parents while their children played, as well as a youth-specific survey. We collected feedback from over 70 families.

School Outreach

• To further capture feedback from families, we distributed flyers to over 1,000 local elementary and middle school students to take home to complete as a family activity. This boosts return rates; the children turn in the surveys at school, and the WGI team collects them at the end of the survey period.

Youth Sports Programs

• WGI attended local youth sports events to distribute surveys to participants and parents.

Rental Community Outreach

• WGI distributed surveys to rental community associations. The surveys were provided in digital format for inclusion on the online community portals and paper for posting in mail rooms and bulletin boards.

 Hispanic Human Resources Council Outreach 

• WGI met with Hispanic Human Resources Council representatives to understand how best to reach out to the large percentage of Hispanic families in the community.

 Social Media Graphics and Project Branding 

• WGI developed a social media campaign through the crafting of project phase-appropriate graphics and posts for the Village’s social media accounts to promote the planning process for the Master Plan as well as provide a standardized process to announce community participation opportunities such as meetings, workshops, and public surveys