NEW ORLEANS – City Park Conservancy (CPC) is embracing the future of New Orleans City Park, unveiling City Park 2050 – a bold, long-term Park plan that will help guide the Park’s growth and development for the next two decades.
City Park 2050, which was approved by City Park Conservancy and City Park Improvement Association boards, represents one of the most inclusive, multi-year community engagement planning efforts in the Park’s 170-year history. This robust engagement process utilized an iterative, research-based planning approach that placed community voice at its core, co-designing the plan around input from thousands of Greater New Orleans residents and Park users through surveys, community meetings, focus groups, pop-up events, youth-led programs and public comment.
“City Park is truly the city’s park,” said Rebecca Dietz, CPC President & CEO. “It belongs to all of us, and it deserves the very best of our collective care and investment. I am deeply grateful for the time, insights, and passion that our community has contributed to shaping this plan. It has been an honor to help guide this process, and I will always take pride in stewarding such a remarkable and cherished place. Together, we can bring this shared vision to life and ensure that City Park remains a source of joy and resilience for generations to come.”
From Recovery to Renewal
City Park 2050 is only the third largescale plan established since the 1920s when the Works Progress Administration brought new investments to the Park, including iconic facilities like Tad Gormley Stadium and treasured Park features like its bridges and lagoons.
In March 2005, the Park’s leadership established City Park 2018, a comprehensive plan to turn City Park into a world-class urban park. Later that year, Hurricane Katrina devastated the city and City Park suffered millions in damages caused by widespread flooding, downed trees, and the collapse of Park buildings and structures. Park leadership relied on the plan to guide restoration efforts, secure funding, build public and private partnerships and coordinate more than 35,000 volunteers. In the years after Katrina, more than $200 million in capital improvements, upgrades and expansion projects helped to revitalize City Park – just in time for the city’s 300th anniversary in 2018.
As the city commemorates the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina this month, the Park reflects on its journey from recovery to resilience to creating a lasting legacy.
A Community-Driven Vision for 2050
CPC launched this new planning process in 2023, hiring landscape architecture firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc. to design the roadmap for the Park’s future alongside local experts and community members. In 2024, CPC selected architecture and design firm Concordia to join the City Park Planning team as the lead community engagement consultant to deepen outreach.
A multi-layered engagement process – including public gatherings, workshops, neighborhood meetings, online surveys, virtual sessions, stakeholder interviews and youth engagement initiatives – drew a diverse range of ideas and feedback from people of all ages and backgrounds across the Greater New Orleans area. The process concluded this summer, and CPC leadership and the City Park Planning team completed analyzing and synthesizing all community feedback, ideas and suggestions gathered from 2023-2025. Through these community conversations, the Park learned that while improvements are appreciated, the priority is about enhancing the everyday experiences that make the Park a special place for visitors and the community.
“This incredible Park plan represents two years of collaborative ideas developed from working together with Park users, visitors, friends and family, students and youth groups, community neighbors, environmental experts, business leaders, state and local political leaders and Park stakeholders from across the Greater New Orleans area,” said Paul Sterbcow, New Orleans City Park Improvement Association Board Chair. “The outcome is a community driven, multi-generational, visionary plan that honors the Park’s history while also looking ahead to a promising future. Now we, as a community, need to commit to turning City Park 2050 into reality.”
City Park 2050 establishes an innovative and thoughtful roadmap for City Park’s future – one that will prioritize the greater good, address community needs, preserve historical and cultural context, strengthen environmental resiliency, and foster a welcoming sense of place for generations of Park users and visitors. The plan lays out a clear path for restoration and improvements throughout the entire Park, including native landscape and infrastructure upgrades, new trails and pathways, lagoon- and water-system enhancements, and creating new and improving existing both recreational and community gathering spaces. Additionally, the plan calls for building inclusive features that focus on enhanced accessibility, sustainability, equity and cross-generational connection.
“City Park has always been a treasured sanctuary for our great city,” said Tania Hahn, Chair of the CPC Board. “It’s a beautiful greenspace rich in cultural history, nature and shared community stories. City Park Conservancy is committed to developing a path that embraces those essential elements while also incorporating improvements to the land and its facilities. That’s what City Park 2050 provides – enhancing visitors’ experiences while celebrating and honoring the Park’s legacy.”
City Park 2050 remains true to the core intentions and priorities confirmed by the community: A world-class City Park that is welcoming, accessible, and safe; enriched with nature and biodiversity; mindful of the history and culture that shaped it; joyful for all ages; and a place that remains an affordable and inclusive amenity for everyone.
For more information on City Park 2050, visit NewOrleansCityPark.org.
About City Park Conservancy
City Park Conservancy is the 501(c)3 that operates the day-to-day care of City Park, in partnership with the City Park Improvement Association and oversees programming, fundraising, and membership management of the 1,300-acre Park. For over 170 years, City Park has provided access to abundant natural and cultural resources to residents of the region and visitors from around the world. The Park’s 1,300 acres make it one of the largest urban parks in the United States.
City Park is a popular place to fish on the bayou, picnic, experience safe outdoor play, or engage in athletic pursuits – as evidenced by more than 3.2 million unique visits each year. The Park’s annual operating budget is largely derived from self-generated activities, often weather dependent. To learn more about the Park and to contribute to help maintain its greenspaces and community programs, visit NewOrleansCityPark.org.