Parks and trails are critical public spaces. A little placemaking can make them much more attractive and encourage people to linger and enjoy them.

During the pandemic, outdoor spaces like parks have taken on new importance as a safer place for recreation and interaction that can be socially distant.  

Something you see in almost every park is a chain link fence. Hardly the friendliest of welcomes. Check out these light, quick and cheap ways to apply placemaking to your chain link fences in parks and along trails.

• Add colorful slats in rainbow patterns or waves
• Frame art and hang it from the chain link, inside or outside
• Set up a sculpture display in front of the fence
• Create cut-out art to hang on the fence
• Hang some wayfinding signs to direct people to cool things around town
• Plant climbing vines, especially edibles like sweet peas, or tall plants like sunflowers

Use activities to get more people into your parks and trails

In our new video Placemaking Your Parks, Trails and Waters, you’ll learn practical techniques from the real-world experiences of 11 different projects.

• How one town took down a fence and opened up new community interactions
• Community-building activities that take no budget or only a small budget to activate your parks, trails and waters
• How to make more of your existing art and sculpture displays
• Hear innovative ways to add amenities to parks and trails on a tight budget

Read more about our Placemaking Your Parks, Trails and Waters video.