Pocket park

[1] They are frequently created on small, irregular pieces of public or private land, such as in vacant building lots, in brownfields, beside railways, beneath utility lines, or in parking spots.

In inner-city areas, pocket parks are often part of urban regeneration efforts by transforming underutilized or blighted spaces into vibrant community assets.

[4] Common elements of pocket parks include benches, tables, fountains, playgrounds, monuments, historic markers, art installations, barbecue pits, flower beds, community gardens, or basketball courts.

[1][5] Although they are often too small for many space-intensive physical activities, pocket parks provide communities with greenery, a place to sit and rest, and an ecological foothold for urban wildlife.

As cities began to recover from the large-scale physical damage incurred by warfare, such as from bombings, limitations in capital, labor, and building materials necessitated cheap, easy, and minimalistic solutions to restore urban landscapes.

Inspired by this readaptation of urban space, landscape architect and professor Karl Linn proposed the transformation of vacant lots in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. into neighborhood commons.

[citation needed] Consequently, the development of pocket parks generally entails extensive public participation and collaboration between community members, landscape architects, municipal officials, and local institutions such as businesses or schools.

[1] Pocket parks prevent overdevelopment in dense neighborhoods and vary the form of the built environment with islands of shade, quiet, and privacy, which may otherwise be difficult to find in urban areas.

[1] This close proximity can also generate strong personal attachments and positive associations of place identity, especially among children who grow up in neighborhoods containing pocket parks.

[1] These positive impacts are magnified in neighborhoods with low-income or racial minority populations, where green space may be scarce and the new development of larger-scale parks may be infeasible due to spatial or financial constraints.

[8] One study conducted in Greenville, South Carolina, found that "attractively maintained small and medium parks have a positive influence on neighboring property values.

[10] Patches of green landscaping and permeable surfaces within pocket parks can mitigate the urban heat island effect, aid in stormwater management, and help control microclimates.