Will you commit to developing parks and greenspaces so that 100% of Clevelanders have access to a high-quality park within a 10-minute walk from their home? If yes, how would you do this?

According to The Trust for Public Land’s 2021 ParkScore(R) rankings, 83% of Clevelanders currently live within a 10-minute walk from a park. You can learn more about the 10 minute walk campaign and Cleveland’s overall ParkScore(R) at www.tpl.org/city/cleveland-ohio

Justin Bibb: I believe that parks are a necessity for a healthy, thriving city, and I am dedicated to ensuring that all Clevelanders live within a 10-minute walk (10MW) of a high quality park from their home. As Mayor, I will focus on access, quality and investment in our neighborhood parks, as well as destination parks. I intend to: 1) convene a community-driven advisory board, to 2) create an equitable parks master plan, that outlines equitable park investment throughout the city, centers economic and environmental justice, and helps to spur revitalization in communities most in need.

An equitable park master plan must be rooted in the lived experiences of our residents, shifting power from city hall to the community, where residents have the agency to create and steward their own spaces.

To understand existing gaps, the history of our spaces, and current barriers to park access we will launch a community-driven master planning process with residents and local experts based on the National Recreation and Park Association’s steps to creating an equitable plan, which include 1) internal assessment, 2) community engagement, 3) resources & data collection, and 4) implementation. As a part of a new Parks Master Plan, we will develop a new methodology that prioritizes racial equity.

Our 10MW efforts must also take into account access to one of Cleveland’s greatest assets, Lake Erie. Development of Cleveland’s Lakefront should be part of the plan to leverage our proximity to the lake as a new public space for all Clevelanders.

Ross DiBello: Re-purpose vacant lots & brownfields. This shouldn’t be impossible. Create pocket parks by demanding picnic tables, bike racks, trash cans, water fountains, and bathrooms. Greening unused pavement lots & taking down fences.

As mayor, would you commit to conducting an independent, third-party quality assessment of city parks during the first year in office? If yes, how will you measure equity while performing this assessment?

We define equity as “just and fair inclusion into a society in which all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential. Unlocking the promise of the nation by unleashing the promise in us all.”

Justin Bibb: An independent, third-party quality assessment of city parks would be conducted annually, and we will leverage this as a community engagement opportunity for citizens by working in collaboration with community-based organizations to empower residents to inform City Hall on how they are experiencing parks and greenspaces in their neighborhood.

PolicyLink’s definition of equity is a first step, the next is defining equity when it comes to parks and greenspace is to examine equity, proximity, social connections, and ensuring that all have access to the benefits of these spaces--which include health, economic prosperity, multi-modal transportation, and climate resilience.

We will measure progress based on the shift in residents' sentiments regarding their neighborhood park, leverage the Trust for Public Land’s Park Score data, and park data that integrates proximity, health, economic impact and climate measures.

Ross DiBello: Yes. Map out the city and post a public timeline for addressing when a park within walking distance is set to be created or turned usable. Every address has a poll location; every address should have a park location.

How would you specifically prioritize racial equity while investing in the Cleveland parks system?

Justin Bibb: Neighborhood parks support residents through improving physical and mental health outcomes, providing safe and welcoming spaces for recreation, promoting economic activity, and improving air quality.  Many residents, especially those who are predominately Black and brown, do not have access to these benefits because of lack of or poor-quality greenspaces in their neighborhoods.

Racial equity and climate equity are interconnected, and we know that when people have more access to high-quality green spaces they have improved health, both mental and physical.

We will specially prioritize racial equity by developing a new park methodology that determines park investments based on a range of factors including health and climate data, geographic proximity to the nearest public space, population demographics and years since recent investments to uncover the most underserved neighborhoods and ensure we deliver a public space for every Clevelander within a 10-minute walk. 

Parks can be and should be used for community healing and we look forward to working with community members to leverage these public spaces to address issues like food deserts and a lack of fitness zones.

Ross DiBello: Prioritize improving the canopy first where there has been systemic disinvestment and now we have heat islands and park deserts. Start with those areas in January after doing my own research or getting my own personal input in November.

How would you ensure that parks and greenspaces are physically accessible for all Clevelanders?

Park amenities as well as paths and routes to the parks impact residents ability to use and enjoy our parks system. 

Justin Bibb: To ensure that parks and greenspaces are physically accessible for all Clevelanders, we will mandate that resident’s voices as a required component of park design and park care. This includes residents from all walks of life working in partnership with landscape architects on park design. Not only will we make sure our spaces are physically accessible but that they also serve the neurodiverse.

Ross DiBello: Learn from the MetroParks and organizations who specialize in this arena and who’ve done it in other cities. Close the information divide between the City and residents and even hopefully between neighbors. Put our money where our mouth is and build/clean these paths, routes and sidewalks.

Will you commit to creating an advisory board of community members and professionals that represent the needs and desires of neighborhood residents from the onset of park development and improvements?

Justin Bibb: For far too long park advocates, residents, and professionals have been making progress on their own. To finally disrupt silos and foster collaboration, the Bibb Administration will create an advisory board to leverage the experience of our community so that resident voices are involved from the onset of park development and improvements.

Ross DiBello: Yes. Making Cleveland more democratic on every issue and being lobbied by residents are motivators for my candidacy.

How would you provide resources to residents so they can advocate and care for neighborhood parks through programming, maintenance, and ongoing stewardship?

It is vital that residents be empowered with the information and tools necessary to care for their local parks. For example, programs like Philadelphia’s Parks & Recreation Summer Youth Employment Program help create a pipeline of park advocates. 

Justin Bibb: Much like former New York City Park Commissioner, Mitch Silver stated, our newly formed Parks Department will be focused on park care, and not maintenance. This includes providing resources for residents for programming and ongoing stewardship and we should partner with local philanthropy to create a sustainable funding option for grant dollars.

Ross DiBello: Create a database available on the web and hopefully an app which allows interaction as to every park and park project in the City. Start Public Comment. Market TV-20 and a Parks Facebook group.

Will you commit to partnering with relevant agencies to create a coordinated and transparent parks and greenspace master plan that prioritizes both neighborhood and destination parks? How would you go about this process?

Justin Bibb: Yes, we would leverage the National Recreation and Parks Association four steps to creating an equity-based system Master Plan. Those steps, from NRPA, are as follows:

1. Internal Assessment: Before starting the master planning process, collaborate with community-based organizations and Cleveland residents to lay the foundation for the vision and mission for parks and greenspace. Cleveland is not short of plans or subject matter experts, we would work in partnership with these leaders to devise a strategy to create a Master Plan.

2. Community Engagement: Leverage existing community engagement experience ecosystems to ensure under-resourced communities are participating in data collection, analysis, decision-making, and implementation.

3. Resources & Data Collection: Conduct data collection and analysis to prioritize resource allocation based on level of need for both park access as well as outcomes associated with park access such as physical activity and climate resiliency. Include both qualitative and quantitative analysis in this data collection to understand where gaps and inequities in distribution, park quality, safety and inclusion may exist. These measures include geographic information systems (GIS), community engagement, audits and resource analysis.

4. Implementation: Create a realistic action plan based on needs identified and current and future resource, partnership and funding scenarios.

Ross DiBello: Yes. See what other successful cities have done, partner with the MetroParks, and devote funding to our parks department. Hire for at least one Parks coordinator cabinet position and maybe two (Neighborhood & Destination).

As mayor, would you commit to the creation of an independent Parks & Recreation Department, with cabinet-level leadership and experienced staff? How would you ensure this department was adequately staffed and funded?

Currently the parks and recreation services must compete with several other citywide services within the Division of Public works.

Justin Bibb: One of my first actions as Mayor is to undertake a top-down audit of every Department and process to identify inefficiencies and opportunities to collaborate. If gaps are identified, I am committed to creating a dedicated Independent Parks & Recreation Department and cabinet-level leadership.

Ross DiBello: Yes. End fiscal mismanagement and crony capitalism. Safeguard our tax dollars & fight for environmentally-minded non-profit dollars and resources. No more handouts to the campaign donor class and put parks & rec development before the interests of the most influential.

How will you increase transparency around this funding process and ensure that funding is invested equitably?

Throughout our engagement with 100+ stakeholders, it was consistently mentioned that people lack clarity around the City of Cleveland’s parks investment process for park improvement and maintenance. This was even true amongst professionals who work on public space investment.

Justin Bibb: As mayor, I will be fully transparent about how we’re spending funding through a participatory budgeting process, which involves residents in the decision-making from the outset. I will also launch a brand new website, with a spending tracker that shows progress towards priorities, including public parks.

Ross DiBello: Consistent natural accountability through open city books and participatory budgeting. Show the people how this ARPA money and our taxes are spent. The Budget is a moral document. Use an equitable formula City-wide per head and get everyone a park within a 10-minute walk.