Stitching Together America’s Deep Divisions Could Be as Simple as a Walk in the Park

COMMENTARY

As Election Day approaches, what’s bubbling up for many Americans is a deep sense of anxiety. We fear that our beliefs may not be affirmed in the votes of our fellow citizens, leaving policies — and even our lives — at risk.

This feeling won’t disappear when ballots have been counted on Nov. 5. 

Across the country, communities are experiencing a crisis of connection that’s bigger than politics. It’s a profound social issue that the U.S. surgeon general labeled the “loneliness epidemic.” The statistics are alarming — almost half of Americans (49%) in 2021 reported having just three or fewer close friends. The numbers show a decline in close friends since the 1990s, and over the past two decades the average time we spend each day connecting with friends has fallen from 60 minutes to 20.  

The good news is that we don’t have to live like this, and the solution could be as simple as meeting a friend in the park.

Parks are part of the solution because they bring people together in classic “third spaces” — places for people to meet, mingle, relax and recreate. Nature-rich settings bring out “prosocial behavior” — helping, sharing and caring for others — that nurtures connection. In these ways, public spaces are an antidote to loneliness and social isolation.

Take East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, for example, where BREC, the local park agency, established a citizen advisory group to support the agency’s 10-year vision for the replacement of aging park infrastructure. Community participation in the process created an opportunity to engage residents representing the diversity of East Baton Rouge. The 15-person citizen committee brought together residents from all walks of life — different neighborhoods, racial and ethnic backgrounds, ages and income levels — to share experiences and ideas about parks.

When the group first met, there was understandable tension in the room. People were cautious and skeptical, perhaps wary of being part of something that brought together such varied perspectives and life experiences.

But as the committee moved forward advising BREC, something extraordinary happened: Diversity became the group’s strength. By designing a space for all voices to be heard, members found common ground and developed relationships that might not have otherwise formed, with both their local government and fellow citizens. 

Today, many committee members, who initially met as strangers, are friends. They share phone numbers, celebrate life’s milestones and work together to support their community. The model that BREC and Trust for Public Land created to foster community participation in East Baton Rouge serves as a powerful reminder of how conversations about parks lead to relationships across lines of difference.

East Baton Rouge is one part of a larger, national initiative at Trust for Public Land, which tested park-based strategies to build social connections in nine U.S. communities. By intentionally creating spaces that foster interactions across diverse backgrounds, every one of these communities built new community connections in parks, across division and difference. And a growing body of evidence supports our experience. Research published earlier this year proved cities with better park systems are more socially connected, underscoring the pivotal role parks play in addressing the loneliness epidemic (and, yes, our increasingly belligerent politics). 

Many organizations are starting to increase the role of parks in building civic infrastructure across the country. Reimagining the Civic Commons, a $40 million initiative by four foundations to revitalize social infrastructure in several cities across the country like Detroit, Michigan, Memphis, Tennessee, and Akron, Ohio, is supporting major investments in park capital projects paired with deep community engagement. 

The recently formed foundation Trust for Civic Life is supporting place-based investments in 20 rural communities from West Virginia to Hawaii to activate public spaces for social connection. As this movement grows, we’re seeing that parks can be a solution for healing fractured communities and, more broadly, rebuilding the foundation of our democracy.

Parks aren’t just nice-to-haves; they are must-haves for building stronger, more resilient communities. Local leaders, policymakers and donors must continue to prioritize parks as vital infrastructure that promotes connection, rebuilds trust and lays the groundwork for meaningful civic engagement. 

Each of us can play a part in strengthening the bonds within our communities. Our democracy doesn’t just renew itself every four years on Election Day; it’s a daily commitment we each make, a decision to show up and connect with our neighbors.

Consider this: Come November, half the country will wake up feeling scared, angry, disconnected or all three — regardless of the election’s outcome. Those feelings of division and disillusionment are precisely why each of us should take action in small but significant ways.

Go to your local park, strike up a conversation, perhaps volunteer for a park advisory board or another community effort. These moments build trust and friendship and help knit back together our frayed social fabric.

Cary Simmons is a landscape architect and director of community strategies at Trust for Public Land. Simmons can be reached on LinkedIn.

Corey K. Wilson, J.D., is the superintendent of parks at BREC in East Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Wilson can be reached on LinkedIn.