Brunswick Parks & Recreation Master Plan

Brunswick, Ohio

WHY

When the City of Brunswick, Ohio emerged from a period of financial hardship to resume investing in community amenities, fiscally conservative city leaders wanted to ensure these investments would target their constituents' highest priorities. Their goal with the city's first-ever Parks & Recreation Master Plan was to understand what community members wanted from their parks system and develop a responsible, measured approach to delivering it.   

HOW

To ascertain Brunswick residents' parks-related needs and preferences, Designing Local conducted 17 stakeholder interviews, held 2 open house events, and offered an online survey to which almost 1,400 responded. Zec Eight Insights was enlisted in the planning process to conduct a benchmarking analysis that compared Brunswick's parks system with others of a similar size nationwide; Envision Group prepared a fiscal analysis and implementation plan to facilitate each recommendation. 

WHAT

Brunswick's City Council discussed the plan in early 2025; at the same meeting, they recommended dedicating $1.2 million from the city budget to implement its recommendations.