Medal of Honour Park, located in West Mobile, is the city's second-largest park (Ref 3, video). A City-County partnership is planning to implement significant changes to the park and its amenities (Ref 3). These changes include crowning and sodding the field, surrounded by large oaks, making it an oasis in the middle of the city (Ref 1, Ref 5). The project will focus on upgrading recreational and sports facilities, such as improvements to the golf area (Ref 1), tennis courts, and softball fields (Ref 1, 4). Additionally, the playground will be entirely rebuilt, featuring RSA Tower slides, new drinking fountains, new fencing, and rubber play surfaces for added safety (Ref 3). Cultural and social enhancements are also part of the plan, including upgrades to the amphitheatre (Ref 1). Visitors will enjoy a walking trail that allows them to experience nature while exploring the park. Other amenities receiving upgrades include lighting, wayfinding signage (Ref 1), as well as improvements to the concession stands and restrooms (Ref 4). Traffic circulation within the park will also see enhancements, particularly at the street intersection and surrounding landscaping (Ref 1). This park is a popular destination, attracting kids and families from all over the region (Ref 3, video). Importantly, it meets the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, ensuring accessibility for everyone (Ref 5).
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Parks and urban forests
- Large urban parks or forests
Key challenges
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Enabling opportunities for physical activity
- Improving physical health
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Social interaction
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Land use and Socio-economic change
- Unequal availability and access to public green spaces
- Health, Well-being and Social cohesion
- Inadequate access to recreational opportunities
Key priorities
Focus
Project objectives
Implementation activities
Main beneficiaries
- Citizens or community groups
- Young people and children
Governance
Management set-up
- Government-led
Type of initiating organisation
- Local government/municipality
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Deliberative decision-making processes (e.g., consensus building, deliberative polling)
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
Project implemented in response to ...
Type of enablers
Financing
Total cost
Source(s) of funding
- Public local authority budget
- Public regional budget
Type of funding
- Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Expected increased green space area
Economic impacts
- Unknown
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved access to urban green space
- Expected improved access to urban green space
- Increased opportunities for social interaction
- Expected increased opportunities for social interaction
- Health and wellbeing
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Expected gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Improved physical health
- Expected improved physical health
- Cultural heritage and sense of place
- Protection of historic and cultural landscape / infrastructure
- Expected protection of historic and cultural landscape / infrastructure
Type of reported impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Presence of indicators used in reporting
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs
References
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.