There's an empty lot near my house that was supposed to be a park.
The developer paid impact fees for it. It's in the city's master plan—has been for years. My daughter is two now. She'll probably be in college before anything happens.
When I asked the city about it, they said: “With enough community interest, we can re-prioritize these projects.”
But here's the thing—there's no way to show that interest.
No way for neighbors to know these designated park sites even exist. No way for busy families to find the time to attend town halls. No way for cities to see where demand is actually strongest.
The invisible demand problem
Cities don't lack parks because they hate parks. They lack signal.
Most cities rely on surveys (low engagement), town halls (same people show up), and internal assumptions. This misses renters, younger residents, busy families, and underrepresented communities—the people who often need parks most.
Meanwhile, developers pay park impact fees that sit in accounts. Land gets zoned for parks and never developed. Master plans collect dust.
What we're building
BuildParks is a simple tool that lets communities point at a map and say:here—this is where we need green space.
- Drop a pin where you want a park or where an existing park needs improvement
- Support pins that others have dropped—one tap, no account needed
- Champion locations you care about—take ownership of advocating
- Cities see the data—aggregated, spatial demand they can actually use
No petitions. No campaigns. No fundraising. Just a clear signal of where parks are needed, from the people who live there.
Why this matters
Access to public green space shouldn't depend on who advocates the loudest or which projects happen to be funded. Parks are:
- Essential for physical and mental health
- Critical for community connection
- Proven to increase property values and reduce crime
- One of the few truly non-partisan issues
This problem exists in every city, every neighborhood across America.
