Pocket park

thumb|Waterfall Garden Park, [[Pioneer Square, Seattle, Washington]]

A pocket park (also known as a parkette, mini-park, vest-pocket park or vesty park) is a small park accessible to the general public. While the locations, elements, and uses of pocket parks vary considerably, the common defining characteristic of a pocket park is its small size. Typically, a pocket park occupies one to three municipal lots and is smaller than in size.

Pocket parks can be urban, suburban or rural, but they customarily appear in densely urbanized areas, where land is very expensive and space for the development of larger urban parks is limited.

Pocket parks can create new public spaces without the need for large-scale redevelopment. In inner-city areas, pocket parks are often part of urban regeneration efforts by transforming underutilized or blighted spaces into vibrant community assets. Common elements of pocket parks include benches, tables, fountains, playgrounds, monuments, historic markers, art installations, barbecue pits, flower beds, community gardens, or basketball courts. Although they are often too small for many space-intensive physical activities, pocket parks provide communities with greenery, a place to sit and rest, and an ecological foothold for urban wildlife.

History

thumb|[[Paley Park in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, opened in 1967 as one of the earliest pocket parks and privately owned public spaces in the United States.]]

The first pocket parks appeared in Europe in the aftermath of World War II. As cities began to recover from the large-scale physical damage incurred by warfare, such as from bombings, limitations in capital, labor, and building materials necessitated cheap, easy, and minimalistic solutions to restore urban landscapes. These constraints promoted the conversion of heavily damaged sites into small public parks which echoed the neighborhood's original peacetime identities. Congressman John Lindsay endorsed the creation of pocket parks in his 1965 campaign for New York City mayor, and Paley Park, a premier privately owned public space and prominent example of a pocket park, opened during his mayoralty in 1967.]]

Pocket parks typically develop on small, solitary, irregularly shaped, and physically damaged lots. Because these parcels may not be conducive to commercial development, the land on which they are situated is often relatively cheap to acquire, and transforming the neglected parcel into public or green space may be the only viable opportunity for redevelopment.

Economic impact

One study conducted in Greenville, South Carolina, found that "attractively maintained small and medium parks have a positive influence on neighboring property values." Despite this potential to inflate local housing costs, pocket parks are less likely to contribute to environmental gentrification than larger urban parks.

Ecological impact

Patches of green landscaping and permeable surfaces within pocket parks can mitigate the urban heat island effect, aid in stormwater management, and help control microclimates. This greenery can also attract and harbor urban wildlife, especially birds. However, pocket parks are typically designed for human use and therefore may only provide limited ecological benefits to non-human species.

The creation of pocket parks can improve resident perceptions of public safety. One study from the University of Pennsylvania concluded that converting vacant lots into pocket parks reduces crime rates.

Around the world

Chile

In Santiago, Chile, the first pocket park (plaza de bolsillo) was created beside of Palacio La Moneda at Morandé Street. It was an initiative of Architecture Department of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and Regional Government of Santiago.

Mexico

thumb|A dog plays in [[Jardín Edith Sánchez Ramírez pocket park in Mexico City's Colonia Roma neighborhood]]

In Mexico City, there is a city program to facilitate the creation of up to 150 pocket parks of 400m<sup>2</sup> or less on vacant lots and former road intersections, such as Jardín Edith Sánchez Ramírez and Condesa pocket park.

Poland

In Krakow, the Municipal Green Areas Management Board launched a 2018 initiative to improve the quality of public space and the quantity of green space by creating eighteen new pocket parks, which were modeled after the successes of New York City's Paley Park and Philadelphia's John F. Collins Park. and was later developed by the Countryside Commission into the Millennium Green and Doorstep Green projects.