Market studies have established that when families with children are deciding where to live, one of their top priorities is access to quality parks. But when it comes to providing this access, Austin has a long ways to go: Only 47% of the city's population lives within walking distance to a park, and the city is even struggling with maintaining its existing parks. In a recent survey, Austin families cited the lack of child-friendly open space as one of their top concerns about the City and its ability to support the needs of families and children.
Over the next decade, to attract and retain families with children in the city, Austin needs to tackle two challenges with its parks system: access and quality. The City needs to figure out how to join the ranks of cities like Chicago, Seattle, Denver, and Minneapolis in ensuring that the bulk of its population has walking access to a park, and, at the same time, the City needs ensure that its parks are high quality and attractive to children and persons of all ages.
One of the greatest park systems my family has ever come across in our travels is in Paris.
The Project for Public Places even ranked 4 of Paris's parks amongst the top 24 in the world. This past summer my family, including our 2-year-old nephew, had the opportunity to visit several of Paris's marvelous and magical parks. Indeed, it seemed that every 1/2 mile or so in our travels throughout the City we would come across a fabulous, engaging, one-of-a-kind park. Here are some pictures from our trip:
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| Jardin des Tuileries, Paris |
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| Jardin des Tuileries, Paris |
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| Parc de la Villette |
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| Parc de la Villette |
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| Parc de la Villette |
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| Jardin d'Acclimation |
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| Jardin d'Acclimation |
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| Place des Vosges |
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| Parc de la Villette |
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