Great Parks, Great City: Civic Collaboration Key to Portland Parks Success

Vibrant parks contribute to what makes Portland a great place to live, work and play. On June 20, Zari Santner, director of Portland Parks & Recreation, will explore the richness of the city’s parks system and explain how she is addressing the challenges of managing park resources and distributing those resources equally.

Portland Parks & Recreation currently manages 10,500 acres, 250 parks and 150 miles of trails. Despite this array, Portland’s lower-income neighborhoods, including Argay, Cully and Centennial, still do not enjoy the same level of recreational resources as other areas. Faced with “doing more with less,” the parks department has established community partnerships and innovative practices to maintain and grow its green infrastructure. These innovations include collaborations between Portland Public Schools and the Boys and Girls Club at the New Columbia facility in North Portland and partnerships with the 80 “friends” groups that operate such attractions as the Leach Botanical Garden and Pittock Mansion.

Santner moved to Portland in 1980 and began her work in the public sector with Portland Parks & Recreation’s planning and development department. In 2003, Santner was named the bureau’s first female director.