For the Carlson Family Foundation, improving access to parks is an investment in youth development.

In study after study, parks have been shown to have a host of health benefits for young people, like building the social glue that holds friendships and families together to create a sense of belonging, lowering stress and anxiety, and improving mental health and memory.

But, according to the Trust for Public Land, excellent parks and green spaces are not nearly as accessible to youth from low-income neighborhoods. Here in Minneapolis, kids growing up in low-income neighborhoods have access to nearly a third less park space per person than those in the average Minneapolis neighborhood, and nearly two-thirds less than those in high-income neighborhoods. While Minneapolis is consistently given some of the highest rankings in the U.S. for the scope, scale and quality of its parks, its overall parks equity score is only slightly above the national average. 

“We’ve all heard the research about how nature and green spaces are critical to good mental health, but the pandemic really proved just how much our communities need these outdoor spaces,” says Dana Jensen, program director of the Carlson Family Foundation, a long-time supporter of the Minneapolis Parks Foundation. “At the same time, the pandemic had a big influence on the downturn in mental health among youth, which is the population we focus on. That’s why we’re starting to look at parks as part of the bigger picture of the Carlson Family Foundation’s interest in making sure that youth in our community are healthy and happy.” 

As part of that strategy, the Carlson Family Foundation was one of the first funders to join the Transforming North Commons Campaign, the $20 million capital campaign to renovate and reimagine one of the city’s oldest and most iconic neighborhood parks. Even before the Minneapolis Parks Foundation’s official announcement of the campaign last month, the Carlson Family Foundation had already committed to a major capital gift of $300,000 for the North Minneapolis park, as well as grant support for the Minneapolis Parks Foundation’s ongoing efforts to engage youth in the project, seeking their feedback and ideas on everything from the parks design to the programming that will go into it. 

“Engaging youth in the design of the project – making sure that these improvements happen with the community, not to it – was really important to the Carlson family,” Jensen says. The park’s proximity to the Capri Theater, Juxtaposition Arts, the YMCA and other groups committed to youth development in one of the city’s youngest, densest and most diverse neighborhoods was also a big draw. “With North High School right across the street, we see the park as part of a constellation of great programs that are critical to a whole ecosystem of youth development in North Minneapolis.”

With more than 12,000 youth who live within walking distance of North Commons, Jensen says the Carlson Family Foundation is eager to see how this investment impacts the health and happiness of North Minneapolis’s next generation of children, teens and young adults. “But we already know that making this important city park more vibrant and appealing can only make the Twin Cities an even better place to live, work and play,” she says. 

To learn more about concept plans and youth programs developing at North Commons park, visit Transforming North Commons Park or connect with Jennifer Downham, Chief Development Officer at 612.822.3401 or jdownham@mplsparksfoundation.org

Image courtesy of MPRB.