The Minneapolis Parks Foundation’s always-free Next Generation of Parks™ series brings global thought leaders, creative placemakers, and community voices together to spark conversations about the importance of parks and public spaces and explore the issues shaping their future.
Launched in 2010, the series grew out of an effort to expand the conversation around parks and city-building, initially bringing landscape designers and park advocates to Minneapolis whose work included The High Line in New York and London’s Green Grid. Since then, Next Generation of Parks has evolved to explore a broad range of ideas, opportunities, and issues affecting parks and public spaces across the Twin Cities and beyond. Through lectures, workshops, and film screenings, speakers such as Chef Sean Sherman, bee expert Dr. Marla Spivak, and urban designer Gil Penalosa have tackled topics ranging from Indigenous food systems and pollinator-friendly landscaping to creating cities that serve residents through every season of life.
Next Generation of Parks 2026-2027 Season
What Do Parks Have to Do with Democracy?
In Partnership with Trust for Public Land
When: Thursday, November 12, 2026, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Where: Mill City Museum
Registration: This event is free to attend — registration is appreciated!
Description: Public parks are among the few places where everyone is welcome. They’re where neighbors connect, communities celebrate, people gather, and civic life unfolds. At a time when opportunities to connect across differences can feel increasingly rare, parks provide essential common ground.
Join us for the upcoming Next Generation of Parks™ event, What Do Parks Have to Do with Democracy?, hosted in partnership with Trust for Public Land. Hear from local experts and park advocates, including Cary Simmons, Director of Community Strategies at Trust for Public Land; Kedar Deshpande, Vice President and District 3 Commissioner, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board; and Dr. Nisha Botchwey, Dean of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. as they explore how public spaces foster belonging, participation, and trust—and why investing in parks is an investment in our shared civic life.
Minnesota Public Radio’s Stephanie Curtis will moderate the panel, followed by an audience Q&A.
Event Speakers
Cary Simmons
Director of Community Strategies, Trust for Public Land
Commissioner Kedar Deshpande
Minneapolis Parks Commissioner, District 3
Dr. Nisha Botchwey
Dean of Humphrey School of Public Affairs
About Trust for Public Land
Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that connects everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they’re needed most. In Minnesota, TPL has protected nearly 250,000 acres of public land, created more than 215 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, and connected over 100,000 Minnesotans to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org/minnesota. Explore more information at: www.tpl.org
Join us as a Next Generation of Parks sponsor today!
Email our Giving Impact Officer, Genessis Lopez, at glopez@mplsparksfoundation.org
to learn more about sponsorship opportunities. Thank you.
Events from the 2024-2025 Season
Basketball State: The Land of 10,000 Hoops, film screening and panel discussion
When: 6:00 p.m., Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Where: Capri Theater
This Next Generation of Parks Event celebrated the legacy of basketball in Minnesota with a special film screening and panel discussion. Directed by Gabe Hostetler (Puzzle World Studios), Basketball State: The Land of 10,000 Hoops, is a powerful documentary series that explores the deep roots and explosive rise of basketball culture in Minnesota, told through the perspective of various players and a director who all have unique love stories with the game. Following the screening, we heard from Director Gabe Hostetler, Minnesota Lynx Broadcaster Lea B. Olsen, NBA veteran and North Minneapolis community leader Devean George, University of Utah Guard and Columbia Heights High graduate Terrence Brown, and University of Florida Guard and Hopkins High graduate Liv McGill, as they unpacked the film, the legacy of basketball, and the ways this sport can ground, guide, and empower.
Belonging in the Outdoors, film screening and panel discussion
When: Thursday, April 17, 2025
Where: Minneapolis Institute of Art
Watch: Full program recording available on YouTube
This event highlighted the inspiring work surrounding the Outdoor and Environmental Leadership program at North Hennepin Community College, which is designed to increase educational and career opportunities for young people in the outdoors. The program featured a screening of the documentary film Belonging, created by Danami-Maurice Champion and produced by BairStories, which follows students through the course as they navigate personal and interpersonal growth in the outdoors. We heard first person narratives from joining participants, Anukalp Jnagal, Dustin O’Brien, and Kimimila Decory, about their lived experiences of climate change, crafted with support from Jothsna Harris of Change Narrative. The event concluded with an engaging discussion and audience Q&A with Ana Munro, program facilitator, Danami-Maurice Champion, film creator, Outdoor Environmental Leadership program mentors Hannah Anema and Tim Pharis from the Minnesota DNR, and participants Kaja Just, Mariah Davis, Nigozis Gonzales, Corvine Parker, Tae Shinder, and William Yates. This evening’s program was moderated by MPR News’ Director of Programming, Stephanie Curtis.
Blackwaters, film screening and panel discussion
When: May 16, 2024
Where: Minneapolis Institute of Art
In partnership with the Cultural Wellness Center, Melanin in Motion, Minneapolis Institute of Art, and the University of Minnesota Department of Forest Resources, the Minneapolis Parks Foundation, we screened the new documentary film by Chad Brown, Blackwaters. After the film, Anthony Taylor led a Q&A style discussion with members of the Blackwaters cast and creators, Dudley Edmondson and James Edward Mills, to talk about the power of BIPOC individuals in wild places, the intersectionality of race and gender, walking through struggle, and who caught the biggest fish. Thank you for your participation in this wonderful evening!
You can watch the Next Generation of Parks presentations (2010-2024) recorded on our YouTube and Vimeo channels.
Past Presenters:
- Sabina Ali, Co-Founder & Chair, Thorncliffe Park Women’s Committee
- Adam Regn Arvidson, author of Wild & Rare: Tracking Endangered Species in the Upper Midwest
- Al Bangoura, Superintendent of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
- Paul Bauknight, Project Implementation Director, Minneapolis Parks Foundation
- Gia Biagi, Principal of Urbanism, Studio Gang
- Monica Bryand, wildlife photographer and Executive Director of Urban Bird Collective
- Kofi Boone, Joseph D. Moore Distinguished Professor and University Faculty Scholar in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at North Carolina State University
- Bruce Chamberlain, Minneapolis Parks Fellow, Minneapolis Parks Foundation
- Maurice Cox, Detroit City Planner
- Roger Cummings, Co-Founder & Creative Director, Juxtaposition Arts
- Jamie Dean, Principal Designer and Program Manager of London’s Green Grid
- Dudley Edmondson, wildlife photographer and author of Black & Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places
- José González, Founder of Latino Outdoors
- Adriaan Geuze, WEST 8
- Robert Hammond, Friends of the High Line
- Eelco Hooftman, GROSS.MAX
- Mark Johnson, co-founder and principal, Civitas
- Mikyoung Kim, FASLA, founding principal of Boston-based Mikyoung Kim Design
- Janet Lansbury, parenting expert and author
- Tom Leader of Tom Leader Studio with Sheila Kennedy of KVA Architects
- Tabitha Montgomery, Executive Director, Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association
- Laurie Olin, founding principal of OLIN
- Kate Orff, Founder & Principal, SCAPE Landscape Design
- Gil Penalosa, Founder and Chair of the Board, 8 80 Cities
- Sean Sherman, Founder and CEO, The Sioux Chef
- Mitchell J. Silver, Commissioner, NYC Parks and Recreation
- Dr. Marla Spivak, Founder, Spivak Honey Bee Lab, University of Minnesota
- Ambreen Tariq, outdoorswoman, founder of @BrownPeopleCamping, author of Fatima’s Great Outdoors
- Lisa Tziona Switkin, of James Corner Field Operations
- Dana Thompson, Co-owner & COO, The Sioux Chef
- Florence Williams, Journalist and author of The Nature Fix: How Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier and More Creative
- Lily Yeh, Founder, Barefoot Artists
- Dr. Robert Zarr, Park Rx America