- Regional park
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Regional park is a term used for an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of local government.
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Definition
A Regional park can be a special park district covering a region crossing several jurisdiction boundaries, or a park system of a single jurisdiction, such as a province, county, or city.
In the U.S., the term is also used in urban areas to refer to large parks, that because of their expansive size and unique natural and cultural attractions draw visitors from the entire region. These parks, which usually have many uses including commercial event activities (such as weddings and seminar centers), require a higher level of management compared to smaller parks such as city parks, neighborhood parks, recreation centers, and pocket parks that have fewer activities and primarily serve local residents.
Regional parks by country
Italy
Regional parks in Italy are administered by each region in Italy, a government unit like a U.S. state.
New Zealand
Main article: Regional parks of New ZealandIn New Zealand regional parks are administered by regional councils rather than the Department of Conservation or territorial authorities.
United States
- See also: Regional parks in California
Definitions
In the United States a regional park is sometimes referred to as a 'Metropolitan Park (Metropark)' or as an Open space Preserve. The terms "region" and "metropolitan" can have different meanings in U.S. local government agencies. Regional parks are can be administered by a regional park board, a state, county or other units of local government, or occasionally by the National Park Service as in the Santa Monica Mountains of California. A special authority can be set up, under the joint jurisdiction of two or more government bodies or as an independent park district to administer parks. Individual parks may or may not cross governmental boundaries. The park district holds the authority, similar to fire protection districts, to manage and raise taxes to cover park acquisition and management costs.
Mid-west
In Ohio, under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 1545, metro parks such as the Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks can have their own sworn police forces (rangers); The Cleveland Metroparks and Dayton Five Rivers Metroparks are also in the state. Other examples of large regional park systems are the Huron-Clinton Metroparks in southeast Michigan; and the Three Rivers Park District in Minnesota.
California
The East Bay Regional Park District and Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District have extensive parklands in the San Francisco Bay Area, protecting habitat and offering recreation.
In the Los Angeles California region many larger parks with significant natural areas have been preserved, such as Griffith Park, the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve, the Chino Hills State Park, and the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, and serve the public as *regional open space parks. Adjacent to the city is the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area with regional parks administered at the national, state, county, and municipal levels. The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy acquires new properties in all the Los Angeles basin's Transverse Ranges to expand the greenbelt and protect the wildland-urban interface with regional parks.
See also
Categories:- Regional parks
- Parks
- Nature reserves
- Special administrative structures
- Urban studies and planning terminology
- Urban studies and planning
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