The Sherwood Park Civic Association has spent more than a year rallying their neighbors to make improvements to Little John Park, including conducting neighborhood-wide survey, and engaging neighbors with technical expertise to turn those survey results into visuals and plans.

Mayo Island is transforming into a Natural Area Park that will reconnect residents and visitors with the James River while preserving the island’s natural environment and historic character. The Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities, in partnership with the Department of Public Utilities, is leading the restoration effort.

Over the course of the planning process, Richmond INSPIRE became one of the most extensive community engagement efforts undertaken for Richmond’s parks and recreation system in recent years. Beginning in January 2024, the City utilized workshops in every Council District, surveys, focus groups, pop-up events, stakeholder meetings, community center outreach, and online engagement tools to ensure broad and meaningful participation from residents across Richmond. The result is a community-driven plan reflective of Richmond’s diverse neighborhoods, values, and aspirations for the future of parks and recreation.

Public comment on the 90% draft plan was open between December 20, 2025 to March 6, 2026. Thank you to everyone who provided feedback or took the time to review the plan. We received hundreds of comments.

The planning team reviewed and responded to every comment. Comments, replies and actions will be included in the final document’s appendices.

The three winners of the gift card raffle have been contacted.

Since the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities began the planning process in winter 2024, Richmond INSPIRE has been described as the first master plan for the park system since the 1970s. The document from that era was less a comprehensive master plan and more an inventory of park facilities and amenities.

It’s an interesting snapshot of the park system 50 years ago, when many parks featured roller skating areas and other unique amenities such as funnel ball, buck-about, and saddle mates.

Review the Workshop 2 Workshop Materials!

The planning team is wrapping up Phase 2 of this planning process! Phase 2 is the last time to provide input on overall plan ideas before we draft recommendations. We hope that we hear from as many Richmonders as possible throughout the month of March! New opportunities to engage in Phase 2 will be regularly updated on the Get Involved page.

Richmond INSPIRE was introduced to the Planning Commission on Feb. 4, 2025, at 6 PM! Listen to the meeting audio and follow along with the attached presentation.

Steering Committee Update

Westover Hills students drawing their perfect park.

Survey 1 due date has been extended to Nov. 8th to make sure everyone has a chance to participate!

We want your input even if you weren’t able to make it to our Workshop Series 1!
In this article you’ll find all of the workshop materials and have a chance to take our "Workshop from Home" survey!

Thank you for attending the first round of public workshops! If you missed them, click to learn more about how you can stay involved.

Survey 1 is now open! Learn more about how you can take the survey.

Workshop Series 1 Dates and Times have been annouced!

Starting condition assessment of all parks, features, and facilities!

Update on steering committee applications.

Apply to be on the steering committee.