Background: Detroit Park Watch

June 1, 2015

All summer long in 2015, WDET reported on how parks are impacting Detroiters and how Detroiters impacted the parks.

WDET's Parks Project-small

As a public radio station, we didn’t think it was enough for us to do all the storytelling. Especially on a subject like parks that is so near to people’s neighborhoods and hearts. We wanted to hear from Detroiters. We wanted a way to let people on the ground and in the neighborhoods have a voice in telling the story of their parks.

That’s why we partnered with Data Driven Detroit to launch the Parks Watch App. That enabled anyone with a smartphone to upload a report and a picture of what’s happening in their parks. Parks Watch helped to inform WDET’s reporting. Now, that data is available to help all Detroiters, from city officials to community groups.

 

View Map Data

We looked at a four main areas in our survey: Activities, Transportation, Maintenance, and Public Safety.

You can  view WDET’s Parks Watch results and download the data below.

 

Author

  • Nina Ignaczak is an award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker in Metro Detroit. She is the founder and executive editor of Planet Detroit, a digital media startup that tells Detroit’s environmental stories while building a community of engaged readers who are informed and empowered to act personally and publicly. She is also a former digital editor at WDET.

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