Livability
Why is this important?
Although the definition of livability is different depending on
who you talk to, livability is broadly defined as the synergy between
quality of life and a sense of place. People not only want their
day to day needs met, and met to a high standard, but it is also
important to feel like you are here, rather than anywhere else.
For residents in Park Rapids, and northern Minnesota as a whole,
how livable a community is weighs heavily on the abundance of outdoor
recreation and cultural opportunities. For the purposes of this
report these two areas have been focused on, but it is important
to note that livability is affected by many other things like the
talent base in our community, possibilities for economic
prosperity,
and the over all wellness and
safety a community can provide. To
view how this report addresses these areas in Park Rapids click
the above links.
How is Park Rapids doing?
The Park Rapids community fosters the
arts. This community cultivates
arts and culture opportunities and has multiple different outlets
for creative citizens. As a result we have a noticeably higher
concentration of artists than most areas of rural Minnesota.
Outdoor recreational opportunities are
abundant in this region. Glancing at the Recreational Assets Map it is easy to see that
the Park Rapids area contains numerous lakes, lake accesses, snowmobile
trails and state forests. Furthermore, this community has an abundance
of summer use trails.
click on image to see larger view |
Click here to see where the parks are! |
The City of Park Rapids provides many
outdoor recreation opportunities to residents. Within
the Park Rapids City limits there are 7 city parks and one large
county park that provide space and amenities for citizen’s
to enjoy the outdoors. Four of the parks are improved community
parks and two are neighborhood parks with the premier park being
Heartland Park, a county wide asset. Click here to
see a description of the parks in the City
of Park Rapids.
What can we do about this?
Looking over these maps the conclusion can be drawn that the Park
Rapids community has a lot to offer. Our natural environment is
and asset and there are many arts and culture offerings in this
rural setting. Despite this we still need to be conscious of preserving
and improving our community in this area. The following strategies
strive to make Park Rapids even more livable.
- Use our arts and culture assets
to carve a niche for Park Rapids. It is obvious Park Rapids has something special going
on when it comes to arts and culture opportunities. Not many
communities of this size can say they house as many artists or
cultural offerings as Park Rapids. Moving into the future Park
Rapids can capitalize on this niche by continuing to expand these
types of opportunities to attract more of the creative class.
One example might be the planning of a community center in such
a way that the facility can support the local arts and culture
scene.
- Implement an initiative to make
Park Rapids a green community. Going “green” can
mean many different things on the community level, but by making
Park Rapids a more environmentally friendly community we will
preserve our natural environment, a major community asset,
as well as the quality of life in our area. An initiative like
this could take many forms but could include efforts to reduce
energy consumption and waste production. Partnering with Green
Park Rapids and building on initiatives they are already working
on will be a key to success on this strategy.
 Develop a response for the threat
to our lakes from invasive species. Our lakes are one of our key assets. One of the emerging
threats is from invasive species.
- Begin to implement the Park Rapids
Parks Plan. The City
of Park Rapids recently completed a parks plan that identifies
the ideal improvements for the existing city parks. Through implementing
this plan the city parks will become even more of a community
asset than they already are. Click here to view the City of Park
Rapids Parks and Trails Plan.
How to get involved….
There will be a number of organizations who will work towards
success on the strategies outlined above. If you would like to
get involved contact the following people:
The City of Park Rapids
Click here to visit the City’s website.
Dan Walker
City Planner
dwalker@arvig.net
(218) 237-2746
212 West Second St.
Park Rapids, MN 56470
http://ci.park-rapids.mn.us/default.asp
Park Rapids Lakes Area Arts Council (PRLAAC)
Click here to visit PRLAAC’s website.
PRLAAC
Park Rapids, MN 56470
info@prlaac.org
http://prlaac.org/
Parks and Beautification Board of Park Rapids
(City of Park Rapids)
Susan Cutler
Chairman
(218) 259-1259
http://ci.park-rapids.mn.us/parks.asp
Hubbard County Coalition of Lake Associations (COLA)
P.O.
Box 746
Park Rapids, MN 56470
Click here to visit COLA Website
www.mnwaters.org/hubbardcola
Ken Grob, President
grobak@q.com
218-732-0364
Dan Kittilson, Vice-President
drkittil@msn.com
218-732-5566
Green Park Rapids
Sharon
Voyda
HRA of Park Rapids
Green Park Rapids
218-732-4158
hrapr@unitelc.com
Introduction | People
and Talent | Economics
and Prosperity | Community
Wellness and Safety | Livability
Social Capital and Community Readiness | How
to Get Involved | Sources
and Links
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