Full Report: Los Angeles Parks Evaluation — Complete Findings

The Los Angeles parks report card is backed by a comprehensive, data-driven evaluation — a first-of-its-kind study of 40 Los Angeles community parks. The full evaluation, commissioned by City Controller Ron Galperin and conducted by KH Consulting Group, USC faculty, and the RAND Corporation, spans the complete picture of park conditions across the city: from athletic facilities and indoor gyms to restroom infrastructure and safety concerns.

This page provides an overview of the evaluation's methodology, scope, key findings, and recommendations. View individual grades at the report cards section.

Scope of the Evaluation

The evaluation covered 40 of the city's 95 designated community parks — parks defined as serving several neighborhoods within a few miles, with venues for recreation, athletics, and open space. The 40 evaluated parks ranged in size from a single acre to more than 77 acres. City Council members selected 15 parks for inclusion, while the remaining 25 were chosen through a randomized process to ensure geographic and demographic representation.

The research team examined 67 restrooms across 39 parks, conducted hundreds of individual facility assessments, and incorporated responses from more than 3,700 park users through the community survey.

Methodology

The evaluation combined three complementary approaches to produce the most accurate possible assessment of park conditions:

• Professional site visits — Teams of independent reviewers from KH Consulting Group, USC, and the RAND Corporation conducted multiple on-site assessments of each park, using standardized scoring rubrics across all eight graded categories
• Community surveys — More than 3,700 park users were surveyed about their experiences with safety, cleanliness, staff responsiveness, and facility quality
• Follow-up verification — Parks that scored poorly in initial assessments received additional visits to confirm and document problem areas before final grades were assigned

The evaluation team used "as objective a set of criteria as possible," according to Galperin's office, with no attempt to skew grades positively or negatively. Handicap accessibility was factored into restroom grades (with points deducted for inaccessible facilities) and children's playground grades (with bonus points for accessible equipment).

Key Findings

Category Grades Across All Parks

• Indoor Gyms — A (highest category overall)
• Customer Service — A
• Children's Play Areas — A
• Athletic Fields — A/B range
• Drinking Fountains — A/B range
• Park Cleanliness — B range
• Graffiti Control — B range
• Restroom Conditions — C (lowest category overall, 16 parks with D or F)

Individual Park Highlights

The highest overall grade — an A-minus — went to Palisades Recreation Center on the Westside. Culver Slauson, Jim Gilliam, and Westwood parks all received A grades overall and scored 85 or above for restroom cleanliness. At the other end, MacArthur Park in Westlake received the lowest overall grade of C-minus.

Sun Valley Park Recreation Center — one of the San Fernando Valley parks evaluated — received an F grade for its restrooms and a D for cleanliness, contributing to an overall C grade. Pan Pacific Park in the Fairfax/Larchmont area received a B+ overall.

Geographic Disparities

Parks in the Westside and west San Fernando Valley received consistently higher grades than those in the East Valley, Eastside, downtown, and south of downtown. This disparity reflects unequal distribution of maintenance resources and funding across LA neighborhoods — a finding that shaped the report's equity-focused recommendations.

The Funding and Staffing Crisis

The evaluation found that the condition of LA parks cannot be fully separated from the city's funding decisions. Over the nine years prior to the report:

• Maintenance funding for parks was cut by $81 million
• Staffing was reduced from 2,117 to 1,421 employees — a 33% cut
• The city added 37 new parks during the same period, further stretching limited resources
• Homelessness increased, creating additional maintenance and safety challenges

Parks and Recreation General Manager Michael Shull acknowledged that parks need cleaning "multiple times a day" but current staffing allows only once-daily cleaning at most locations.

Restroom Infrastructure: A Deeper Problem

The report identified restroom conditions as the single biggest area of concern — a finding driven not just by cleaning frequency but by underlying infrastructure. Many park restroom systems are decades old, with aging plumbing, inadequate drainage, and deferred capital repairs. Increasing cleaning frequency helps, but structural plumbing problems require targeted investment.

For a detailed look at the plumbing challenges facing LA park bathrooms and the maintenance approaches needed to address them, see our dedicated page on LA park bathroom plumbing.

Recommendations from the Report

The evaluation concluded with a set of actionable recommendations for the Department of Recreation and Parks:

• Revise the department's regional organizational structure to better coordinate maintenance across park locations
• Transition from reactive, resource-constrained maintenance to a data-driven, proactive approach using technology and best practices
• Increase restroom inspection and cleaning frequency at high-traffic parks
• Invest in capital repairs for aging plumbing and restroom infrastructure
• Explore special city funds and alternative funding sources for maintenance upgrades
• Make the report card a regular, recurring evaluation — not a one-time exercise
• Address geographic equity in resource allocation across park districts

Read the Official Press Release

For the official announcement from Controller Galperin's office, read the press release. For individual park grades, visit the report cards section. For community perspectives, see the survey results.