Measuring social capital for park revitalization

Catalyst is the signature project of Partnerships for Parks, a public-private program that supports a network of leaders advocating for neighborhood parks and green spaces. The Catalyst program brings local partners together to improve underserved parks, reinvigorate public spaces, and achieve long-term community change. The Catalyst program enlisted a Capstone team to design and implement a system to measure the social capital activated by such volunteer efforts and better document the contributions of community partners. The team researched literature on social capital and assessed input provided by the community partners that aided the turnaround of Soundview Park, Catalyst’s most successful project. Based on its research and analysis, the team developed a series of metrics and best practices for measuring the contributions of Catalyst partners.