At the intersection of community building and environmental justice

Giles Garrison (‘10 MURP) grew up around two of Richmond’s most storied parks, Forest Hill Park and the James River Park System. After graduating from the Wilder School’s urban and regional planning program, she began working with the city to develop, preserve and enhance our shared green spaces. 

Garrison is a programs and operations manager for the City of Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities, and her work is rooted in a belief that parks are essential to the health, environment and identity of Virginia’s capital city. 

“There’s that side of parks as spaces that engage communities and make people feel connected and interconnected. Parks are sort of the lungs of the city.”
– Giles Garrison (‘10 MURP)

Her team’s work is grounded in data and community engagement. Tools like the American Community Survey help her team understand park usage patterns, identify opportunities to improve recreational access and plan accordingly. 

“We can see how diverse park usership is, and use data to improve access and reduce environmental impacts like erosion and trash,” shares Garrison. 

Garrison, who began working for the city in 2019, has long been drawn to the intersection of community development and environmental justice. She is confident that Richmond’s parks not only foster community, but also serve as vital urban infrastructure, facilitating environmental preservation, heat mitigation and storm protection. 

Garrison is proud of her push for economic justice within her department and was initially drawn to working for the city in a workforce development role. “I’ve been able to advocate for more full-time jobs in our maintenance division,” she says. “I believe that economic justice and getting people into jobs that help them attain a solid quality of life is really important.”

“We have to make sure we’re replenishing our trees to keep the city cool, but also to clean the air and to provide all the other benefits to people and to animals and to species of all different kinds,” she adds.

Looking ahead, Garrison and her team are focused on maintaining and expanding Richmond’s parklands, public trails and park facilities, and urban canopy, ensuring future generations inherit a city that is not just liveable, but thriving.  

“Parks are a place where we have biodiversity, which is essential to not only the flourishing of human beings, but also all the plants and animals and insects that we share this habitat with. We are in an urban habitat, but it’s still a habitat."