It isn’t the first time the purpose of parks has evolved. In the 18^th century, public parks were primarily designed for leisure and entertainment. It was the heart of the Industrial Revolution, after all, and communities were shifting from life lived on farmland to factories. Think New York City’s Central Park — the green, open space was designed as a much-needed break from the dirty, sweaty city.

By the 19^th century, urban landscape designers paid more attention to the social and health benefits of playgrounds. Think of pocket parks found in so many small towns, a grassy area perhaps with some exercise machines or a set of swings. Open spaces turned from large, impressive city masterpieces to smaller infill development.

But this recreational equipment was installed decades ago. The infrastructure is aging, and citizens’ needs have changed. The result, some city leaders discovered, is an opportunity.

Now, modern parks are multifunctional ecosystems, designed and built through a variety of funding sources to serve long-term goals that impact the local community and beyond.

A Home Run for Climate Resilience

While staying true to the original goal of leisure and recreation, parks today are the best first defense many cities have against the realities of climate change.

When the tree canopy in the downtown Lansing area dwindled to 30 percent, Mr. Kaschinske said they knew something had to be done. The lack of trees and an abundance of impervious surfaces contribute to the formation of heat islands, which are areas where man-made structures trap heat from sunlight and locally raise temperatures to sometimes unbearable levels.

“Our parks in the downtown area can be that cooling space,” he explained. “In some hotter communities, you can see cooling stations or spray parks just to keep people cool. Especially in urban environments, this is very important.”

Part of the work of designing parks for climate resilience involved identifying areas where multilevel parking structures could be built to reduce the need for old-fashioned parking lots. When changing economic trends caused employees to abandon their downtown offices for remote work, Lansing officials saw an opportunity to plant trees. The result was improved stormwater runoff management and stronger windbreaks against those infamous Heartland gusts.

Plus, Lansing has two rivers — both of which can flood after increasingly extreme rainfall events. Parks can help with flood protection, too, Mr. Kaschinske said.

“We have what are known as ‘rain gardens,’ where water drains along the curbs and flows into an area of vegetation to filter out the trash and pollution,” he said. “This stormwater/sewer separation means we can clean some of the water without it going through our sewers.”

Park Trails Can Connect Communities

While climate resilience is vital to the long-term health of a community, modern parks can also improve quality of life in the short term. In Lansing, for example, park employees installed 25 miles of connecting walking paths along the rain gardens that circle retention ponds.

“That is a very popular park,” Mr. Kaschinske said. “Much of our River Trail system is right along the river on the floodplain. Does that mean that sections of it close when there is flooding? Yes, it does. Do we have more maintenance costs as a result? Yes, but this is an example of being able to connect people to resources.”

Lansing’s River Trail also functions as a safe, non-motorized vehicle and pedestrian pathway that connects numerous parks and businesses throughout the city. It solves a transportation problem for carless students attending Michigan State University in East Lansing, while providing an enjoyable commute for nearby hospital employees, too.

“In Michigan, we’re also talking winter,” Mr. Kaschinske added. “If you are walking or biking on roads or sidewalks, that can be difficult. On the trail, it’s a safer environment.”

Another example of this kind of multifunctionality is the Atlanta BeltLine, parkland designed to store five million gallons of stormwater runoff while also serving as one of the most highly utilized multi-use trails. More than 1.2 million users enjoy the BeltLine every year.

This is the type of amenity that people love to live near. In Memphis, Shelby Farms Park — with its 12 miles of urban trails, open pastures, and forested areas — was credited with a 5 percent increase in property values for homes within 500 feet of the park. In total, that resulted in $67 million in additional property values, according to a report by the City Parks Alliance.