The Richmond Park Equity Project (RichPEP) is building a Black, Brown, and AAPI resident-led movement for park equity as a collaborative effort of community organizations, residents, parks and open space advocates, private philanthropy, the City of Richmond, and technical experts to ensure that parks in Richmond, CA are vibrant, diverse, safe, equitable, and well-maintained. Parks should be accessible for everyone within a short distance of where they live.
RichPEP takes a collaborative, long-term, structural approach to key challenges for Richmond’s parks:
ACTIVATION
MAINTENANCE
NEEDED IMPROVEMENTS
FUNDING
The Hellman Foundation is investing catalytic funding over two phases so far to support park equity in Richmond and the desired outcomes of renovated parks; well-maintained, well-used, well-funded parks; and community leadership. Phase 2 (2026 through 2027) of the RichPEP Collaborative will build on foundations of activation and community engagement laid in Phase 1 and expand into key areas: power-building, articulating goals for systems change, planning and implementing park renovations, and seeking the resources needed for a vibrant, equitable, and effective park system.
RichPEP is a collaborative group using the Collective Impact Model: we are a network of community members, organizations, and
institutions who advance equity by learning together, aligning, and integrating their actions to achieve population and systems-level change. We meet quarterly as a whole collaborative group, convene workgroups focused on key topics to advance park equity in Richmond, and work independently to implement projects.
RichPEP Partners
APEN organizes around environmental justice issues, focusing on Asian immigrant and refugee communities.
Richmond is a diverse city of 116,448 residents in western Contra Costa County.
This district includes the cities of Richmond, San Pablo, El Cerrito, part of Pinole, and the unincorporated communities of Bayview, East Richmond Heights, El Sobrante, Kensington, Montalvin Manor, Tara Hills, North Richmond, and Rollingwood.
EBPA is a community-based pickleball advocacy organization, committed to advancing pickleball in West Contra Costa County and promoting healthy lifestyles through recreation.
The East Bay Regional Park District preserves a rich heritage of natural and cultural resources and provides open space, parks, trails, safe and healthful recreation and environmental education.
FIERCE Advocates partners with Black, Latinx and other parents and caregivers of color to advance equitable access and opportunities for all youth to have quality education and all families to achieve emotional and physical well-being.
HAB45 is a Contra Costa County collaborative that advances health equity through local policy and environmental changes to support the health and well-being of children ages 0-5 and their families.
The Hellman Foundation is committed to building equity and opportunity in the San Francisco Bay Area by investing in community-led initiatives through cross-sector collaboration.
PlaceWorks is a planning, design, and environmental consulting firm that fosters a culture of collaboration, creativity, integrity, and responsiveness.
Pogo Park transforms broken and little-used city parks in Richmond’s Iron Triangle neighborhood into safe, green, beautiful public spaces for children to play.
Rich City Rides creates opportunities for the most vulnerable members of society to use cycling to improve health, economic stability, and individual and collective capacity while increasing the use of bikes for all community members as a sustainable social green mode of transportation.
Rising Juntos builds power for racial, economic, and health justice for children and families in Contra Costa County.
TPL contributes conservation, land-use, policy, finance, and technical know-how to bring communities’ visions to life for their outdoor spaces.
Urban Tilth inspires, hires, and trains local residents to cultivate agriculture, feed our community, and restore relationships to land to build a more sustainable food system, within a just and healthier community.
In partnership with nature, YES nurtures leaders who champion the wellbeing of our community and creates opportunities for Richmond and West Contra Costa youth, adults, and families to reclaim their connection with the natural world.