Our Work
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.
Collective Impact
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.
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.
Planning Context
See Documents and Press for links to reports.
Richmond has completed many plans and studies to create a better and more equitable park system. However, numerous challenges have led to barriers to implementation of planned improvements and policies. Richmond has some basic spatial data, including location and size of parks, and has some information on street features, but does not have information available on the condition of infrastructure and amenities for parks and nearby streets nor on the experiences and perceptions of park users. RichPEP will learn from these plans and present new solutions that have not yet been included.
Community input and community needs should be major drivers of the plans. City planning has not always engaged or been reflective of all segments of the community and particularly older plans may have narrow interpretations of community needs. Practices for broader, more inclusive, more meaningful community input have improved in recent years. RichPEP will identify sources of inequity in parks in Richmond, explore strategies and actions for amending inequity, and propose recommendations that are right for Richmond.
It is anticipated that community leadership, the project team, and City staff will continue to collaborate to strategically implement the policy, program, and funding recommendations. This collaboration will help guide future improvements to Richmond’s parks, programs and related infrastructure, leading to a more equitable, safe and community-supported park system for all residents.