RULE 8 | PUSH FOR LOCAL PARKS
- Holly Terrill
- Sep 10, 2025
- 6 min read
WALKABLE WICHITA: LESSONS FROM JEFF SPECK
BY RAMI STUCKY
In 1971, the City of Wichita developed several medium-sized and small “pocket parks” in Northeast Wichita. They would accommodate most of the city’s Black population that lived there, historically forced to the area primarily because of segregation and redlining policies. Recreational opportunities were limited in the late 1960s for the close to 25,000 Black residents, and 25th Street, Hillside, Central, and Washington bounded a few private facilities in the neighborhood. The nearest bowling alley was located 12 blocks east on 13th Street. The nearest skating rink was far south on East Harry. There was one public park, McAdams, for the neighborhood. [1] The baseball field there did not have lighting for night play, nor did it offer sufficient off-street parking or seating for spectators. [2] Such conditions were substandard, especially when compared to other areas of the city. A more affluent nearby area of comparable size, bounded by Kellogg, Hillside, 17th, and Woodlawn, boasted four different parks: Fairmount, College Hill, Village, and MacDonald. It had 10,000 fewer residents. [3] City Commissioner Walt Keeler even speculated that the lack of recreational facilities in McAdams Park “could well be the cause of recent disorders and mob action” that the city saw in 1967. [4]
The construction of Interstate 35W (now I-135) in 1971 did not improve matters. It cut through the center of the city and made access to parks even more difficult for residents of Northeast Wichita. The interstate not only necessitated the demolition of fourplex apartments, a couple of masonry and brick homes and buildings, and several other frame houses. [5] It also required that the swimming pool, tennis courts, and picnic facilities in McAdams Park be removed. [6] In all, about 20 percent of the park was acquired to make room for the interstate. [7] A golf course was never rebuilt. Other facilities were moved further west, much to the chagrin of local civil rights activists. Charles McAfee stated that the location of the ballfield and swimming pool was “shoved down our throats.” [8] Matt Greene, field representative of the Black Immediate Action Committee, stated that “we’re packed in like rats and you’re talking about putting 25,000 people in this area.” [9]
Northeast Wichita, therefore, was the ideal location for the city to rely on the federal government’s “parks-in-cities” program. This program, founded in 1970 by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, provided matching grants for the purchase of small and moderate-sized plots in underserved urban areas.[10] It would help mitigate the negative consequences of underdevelopment and highway construction. With this financial help, the city developed Spruce, Murdock, Dr. Glen Dey Park, and Piatt in the early 1970s. Some, such as Spruce, just contain basketball courts, playgrounds, and picnic tables. Others, such as Murdock and Dr. Glen Dey, are larger and have tennis courts and baseball fields. Dr. Glen Dey was originally 20 acres when acquired in 1971, and then was expanded by an additional 105 acres in 1992.[11]
Urban planner Jeff Speck champions these types of neighborhood parks. “Push for local parks,” he argues in his book, Walkable City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Better Places.[12] Resist the desire to create extensive, centralized facilities and locate playgrounds within a quarter-mile of all households. Kids can walk to play with their friends. Parents are free from the obligation of driving them to soccer or football games. “Recreational facilities belong in neighborhoods,” concludes Speck.[13]
To a large part, the City of Wichita did just that in its predominantly and historically African American neighborhood. Furthermore, such construction paid off. Park access is relatively poor across the city, according to the Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit that helps communities create parks and green spaces. However, thanks to the existence of such neighborhoods and pocket parks in Northeast Wichita, Black residents have 24 percent better access to parks than the rest of Wichita. Low-income residents have 8 percent better access than the average resident. And although there are several places in the neighborhood where parks could and still should be built, about 63 percent of Black residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park, the most of any demographic.[14]
Such neighborhood access could soon be undermined, though. In May 2025, the City of Wichita unveiled a surprising, bold new plan for Dr. Glen Dey Park. Most of the park is relatively modest currently, containing just a small football field, many walking paths, and acres of green space. That will all change soon, though, due to the construction of a $38 million regional football complex.[15] Expected to be complete in 2026, the park’s rehabilitation is not in any City of Wichita Capital Improvement Plan. Instead, it will rely on undisclosed “future sponsors” who will help build five synthetic turf fields, a championship field with a stadium and plaza, a restroom and concessions building, and a covered stage area.[16]
Promotional material published by the Wichita Park & Recreation Department states that it is a location where “youth don’t have to leave their community to find community.”[17] To a certain extent, that is correct. The park is not going anywhere, and residents of the area around 27th and Grove can still walk to enjoy all the amenities it will have to offer. Furthermore, such investment acts as a counterweight to the equally massive Scheels Stryker soccer complex in a nearby and much more affluent section of the city.[18]
However, its scale and design certainly resemble the very thing Speck cautions against. Gone are the green spaces at Dr. Glen Dey Park. They are replaced by artificial grass. Gone, too, is the idea of a neighborhood park. “Communities that want children who are both truly active and growing in independence will keep their sports facilities small and local,” argues Speck.[19] But architectural renderings propose massive parking lots to accommodate this centralized facility. “In well-designed neighborhoods, the most convenient playground is no more than a five-minute walk away,” continues Speck. [20] Kids living around 15th and Mosley certainly have easy access to McAdams Park. However, there is no plan to improve the Barry Sanders Football Field located there. Instead, the city has stated it will direct all traffic and youth football games to Dr. Glen Dey Park.[21]
Such decisions undermine walkability in Wichita. What used to be an asset of Northeast Wichita––small neighborhood parks not seen at scale elsewhere in the city––could soon be ignored because of a mega-complex. And when kids have to get into their parents’ car for practice or game day, the City of Wichita might recognize that yes, they might actually have to leave their community to find community after all.
[1] Jim Girard, “Facilities Limited for Recreation in Northeast Section,” Wichita Beacon, August 25, 1967, 16B.
[2] Dale Daugherty, “Keeler Seeks School as Recreational Facility,” Wichita Beacon, August 14, 1967, 21.
[3] Girard, “Facilities Limited for Recreation in Northeast Section.”
[4] Daugherty, “Keeler Seeks School as Recreational Facility.”
[5] “Property Located on Right-of-Way For Canal Route Brings Little Cash,” Wichita Beacon, May 29, 1969, 4.
[6] Daugherty, “Keeler Seeks School as Recreational Facility.”
[7] “Enlarged Community Center, Lighted Ball Fields in Plans for McAdams Park,” Wichita Beacon, August 29, 1967, 24.
[8] Dale Daugherty, “Northeast Zoning Problem Has City Planning Commission on the Fence,” Wichita Beacon, April 30, 1968, 2.
[9] Daugherty, “Northeast Zoning Problem Has City Planning Commission on the Fence.”
[10] “HUD Challenge,” US Department of Housing and Urban Development 1, no. 2 (1970): 18, https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/HUD-Challenge-January-February-1970.pdf.
[11] “Spruce Park,” City of Wichita Facilities, n.d., https://www.wichita.gov/facilities/facility/details/Spruce-Park-219; “Murdock Park,” City of Wichita Facilities, n.d., https://www.wichita.gov/facilities/facility/details/Murdock-Park-58; “Dr. Glen Dey Park,” City of Wichita Facilities, n.d., https://www.wichita.gov/facilities/facility/details/Dr-Glen-Dey-Park-168; “Piatt Memorial Park,” City of Wichita Facilities, n.d., https://www.wichita.gov/facilities/facility/details/Piatt-Memorial-Park-202.
[12] Jeff Speck, Walkable City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Better Places (Island Press, 2018), 18.
[13] Speck, Walkable City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Better Places, 19.
[14] Trust for Public Land, “Wichita, KS,” Trust for Public Land, n.d., https://www.tpl.org/city/wichita-kansas.
[15] “Barry Sanders Football Complex at Dr. Glen Dey Park,” City of Wichita, n.d., https://www.wichita.gov/1734/Football-Complex.
[16] Exciting News! Wichita Park & Recreation and the Wichita Parks Foundation Are Working to Bring a Premier Regional Football Complex to Dr. Glen Dey Park, 2025, https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1829267647805880.
[17]Barry Sanders Football Complex, directed by City of Wichita, 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPmel5dbNGI&t=52s.
[18] “SCHEELS Stryker Sports Complex,” City of Wichita Facilities, n.d., https://www.wichita.gov/facilities/facility/details/SCHEELS-Stryker-Sports-Complex-270.
[19] Speck, Walkable City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Better Places, 19.
[20] Speck, Walkable City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Better Places, 19.
[21] Exciting News! Wichita Park & Recreation and the Wichita Parks Foundation Are Working to Bring a Premier Regional Football Complex to Dr. Glen Dey Park.
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