CANDLESTICK POINT STATE RECREATION AREA

 San Francisco, CA

SERVICES

• Strategic Planning

• Management

• Revenues

• Governance

• Programming

CLIENT

• Parks California

Parks California hired Agora Partners to develop recommendations for a programming strategy, operating model, and nonprofit management structure for Candlestick Point State Recreation Area. Candlestick Point is unique within the state parks system: it is one of only two urban parks, and it’s the only urban park with a shoreline and large natural areas. It is both a neighborhood park, and the only substantial park near thousands of San Franciscans, as well as a regional park, boasting renowned conditions for windsurfers and unparalleled views of the San Francisco Bay. It’s one of two locations for legal camping in San Francisco and offers free environmental education and recreational programming for youth and adults, creating opportunities for residents of nearby neighborhoods with activities they can’t find anywhere else. Significantly, the park would not exist if not for the activism of residents of Bayview-Hunter’s Point.

Our process to develop recommendations was rooted in deep, multifaceted community engagement. Our team conducted dozens of interviews with local stakeholders, held informal group discussions in community gathering spaces and at neighborhood events, and convened four public, community meetings in Bayview and Visitacion Valley.