Revere Opens Three New Parks Built by and For Its Own Residents

Parks and public spaces are where communities come together. They provide places for families to gather, neighbors to connect, and residents to enjoy the outdoors close to home.

The City of Revere recently celebrated the opening of three new parks along Shirley Avenue: the Fitzhenry Dog Park, the renovated Flaherty Square, and the Shirley Avenue Pocket Park. Residents directly shaped these projects through a participatory budgeting process that allowed community members to help decide how public funds would be invested in their neighborhood.

The new parks are part of a larger effort to refresh Shirley Avenue and create welcoming public spaces that residents can enjoy every day. Through a partnership with MassDevelopment's Transformative Development Initiative, a $1.1 million investment helped leverage more than $4.65 million in additional funding for neighborhood improvements.

There is more to parks and trails than just green space. They are community infrastructure assets that support physical and mental well-being and give residents places to gather and connect.

Projects like these demonstrate how local investment can strengthen neighborhoods and deliver lasting benefits for residents. By giving community members a direct voice through participatory budgeting, Revere ensured that public resources were directed toward projects that residents wanted and would use.

This project reflects a community making smart use of public investment to create spaces that serve residents every day. They help turn a place to live into a place for community to gather.

When communities like Revere invest in parks, trails, and public spaces, they invest in the quality of life of the people who call those communities home.

Better parks and stronger public spaces help create healthier, more connected communities across Massachusetts.