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The Houston Parks and Recreation Department (HPARD) operates and maintains the City of Houston's parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, golf courses, skateparks, and recreation centers; as well as, providing recreational programming.^[2][3] HPARD currently oversees 382 developed parks and more than 167 greenspaces, covering over 39,500 acres;^[3] and over 125 miles of hike-and-bike trails.^[4]

The HPARD consists of seven (7) divisions:^[3]

1. The Director's Office
2. Recreation and Wellness Division
3. Greenspace Management
4. Facilities Management and Development
5. Management and Finance
6. Urban Park Rangers and Safety, and
7. Communications

The Department of Public Parks was created on March 15, 1916 by a City of Houston ordinance (Chapter 23, Article 1, Section 32-2). At that time, the department had two parks — Sam Houston Park and Hermann Park.^[1]

In 2008, the department received national accreditation from the National Recreation and Park Association's (NRPA) Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA).^[1]

As of 2021, the department has:^[1]

• Budget: $69 million
• Employees: 708 full time
• Facilities
  • Developed Parks: 382
  • Greenspaces: 160
  • Acres: 39,000+

• Herndon, ShaVonne (2022-10-20). "Houston hosts national pickleball tournament with hundreds of players". Houston Public Media. Retrieved 2022-11-02.

• MacDonald, Evan (2022-10-19). "Houston hosting its first national pickleball tournament at Memorial Park through Sunday". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-11-02.

• Wanjau, Maryann; Cuellar, Laura; Stone, Amber (2022-05-26). "UNICEF Working With City of Houston to Improve Child Mental Health". UNICEF USA. Retrieved 2022-11-02.
• Kovar, Seth (2022-09-23). "Hired goats are clearing unnatural vegetation from Houston city park". CW39 Houston. Retrieved 2022-11-02.