Page "Urban park" Paragraph 9

All four types of park continue to exist in urban areas.

Because of the large amount of open space and natural habitat in the former pleasure grounds, they now serve as important wildlife refuges, and often provide the only opportunity for urban residents to hike or picnic in a semi-wild area.

However, these parks can be targeted by city managers or politicians as sources of free land for other uses.

Partly for this reason, some of these large parks have " friends of X park " advisory boards that help protect and maintain their semi-wild nature.