Editing Park (section)

==Parks owned or operated by government==

===National parks===
[[File:Zackenberg.4.jpg|thumb|Northeast Greenland National Park, the world's largest national park]]
{{Main|National park}}
A national park is a reserve of land, usually, but not always declared and owned by a national [[government]], protected from most human development and pollution. Although this may be so, it is not likely that the government of a specific area owns it, rather the community itself. National parks are a [[protected area]] of [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] [[IUCN protected area categories|Category II]]. This implies that they are wilderness areas, but unlike pure nature reserves, they are established with the expectation of a certain degree of human visitation and supporting infrastructure.

While this type of national park had been proposed previously, the United States established the first "public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people", [[Yellowstone National Park]], in 1872,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=amrvl&fileName=vl002//amrvlvl002.db&recNum=1&itemLink=r?ammem/consrvbib:@field(NUMBER+@band(amrvl+vl002))&linkText=0|title=Evolution of the Conservation Movement, 1850–1920|work=[[Library of Congress]]}}</ref> although Yellowstone was not gazetted as a national park. The first officially designated national park was [[Mackinac National Park|Mackinac Island]], gazetted in 1875. [[Australia]]'s [[Royal National Park]], established in 1879, was the world's second officially established national park.<ref name=StevensBertram>{{cite web|url=http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/ahdb/search.pl?mode=place_detail;place_id=105893|title=National parks|access-date=November 2, 2014|date=July 31, 2007|work=Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts|publisher=[[Australian Government]]}}</ref>

The largest national park in the world is the [[Northeast Greenland National Park]], which was established in 1974 and currently protects {{convert|972001|km2|mi2|-3|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stat.gl/LinkClick.aspx?link=Intranet%2fGIF_2009_WEB.pdf&tabid=57&mid=473&language=en-US |title=Greenland in Figures 2009 |date=June 2009 |edition=6th revised |work=[[Statistics Greenland]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100428161458/http://www.stat.gl/LinkClick.aspx?link=Intranet%2fGIF_2009_WEB.pdf&tabid=57&mid=473&language=en-US |archive-date=April 28, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.greenland.com/en/about-greenland/natur-klima/nationalparken.aspx | title=The National Park | website=Greenland.com | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130405142506/http://www.greenland.com/en/about-greenland/natur-klima/nationalparken.aspx |archive-date=April 5, 2013 }}</ref>

===Sub-national parks===
{{Main|State park|Provincial park}}
In some [[Federation|Federal systems]], many parks are managed by the sub-national levels of government. In [[Brazil]], the [[United States]], and some states in [[Mexico]], as well as in [[Victoria (Australia)|the Australian state of Victoria]], these are known as state parks, whereas in [[Argentina]], [[Canada]] and [[South Korea]], they are known as provincial or territorial parks. In the United States, it is also common for individual [[County (United States)|counties]] to run parks, these are known as '''county parks'''.

===Urban parks===
[[File:Yoyogi Park from Hyatt.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|[[Yoyogi Park]] is a large urban park in [[Tokyo]].]]
{{Main|Urban park|Urban green space}}

A park is an area of open space provided for recreational use, usually owned and maintained by a local government. Parks commonly resemble [[savanna]]s or open [[woodland]]s, the types of [[landscape]] that human beings find most relaxing. [[Grass]] is typically kept short to discourage [[insect]] pests and to allow for the enjoyment of [[picnic]]s and sporting activities. Trees are chosen for their beauty and to provide [[shade (shadow)|shade]].

Some early parks include the [[La Alameda, Seville|la Alameda de Hércules]], in [[Seville]], a promenaded public mall, urban garden and park built in 1574, within the historic center of Seville; the [[City Park (Budapest)|City Park]], in Budapest, Hungary, which was property of the Batthyány family and was later made public.

An early purpose built public park was [[Derby Arboretum]] which was opened in 1840 by Joseph Strutt for the mill workers and people of the city. This was closely followed by [[Princes Park, Liverpool|Princes Park]] in the [[Liverpool]] suburb of [[Toxteth]], laid out to the designs of [[Joseph Paxton]] from 1842 and opened in 1843. The land on which the Princes park was built was purchased by Richard Vaughan Yates, an iron merchant and philanthropist, in 1841 for £50,000. The creation of Princes Park showed great foresight and introduced a number of highly influential ideas. First and foremost was the provision of open space for the benefit of townspeople and local residents within an area that was being rapidly built up. Secondly it took the concept of the designed landscape as a setting for the suburban domicile, an idea pioneered by [[John Nash (architect)|John Nash]] at [[Regent's Park]], and re-fashioned it for the provincial town in a most original way. Nash's remodeling of St James's Park from 1827 and the sequence of processional routes he created to link The Mall with Regent's Park completely transformed the appearance of London's West End. With the establishment of Princes Park in 1842, Joseph Paxton did something similar for the benefit of a provincial town, albeit one of international stature by virtue of its flourishing mercantile contingent. Liverpool had a burgeoning presence on the scene of global maritime trade before 1800 and during the Victorian era its wealth rivaled that of London itself.

The form and layout of Paxton's ornamental grounds, structured about an informal lake within the confines of a serpentine carriageway, put in place the essential elements of his much imitated design for [[Birkenhead Park]]. The latter was commenced in 1843 with the help of public finance and deployed the ideas he pioneered at Princes Park on a more expansive scale. [[Frederick Law Olmsted]] visited Birkenhead Park in 1850 and praised its qualities. Indeed, Paxton is widely credited as having been one of the principal influences on Olmsted and Calvert's design for New York's Central Park of 1857.

There are around an estimated 27,000 public parks in the [[United Kingdom]], with around 2.6&nbsp;billion visits to parks each year. Many are of cultural and historical interest, with 300 registered by [[Historic England]] as of national importance. Most public parks have been provided and run by local authorities over the past hundred and seventy years, but these authorities have no statutory duty to fund or maintain these public parks.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Layton-Jones|first=K|date=2016|title=History of Public Park Funding and Management (1820 – 2010) Historic England Research Report 20/2016|url=https://research.historicengland.org.uk/Report.aspx?i=15442&ru=/Results.aspx?p=1&n=10&tsk=History%2520of%2520Public%2520Park%2520Funding%2520and%2520Management%2520(1820%2520%25e2%2580%2593%25202010)&ns=1|access-date=June 28, 2020|website=research.historicengland.org.uk}}</ref> In 2016 the [[National Lottery Heritage Fund|Heritage Lottery Fund]]'s ''State of UK Public Parks'' reported that "92 per cent of park managers report their maintenance budgets have reduced in the past three years and 95 per cent expect their funding will continue to reduce".<ref>{{Cite web|title=State of UK Public Parks 2016 {{!}} The National Lottery Heritage Fund|url=https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/publications/state-uk-public-parks-2016|access-date=June 28, 2020|website=www.heritagefund.org.uk|date=November 29, 2016 }}</ref>

[[File:NYC - Manhattan - Central-Park.jpg|thumb|[[Central Park]] in [[New York City]] is the most-visited urban park in the U.S.<ref name="CPC">{{cite web|url=http://www.centralparknyc.org/about/about-cpc |title=About the Central Park Conservancy|website= Central Park Conservancy|access-date=July 15, 2010}}</ref>]]

Another early public park is the [[Peel Park, Salford]], England opened on August 22, 1846.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.salford.gov.uk/leisure/parks/publicparks/parks-bb.htm |title=Parks in Broughton and Blackfriars |date=August 6, 2007 |work=[[Salford City Council]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221180427/http://www.salford.gov.uk/leisure/parks/publicparks/parks-bb.htm |archive-date=February 21, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.manchester2002-uk.com/day-trips/parks-gardens/ |title=Public Parks & Gardens in Manchester |website=Manchester UK |access-date=September 6, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070922182525/http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/daytrips/parks-gardens.html |archive-date=September 22, 2007 |url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref>[http://www.buhu.salford.ac.uk/virtualtours/index.php University of Salford: Peel Park] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219203655/http://www.buhu.salford.ac.uk/virtualtours/index.php |date=December 19, 2008 }} Retrieved on September 7, 2008</ref> Another possible claimant for status as the world's first public park is [[Boston Common]] (Boston, Massachusetts, US), set aside in 1634, whose first recreational promenade, Tremont Mall, dates from 1728. True park status for the entire common seems to have emerged no later than 1830, when the grazing of cows was ended and renaming the Common as Washington Park was proposed (renaming the bordering Sentry Street to Park Street in 1808 already acknowledged the reality).

===Linear parks===
A [[linear park]] is a park that has a much greater length than width. A typical example of a linear park is a section of a former railway that has been converted into a park called a [[rail trail]] or [[Greenway (landscape)|greenway]] (i.e. the tracks removed, vegetation allowed to grow back). Parks are sometimes made out of oddly shaped areas of land, much like the vacant lots that often become city neighborhood parks. Linked parks may form a [[greenbelt]].

===Country parks===
{{Main|Country park}}
In some countries, especially the United Kingdom, ''country parks'' are areas designated for recreation, and managed by [[local authority|local authorities]]. They are often located near urban populations, but they provide recreational facilities typical of the countryside rather than the town.

===Military parks===
[[File:İlham Əliyev Bakıda Hərbi Qənimətlər Parkının açılışında (46).jpg|thumb|[[Military Trophy Park (Baku)|Baku Military Trophy Park]] in [[Azerbaijan]], which sparked uproar due to display of helmets of Armenian troops and wax mannequins of Armenian soldiers of [[2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Is Azerbaijan's Ilham Aliyev the new Saddam Hussein?|url=https://nationalinterest.org/feature/azerbaijan%E2%80%99s-ilham-aliyev-new-saddam-hussein-182853|work=[[The National Interest]]|date=April 16, 2021|access-date=April 17, 2021}}</ref>]]

In 2021, following the [[2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war]], a [[Military Trophy Park (Baku)|Military Trophy Park]] was opened in [[Azerbaijan]]'s capital [[Baku]], showcasing seized military equipment, as well as the helmets and wax mannequins of Armenian troops.<ref name="independent">{{cite web|title=Azerbaijan's display of dead soldiers' helmets sparks outrage in Armenia|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/azerbaijan-dead-soldiers-helmets-armenia-b1831316.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/azerbaijan-dead-soldiers-helmets-armenia-b1831316.html |archive-date=May 25, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|work=[[The Independent]]|date=April 15, 2021|access-date=April 17, 2021}}</ref> The helmets were reported by international media to belong to dead Armenian soldiers.<ref name="independent" /><ref name="Al Jazeera" /> Several international journalists have called the park "barbaric".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hanrahan |first1=Jake |title=This is hideous. The Azerbaijan regime has created what is essentially a war crimes theme park for Aliyev. Unbelievable. See this thread. |url=https://twitter.com/Jake_Hanrahan/status/1382449204967133185 |website=Twitter |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210419230747/https://twitter.com/Jake_Hanrahan/status/1382449204967133185 |archive-date=April 19, 2021 |date=April 15, 2021 |access-date=May 31, 2021 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=alexmassie |title="You think that a wall as solid as the earth separates civilisation from barbarism. I tell you the division is a thread, a sheet of glass. A touch here, a push there, and you bring back the reign of Saturn." John Buchan. |url=https://twitter.com/alexmassie/status/1381650678431559682 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210419230416/https://twitter.com/alexmassie/status/1381650678431559682 |archive-date=April 19, 2021 |date=April 13, 2021 |access-date=May 31, 2021 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=International organizations cannot remain silent on Baku's "park of barbarism" – MEP Nikos Androulakis|url=https://en.armradio.am/2021/04/13/international-organizations-cannot-remain-silent-on-bakus-park-of-barbarism-mep-nikos-androulakis/|access-date=April 16, 2021|website=Public Radio of Armenia|language=en-US}}</ref> [[Armenia]] strongly condemned it, accusing Baku of "dishonoring the memory of victims of the war, missing persons and prisoners of war and violating the rights and dignity of their families".<ref name="Al Jazeera">{{cite web|title=Fury in Armenia as Azerbaijan displays war trophies|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/13/fury-in-armenia-as-azerbaijan-displays-war-trophies|work=[[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al Jazeera]]|date=April 13, 2021|access-date=April 15, 2021}}</ref> Armenia's ombudsman called it a "clear manifestation of fascism", saying that it is a "proof of Azerbaijani genocidal policy and [[Anti-Armenian sentiment in Azerbaijan|state supported Armenophobia]]".<ref>{{cite web|title=Baku's newly-opened "park" a proof of state supported Armenophobia – Ombudsman|url=https://en.armradio.am/2021/04/13/bakus-newly-opened-park-a-proof-of-state-supported-armenophobia-ombudsman/#:~:text=The%20so-called%20"Park",Baku%20on%20April%2012%2C%202021|work=[[Public Radio of Armenia]]|date=April 13, 2021|access-date=April 15, 2021}}</ref> Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan stated that such museums are a widely accepted international practice, and the country has a right to commemorate its victory through parades, parks, museums and other means.<ref>{{cite web |last1=No:131/21 |title=Commentary of the Press Service Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan |url=https://www.mfa.gov.az/en/news/7288/view |website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan |access-date=May 30, 2021}}</ref> Azerbaijani authorities {{who|date=June 2021}} claimed that the helmets were left behind by retreating Armenian soldiers.<ref name="jam-news.net">[https://jam-news.net/ru/парк-военных-трофеев-в-баку-бурное-од/ "Парк военных трофеев" в Баку – бурное одобрение и яростное осуждение]</ref> When Azerbaijani historian Altay Goyushov, one of the leaders of liberal democratic opposition, criticized the helmets corridor, he was rebuffed by local journalists and bloggers who justified demonstrating the helmets, one of them going as far as inviting "all who does not feel well looking at them to go and drown in Caspian sea".<ref name="jam-news.net"/>