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Case Study: Bennett Park

Pick Your Play

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Bennett Park located in Palos Hills, Illinois is a one of a kind recreation space. The creation of Bennett Park stands as a lasting tribute to Mayor George Bennett whose vision and commitment have profoundly enriched the surrounding community. This park design includes evidence-based research and best practices to qualify for all five GameTime/PlayCore National Demonstration Site ™ designations. Bennett Park opened its doors to the community in 2021 but its constantly evolving for years to come.


In the heart of the Palos Hills, Illinois lies a one of a kind outdoor area created by Mayor George Bennett. Bennett Park is the only outdoor area to have all five GameTime/PlayCore National Demonstration Site ™ designations. The NDS program led by PlayCore’s CORE (Center for Outreach, Research, Education) is truly an industry differentiator that recognizes communities for turning research into practice.

Play for All

In collaboration with Cunningham Recreation and the city of Palos Hills, the park design features evidence-based research and scholarly best practices which led the park to become a National Demonstration Site. This sets Bennett Park apart from others and gives the community credit for turning research into practice. “Our park is unmatched by all the others. Gavin and Cunningham Recreation were instrumental in the vision coming together as it did,” Mayor Bennett shared. The planning team agreed that Gavin played an integral part with help from a purpose-driven company and recreational thought leader, PlayCore, in making their vision a reality.

National Demonstration Site

High-quality outdoor play and recreation environments are essential to community health and wellness. Research indicates that positive and measurable outcomes occur when evidence-based design best practices are implemented in the built environment.

PlayCore's National Demonstration Site program helps communities like Palos Hills, IL use this research to build meaningful environments. Then help measure their positive effect through data reporting and translation

Five National Demonstration Site Designations
  • Inclusive Play
  • Youth Physical Activity
  • Adult Outdoor Fitness
  • Nature Play
  • Playful Pathways

Pick Your Play

Bennett Park is the only outdoor space that has all five of PlayCore's NDS designations. This makes Bennett Park an opportunity to for visitors to pick their play. Whether its children running around on the inclusive playground, or adults using the outdoor fitness area, there is something for everyone.

Designations like Inclusive Play ensure everyone regardless of age or ability have the opportunity to play. The NDS designations help ensure the community feeling welcomed and involved within outdoor recreation spaces. Not only getting more children outside playing but adults using outdoor fitness equipment.

National Demonstration Sites represent a commitment to communities and the outdoor spaces within them. The NDS design criteria ensures that your community can maximize the value of your investment by implementing best practice research to activate play and recreation destinations. NDS receive recognition, demonstrate impact through data services, and receive site-specific reports to share and showcase their impact on community health and wellness.

Bringing the Community Together

Mayor Bennett and Commissioner Kristin Violante saw the parcel of land as a blank canvas. The area was adjacent to neighborhoods that provided quick access to the park and bordered a forest preserve that would protect the untamed wilderness that so often is clear-cut and developed. The goal was to maintain the passive park integrity while carefully infusing some active recreational offerings. Federal grants, budgetary park department dollars, and generous support by philanthropic investors all were instrumental to preserving this space and transforming it to be a catalyst to improve quality of life.

Bennett Park is often referred to as a “nature park”, featuring a stocked lake for fishing, shelter, an amphitheater, a picturesque waterfall, and walking trails that provide interconnectivity to both passive and active areas

Bennett Park not only enhances the aesthetic appeal of Palos Hills but also promotes physical health, mental well-being, and environmental consciousness and provides an educational setting for nature classes utilized by area school districts, libraries, and other groups. Additional paved trails to ensure accessibility are in the works thanks to additional trail funds.


Bennett Park NDS Case Study


Take a Closer Look at Bennett Park
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Use the form below to request more information or start planning one or more PlayCORE National Demonstration Sites (NDS) for your community.