SAN FRANCISCO, CA — One year after opening along a restored Bayview–Hunters Point shoreline, India Basin Waterfront Park has earned international recognition. The park, a former brownfield transformed into a welcoming public space shaped by community input, was honored by World Urban Parks with a Neighborhood Park Award for excellence and innovation.
India Basin was the only park in the United States to receive a Neighborhood Park Award, and one of just three U.S. parks recognized in any category in the WUP@10 Awards. The honors were announced today before a global audience of park leaders, professionals, and advocates at the World Urban Parks Symposium in Istanbul. A full list of winners can be found here.
This year’s program received over 100 submissions from every region of the world, showcasing the extraordinary efforts being made to create, manage, and activate urban parks. Each application was carefully evaluated by regional experts serving on an international jury, ensuring a fair and balanced review process.
“The WUP@10 Awards honor those who turn vision into action,” said World Urban Parks CEO Luis Romahn. “These winners demonstrate how parks can unite communities, advance sustainability, and improve quality of life worldwide. This is exactly what World Urban Parks seeks to recognize and promote globally—professionals and projects that are transforming our cities and communities through parks and public spaces.”
The India Basin Waterfront Park project is led by the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, in partnership with the A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI) San Francisco, Trust for Public Land, and the San Francisco Foundation.
Located at 900 Innes Avenue, the southern half of the park opened October 19, 2024, reconnecting Bayview–Hunters Point residents to the Bay for the first time in generations. Visitors now enjoy a welcome center, food pavilion, makers shop, two public piers, a floating dock, public art and performances. On August 19, 2025, construction began on the park’s final piece, which will create a combined 10 acres of winding trails, a new beach, boathouse, courts, playgrounds, and much more.
“Being recognized by World Urban Parks places San Francisco among the global leaders in park innovation,” said Phil Ginsburg, General Manager of the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. “But what makes this recognition truly special is that it honors the vision of Bayview–Hunters Point residents, whose ideas, history, and pride shaped every inch of this park.”
The India Basin Waterfront Park is guided by a nationally recognized Equitable Development Plan, created by and for the Bayview-Hunters Point community. The plan ensures the park’s design, programming, and economic opportunities reflect the neighborhood’s culture and needs. Workforce training programs have already placed residents in family-sustaining jobs, and water safety initiative Bayview Safety Swim and Splash has taught more than 1,000 neighborhood youth essential swimming skills.
“This award belongs to the people of Bayview–Hunters Point,” said Jackie Bryant, Executive Director of the A. Philip Randolph Institute San Francisco. “From the beginning, this project has been about empowering residents—creating jobs, building skills, and ensuring our community’s voice is heard. India Basin Waterfront Park shows what true equity looks like when opportunity, access, and neighborhood leadership come together.”
“India Basin Waterfront Park sets a new standard for how cities create parks. Trust for Public Land is honored to be a part of this work—proving that parks are not just places to play, but powerful spaces for building community, creating economic opportunity, and ensuring local residents shape the future of their neighborhoods,” said Guillermo Rodriguez, Trust for Public Land California State Director and Vice President Pacific Region. “Through an innovative public-private partnership and guiding framework like the Equitable Development Plan, India Basin serves as a national example of centering local voices in the process of developing new parks, and creating the recreational, health, economic, and environmental benefits that come with them.”
The total India Basin Waterfront Park project is backed by more than $225 million in public and private investment, representing one of the most significant park projects in San Francisco’s modern history. Funding comes from state, local, and federal sources, including the California State Specified Grant program, State Coastal Conservancy, Proposition 68, the Environmental Protection Agency’s San Francisco Bay Water Quality Improvement Fund, and San Francisco’s 2020 Bond—along with major philanthropic gifts from the John Pritzker Family Fund, Crankstart, Marc and Lynne Benioff, the Hellman Foundation, and others.
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About World Urban Parks
World Urban Parks (WUP) is the international representative body for urban parks, open space, and recreation. WUP provides advocacy, best practice, and collaboration to deliver healthy, livable, and sustainable communities. Its members include park and city agencies, NGOs, universities, professionals, and engaged citizens across more than 40 countries.
About the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department
The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department currently manages more than 230 parks, playgrounds and open spaces throughout San Francisco, including two outside city limits—Sharp Park in Pacifica and Camp Mather in the High Sierras. The system includes full-complex recreation centers, swimming pools, golf courses, sports fields and numerous small-to-medium-sized clubhouses that offer a variety of sports- and arts-related recreation programs for people of all ages. Included in the Department’s responsibilities are Golden Gate Park, Coit Tower, the Marina Yacht Harbor, the San Francisco Zoo and Lake Merced.