Baraa Community Park

UPC's Community Parks Initiative addresses spatial inequality in Arusha's informal settlements, where quality public space is scarcest and hardest to reach. It supports communities to turn underused open land into parks that are safe, inclusive and actually used.

At Baraa, UPC improved the open space next to the Baraa Ward Executive Office, adding recreational facilities that encourage physical activity, social contact and community wellbeing. Residents and local leaders shaped the design through participatory planning, so that the groups usually left out of these decisions had a voice in what was built and how it is now run.

The park reflects what UPC is working towards across the city: neighbourhoods where people can reach recreation, active living and healthy food close to home.