This study explores how Louisiana's three largest cities—New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Shreveport—leverage social media to connect with their communities through their parks and recreation departments. The study uses both content analysis and interviews to identify strategies and challenges to effectively using technology to enhance community through the parks systems. This research delves into the effectiveness of these digital strategies in fostering engagement, promoting park usage, and ultimately enhancing the quality of life for Louisiana residents. Public parks have long served as community hubs, evolving from equitable spaces breaking class barriers to modern gathering places. The industrial age shifted populations to cities, increasing the need for public parks. As public parks became a more important part of government, people realized they contributed to various positive community impacts. Well-managed public park systems can contribute to a community’s economic development, enhance healthy living, and address environmental concerns. Meanwhile, technology has changed the way people interact and build community, especially with the use of social media. Public entities, such as public parks, can leverage this tool for communication, citizen engagement, and mobilizing the public in a resourceful and productive manner to help them achieve their goals more efficiently and effectively (Xu & Saxton, 2019; Bhati & McDonnell, 2020). Social media has evolved as the most effective medium of persuasive communication, public relations, promotion, and marketing in the 21st century. This research examines how the parks and recreation departments of three Louisiana cities (New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Shreveport) utilize social media to build community. By analyzing their content and interviewing content creators, the study aims to understand their goals, successes, and challenges. The "Hierarchy of Engagement" model categorizes social media messages into Information, Action, and Community. While Information is a common use, a more interactive approach is often more effective.
