• A pilot park naming process was initiated in Fall 2020 to increase civic engagement, highlight the diversity of our community and honor Vancouver’s history.
• Parks are a public resource valued by residents of all racial, ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Greater intentionality in park naming can serve to educate and inspire community members and build common ground across disparate groups.
• A Park Naming Committee (PNC) was convened to name a new park in the North Image neighborhood, formed of three Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission (PRAC) members and four community members from different backgrounds and perspectives. 
• Using the new park in the North Image neighborhood to test a naming process would allow Parks and Recreation to examine, edit and measure the success of the process prior to codifying it as policy.
• Between February and June 2021, the committee and staff researched the history of the surrounding area and found a significant geographic connection to “truck farming” and the Japanese American community living in Vancouver prior to their incarceration in prison camps during World War II. 
• An additional committee member with lived experience and connections in the Japanese American community was brought on in May, once the naming theme had been identified. 
• Between February and August 2021, the PNC met eight times and after careful consideration and outreach to the regional Japanese American community, arrived at a short list of three potential names to be considered by the public: Nikkei Park, Nisei Park and Nochi Park. All three name suggestions were selected to honor the Japanese American families who were a vital part of the Vancouver community prior to World War II incarceration. 
• From July 20 to August 13, public education and outreach was conducted in person and remotely, including an informational video, webpage, interpretive display boards, tabling at the park during Party in the Parks, mailed postcards to residents near the park, social media promotion and local media coverage (Clark County Today and The Columbian). 
• Public outreach invited people to participate in the naming process by completing a two question survey to vote for a park name and share any questions or concerns. As of the writing of this report (8/13/21), 660 people have participated in the survey. 
• Of the 213 open-ended responses received, 90% were in support or neutral to the park naming choices; 10% were opposed to the park naming choices. 
• On Friday, August 13, the PNC met to review feedback from the community and deliberate.
• The PNC recommends the name “Nikkei Park” (pronounced, NEE-kay) for the new park at 52nd Street. Nikkei is the Japanese term for Japanese emigrants and their descendants who have created communities throughout the world.

Goal 3, Objective 3.1: Strengthen community identity and sense of belonging.

Goal 5: Continue to build high quality historical and cultural experiences for residents and visitors.

Prior to development, the park had been referred to as North Image Park simply based on its geographic location within the North Image neighborhood in east Vancouver. The name “Image” was researched to ensure a critical and relevant piece of history was not overlooked, and a committee member found that the name originated from Lewis and Clark, used to describe Hayden Island, then became associated with an area along the Columbia River near SE 88th Street. While the Corps of Discovery Expedition is certainly an important part of our region’s history, it is already well-represented and remembered through a wide variety of landmarks, areas, buildings and other institutions throughout Vancouver. 

Today, the neighborhood surrounding the park site is very diverse. Based on the most recent school data, 47.4% of students at the nearby elementary school identify as a race or ethnicity other than white. The PNC believes that naming government parks, buildings, and structures is an important task that should be thought provoking, educational and encourage representational naming where there is a logical connection. Naming the new park after the Japanese Americans who farmed in that area prior to incarceration during World War II seems like a geographically and historically appropriate recognition. 

While Nochi Park was a strong contender due to its connection to farmland, “Nikkei Park” received the largest number of votes submitted through the park naming survey (45.9%). A number of survey respondents who identified themselves as Japanese American also stated that Nikkei is the name choice that holds the most significant cultural meaning.

1. Greater intentionality in park naming can serve to educate and inspire community members and build common ground across disparate groups. Vancouver’s diversity is an asset and honoring local events or figures from underrepresented backgrounds can help residents see themselves and one another as valued parts of our shared history. 

2. The park naming process has both required and facilitated relationship building with community stakeholders who were not previously included in decision-making processes.