Picture this: a summer afternoon in the Bronx. Kids line up at a shimmering new surf park, boards tucked under their arms, laughter bouncing off the water. Parents sit nearby, shaded by trees, watching a sport they once thought belonged only to California or Hawaii unfold in their neighborhoods.
That’s not science fiction, it’s a possibility. Surf parks are one of the fastest-growing segments of recreation infrastructure. By 2025, more than 30 parks worldwide are expected to be open, with the market projected to reach $3.8 billion by 2028. Technology has advanced to the point where wave pools can produce 1,000 waves an hour, catering to everyone from first-time learners to pros.
But as with so many “next big things” in urban development, the question isn’t whether we can build them. The question is, who are we building them for?
The Double-Edged Wave
Surfing has always been exclusive. Access to the ocean is limited, equipment is costly, and cultural barriers are real. Surf parks could break that pattern, bringing waves to places far from the coast and opening doors for new generations. But they could just as easily reproduce inequity, becoming luxury attractions tucked behind gates and high admission fees.
As a planning and consulting firm, we’ve seen this dynamic play out before. Whether it’s new transit lines, parks, or cultural centers, the first people to benefit are often those who are least in need. If surf parks are going to fulfill their promise, they must be designed as civic infrastructure, not just private playgrounds.
What Doing It Right Looks Like
Doing it right starts long before the first wave rolls. It begins with questions.
Where should it go? Is the site accessible by transit, or only by car? Could it activate an underused parcel, or will it displace existing community space?
Who gets in? Are there discounted memberships, community days, and adaptive surfing for people with disabilities? Or is it priced for tourists and elites?
What else does it offer? A surf park can double as a youth program hub, a wellness center, or even a stormwater-conscious green space. Or it can sit empty nine months of the year.
How does it sustain itself? Water use, energy demand, and climate resilience are important considerations. Communities are watching whether projects live up to their sustainability claims.
These aren’t small questions, they’re the difference between a surf park that strengthens a neighborhood and one that extracts from it.
Where Public Works Partners Comes In
At Public Works Partners, we’ve built our practice around making projects like this work for people. Our approach—rooted in equity, engagement, and strategy—helps clients navigate the messy middle between ambition and impact.
We run feasibility studies that don’t just ask “will this make money?” but “who benefits?”
We lead community engagement that puts residents in the design seat.
We design public-private partnerships that hold operators accountable to affordability and jobs commitments.
We ensure sustainability is more than marketing—choosing technologies and systems that fit local climate goals.
In other words, we ensure the wave lifts the entire community.
The Bigger Picture
Surf parks might seem like a niche topic. But they’re a proxy for a bigger question facing cities everywhere: how do we plan new kinds of public spaces that blend recreation, tourism, and economic development, without leaving people behind?
Adventure tourism is projected to grow nearly 16% a year. Surf parks will not be the last idea pitched to city councils as the “next big draw.” If we don’t set the standard now—tying recreation investment to equity, sustainability, and accountability—we risk repeating the same old story of exclusion.
The Call
The surf park wave is coming. Developers are building. Investors are circling. Cities are listening.
The opportunity, and the responsibility, is to do it right, not just for surfers, but for kids who’ve never touched a board, for neighborhoods starved of safe recreational space, for communities that deserve investments aligned with their needs.
At Public Works Partners, we believe surf parks can be more than wave machines. They can be engines of equity and resilience. If we plan them with purpose, they’ll leave behind more than perfect waves. They’ll leave behind stronger, healthier, more connected communities.
The wave is rising. Let’s ride it together.
