Created by city ordinance on March 15, 1916, the Department of Public Parks, as it was called at the time, began with two facilities, Sam Houston Park and Hermann Park (Code of Ordinances, City of Houston, Chapter 32, Article 1, Section 32-2). Today, the Houston Parks and Recreation Department (H.P.A.R.D.) system includes 375 developed parks and more than 220 greenspaces totaling over 37,871 acres.
On October 15, 2008, the department became one of only seventy-nine agencies in the country to have received national accreditation through the National Recreation and Park Association’s (N.R.P.A.) Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA). This peer assessment and self-evaluation process provides external recognition of an organization's commitment to quality and improvement. The department was reaccredited in 2013 at the National Recreation and Park Association Congress and Exposition held in Houston.
