Theme 4: Landscape & Public Realm

A vibrant downtown needs more than buildings and businesses. It needs inviting public spaces where people can gather, spend time and connect with one another.

The Landscape & Public Realm theme focuses on creating cleaner, greener and more welcoming public spaces, expanding opportunities for parks and gathering places, and unlocking the potential of the Arkansas River as a central destination.

Creating More Places to Gather

The Action Plan calls for more family-friendly parks, shaded areas and flexible public spaces that can support everyday activity and community events. Currently, only 7% of land in the plan’s footprint is categorized as “open space.”

Underused spaces throughout downtown, like City Hall Plaza, present opportunities to create new gathering places and add amenities such as markets, seating, pop-ups, landscaping and shade.

These improvements can make downtown more comfortable and inviting while creating spaces for people to connect.

Keeping Downtown Clean and Welcoming

Creating great public spaces also requires caring for the spaces we already have. The Downtown Wichita Clean Team is one example of the Action Plan already moving from vision to action.

The Action Plan calls for continued investment in the cleanliness, maintenance and activation of downtown’s public realm. The Clean Team is helping advance that work by providing enhanced maintenance and hospitality services across more than 100 blocks of downtown, including litter and graffiti removal, weed control, sidewalk sweeping and visitor assistance.

From February through July 2026, Clean Team Ambassadors removed nearly 4,700 pounds of trash and completed environmentally friendly weed control on 560 block fronts, among many other services.

Making the Arkansas River a Destination

The Arkansas River is one of downtown Wichita’s greatest assets, and the Action Plan envisions a more active riverfront that serves as a destination for recreation, entertainment and community gathering.

The plan calls for stronger walkable and bikeable connections between the river and key downtown destinations, along with opportunities for dining, outdoor recreation and commerce along the waterfront.

Creating a Downtown People Want to Experience

Landscape and public realm improvements can shape how people experience downtown, creating places that encourage people to stay longer, return more often and connect with others.

Everyone can contribute to how downtown’s public space looks and feels. Developers and property owners can incorporate high-quality landscaping, shade, gathering spaces and connections to surrounding public spaces into projects.

Businesses can help activate the public realm through outdoor seating, events, storefront improvements and partnerships that bring people into shared spaces.

Community members can participate in downtown clean-ups, support tree planting, attend public events and help care for the public spaces they use.