The present study is devoted to the issue of creating a favorable urban environment in urbanized territories, as this is an important component of urban culture to ensure comfortable living and recreation conditions for citizens. It follows from history that green park areas in cities have long been of interest for the creation of natural objects of landscape architecture for recreational purposes. The authors of the article, relying on research in the field of landscape architecture, recreation, the creation of garden and park territories, Russian and foreign authors, cite key concepts related to the definition of the park and on their basis, formulate their own definition as an object of landscape architecture developed and artistically decorated for outdoor recreation, where the cultural and mass activities that meet the recreational needs of the city population are carried out. At the same time, emphasis is placed on the fact that park areas are the center of attraction for the recreation of citizens and play an important role in the life of both large megacities and small provincial cities. The city's park zones form the basis of its ecological framework, reducing the level of noise, dust and gas pollution of the air, and their landscaping adds variety to the landscape architecture of the urban space. The authors gave a comparative description and assessment of the parks of Saransk, as a result of which their features and functional features were revealed, and a SWOT analysis revealed various aspects of the organization and further use of the studied recreational areas. The assessment of the identified factors of external and internal environment allowed to determine a set of measures that should be the basis for the development strategy of practical activities of urban parks as recreational facilities. Further development of urban park areas involves the effective use of available resources and their inclusion in tourism products.