To create a sustainable city, we must encourage more people to live closer together in order to minimize their resource use. The downside to this urban density is people lack a place to get out into nature; they lack opportunities for recreation. In dense urban environments, parks and open spaces help people create a balance. Parks enable people to have a healthy lifestyle while enjoying the benefits of density: easy access to transportation systems and amenities. In planning the South Waterfront, which is a brand-new neighborhood, it was a priority of both the city staff and citizens to create a neighborhood with opportunities to get outside. Elizabeth Caruthers Park, the first new park in this district, provides recreational opportunities for young and old.

Elizabeth Caruthers Park anchors the new community. It's surrounded by new residential high-rises, OHSU’s newest medical building, and a number of active construction sites. When you look around the area you are standing in what was once one of the most industrial sites in Portland. This was the site of ship building activities that go back to the Liberty ships of WWII. You can still see the remnants of that history in the barge building facility just to the north east of the park.

The park was designed by Hargreaves Associates and Lango Hansen Landscape Architects.