December 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 18

RESEARCH
Let's Go to the Park
Discovering why we connect with parks and recreation
By Samantha Serrano
T
o better understand how and why people connect with parks and
recreation, NRPA conducted its annual Engagement With Parks
survey. This year's survey results, released in November, continue
to show that parks and recreation is a valuable public service
supporting the health and well-being, social connection, education, and
family care of millions nationwide.
Access to Parks and
Recreation
Millions of people in the United
States access local park and recreation
facilities.
The Engagement With Parks Report
shows that 82 percent of respondents,
the equivalent of more
than 276 million people, visited a
park and recreation facility at least
once during the past year. These results
highlight parks and recreation
as a vital and recognized resource
within communities.
Living near parks and recreation
is important for most U.S. adults.
Most survey respondents
park, playground, dog park or other
local open space (76 percent) and using
a hiking, biking or walking trail
(53 percent). Survey respondents
also played sports independently
or in a league (47 percent), used
aquatics centers (31 percent), used
recreation centers (23 percent), and
took part in recreation center classes,
lessons or activities (17 percent).
Of parents, 33 percent reported
their children participated in out-ofschool
time programs.
(73
percent) live within a walkable distance
to at least one park or recreation
facility. Many residents desire
this close access, with 86 percent of
respondents saying that proximity
to high-quality parks, playgrounds,
open spaces or other recreation facilities
is important when choosing
an area in which to live.
Use of Parks and
Recreation
Residents use parks and recreation
in a variety of ways.
The top uses of parks and recreation
by the millions of visitors in
the past year were visiting a local
People use parks and recreation
for social, physical, emotional and
intellectual well-being.
The top reasons for using parks
and recreation facilities and programming
cited by greater than 50
percent of survey respondents were
to be with family or friends, to exercise,
and to have a break from
day-to-day stresses. Other reasons
included: to be close to nature (49
percent), to experience excitement/
adventure (30 percent), to connect
with community (23 percent), and
to learn a skill or craft (11 percent).
People experiencing inclusion and
belonging use parks and recreation
more often than those who do not.
While 97 percent of respondents
reported at least one experience of
18 Parks & Recreation | DECEMBER 2 0 2 4 | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
inclusion and belonging at their park
and recreation spaces, these experiences
varied among respondents. For
example, compared to other generations,
baby boomers were more likely
to feel inclusion and belonging. In
terms of race/ethnicity, people identifying
as white were more likely to
have these experiences than people of
color or those identifying as Hispanic.
Experiences also varied by income,
with people in a higher income bracket
feeling inclusion and belonging
more than those with lower incomes.
People who experience safe, accessible
and inclusive park and
recreation spaces visit those places
more often, on average, than those
who do not have those experiences.
Value of Parks and
Recreation
Nine in 10 U.S. adults agree parks
and recreation is a valuable service
their local governments provide
and should be sufficiently funded.
Nine in 10 (91 percent) U.S. adults
agree parks and recreation is a valuable
service their local governments
provide, as much as fire, road/transportation,
water/utilities, health and
police. Most (92 percent) respondents
believe local and state governments
should sufficiently fund parks and
recreation to ensure every community
member has access to amenities,
infrastructure and programming.
The full Engagement With Parks
Report offers additional insights into
these results and more. Check it out
at nrpa.org/Research.
Author's Note: Thank you to the
1,000 U.S. adults who contributed to
this survey.
Samantha Serrano is Senior Research
and Evaluation Manager at NRPA
(sserrano@nrpa.org).
http://www.nrpa.org/Research
December 2024 – Parks & Recreation

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