December 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 41

The Maryland-National Capital Park and
Planning Commission offers a wide array
of community-based arts programming,
including this public art program that includes
teens from the community working with a
professional artist to create this mural.
most unlimited number
of programs and services
for breaking down the barriers
of social isolation.
bad feeling - it harms
both individual and societal health.
It is associated with a greater risk of
cardiovascular disease, dementia,
stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature
death. "
Startups such as Pie by the founder
of Bonobos clothing, Andy Dunn,
have raised millions of dollars in
venture capital to encourage people
to reach out to others by attending
community meetings in person and
participating in events for real experiences
rather than through devices.
Counterintuitively, social media sites
are aggressively plugging apps that
promote " curated events " like Dudes
Eating Pancakes to bring people back
together, according to Morning Brew.
Other apps such as Timeleft, The
Breakfast and Kndrd are all about
connecting people in social settings.
Not to diss Dudes Eating Pancakes
or other app-based meetups, but park
and recreation agencies offer an alParks
and recreation provides a
free or very low-cost home-grown
path in every community to age-appropriate
activities that can lead
people to forge deeper connections
to others that truly do lead to positive
social interactions. Seeking to
solve the epidemic of loneliness is
a trend that will come to the fore
in 2025 and provide lasting opportunities
for public parks and recreation
to contribute meaningfully
to solving the growing problem of
social isolation and loneliness now
and for years to come.
NRPA Director
of Programs
Allison Colman says, " We have
been framing much of our work
around the power of parks
to
build social and intergenerational
connectedness
and relationships
across differences. " She notes that
the Surgeon General's report calls
for the need to invest in social infrastructure
and names parks and
community centers as an excellent
way to address isolation and loneliness.
Colman says, " We expect this
to be a growing area of focus for
our work moving forward, as we
know that parks and recreation has
a unique role to play! "
Recreation Program Trends
Swimming and Aquatics
Even though many public aquatics
facilities are having difficulty in
recruiting and retaining lifeguards,
developing opportunities for public
swimming is an increasingly important
priority for public park and
recreation agencies. Extreme heat
in urban heat islands and a lack of
public swimming pools in underserved
communities have contributed
to the urgency.
New York State is leading the
way in innovative approaches to
improving and expanding opportunities
for public swimming. Governor
Kathy Hochul announced
a $150 million investment in improving
opportunities
for
public
swimming. Among the galvanizing
PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G | DECEMBER 2 0 2 4 | Parks & Recreation
41
PHOTO COURTESY OF MARYLAND-NATIONAL CAPITAL PARK
AND PLANNING COMMISSION, PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY
December 2024 – Parks & Recreation

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