June 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 42

STRATEGIC PLAN
recreation in the public health sphere,
as
the CPSTF recommendations
Despite the
well-documented
health, environmental,
social and
economic benefits
of parks and recreation,
significant
gaps remain due to
a history of unfair
systems, systemic
racism and disinvestment.
are
used to inform decision-makers
in federal, state and local health
departments, other government
agencies, and a variety of other
sectors. In 2022, NRPA worked
with CDC's Active People, Healthy
Nation™ campaign to translate
this recommendation into the
Active Parks! Implementation Guide:
Increasing Physical Activity Through
Parks, Trails and Greenways guide
(tinyurl.com/4aya55ux), which
includes actionable steps to support
park and recreation professionals
in their efforts to create equitable,
healthy and active-friendly
communities.
In 2022, the Office of Disease
Prevention and Health Promotion
within HHS recognized NRPA as
a Healthy People 2030 Champion
(tinyurl.com/3h25kykr). Healthy
People 2030 is the fifth iteration of
the Healthy People initiative, which
sets 10-year national objectives to
improve health and well-being nationwide.
This recognition for our
efforts to expand Community Wellness
Hubs further illuminates the
role of parks and recreation as a social
driver of health and a key contributor
in ensuring all people can
achieve their full potential for health
and well-being across their lifespan.
In September 2022, NRPA made
a commitment to improve health
and well-being through the power
of parks and recreation at the White
House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition
and Health. The conference,
hosted by the Biden-Harris administration,
was held for the first time
in more than 50 years, with the goal
of " ending hunger and increasing
healthy eating and physical activity
by 2030 so fewer Americans experience
diet-related diseases - while
reducing related health disparities. "
The outlined strategy is segmented
into five pillars, nearly all of which
parks and recreation plays a role in
addressing: (1) Improve food access
and affordability; (2) Integrate nutrition
and health; (3) Empower consumers
to make and have access to
healthy choices; (4) Support physical
activity for all; and (5) Enhance
nutrition and food security research.
Additionally,
the
administration
and strategy call for increased investments
in active transportation,
parks and recreation facilities in
disinvested communities, and the
promotion of land-use strategies to
increase physical activity, paving
the way for additional funding and
policies that promote parks and recreation
as a public health solution.
The growing recognition
of
parks as a pathway to improving
public health is an exciting and
necessary shift to harness the full
power of the park and recreation
system to advance equity, resilience
and well-being.
42 Parks & Recreation | JUNE 2 0 2 3
| PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
Advancing Health Equity
Despite
the
well-documented
health, environmental, social and
economic benefits of parks and
recreation, significant gaps remain
due to a history of unfair systems,
systemic racism and disinvestment.
In the United States, more than 100
million people (30 percent of the
population) lack access to a park
or trail within a 10-minute walk
of their home (10minutewalk.org).
Black and Hispanic persons and
people with lower incomes are 50
percent less likely to have one recreational
facility in their community,
as compared to predominantly
white and high-income
persons
(tinyurl.com/2v3xrvj4). Many
communities of color and other
historically marginalized groups,
such as people with lower incomes,
people who are LGBTQ+ and
people with disabilities, lack the
opportunity to experience parks,
trails and/or greenways - because
either these resources do not exist
near them, or if they do, they are
not safe, welcoming or inclusive
(tinyurl.com/3k2bamd6). We can
close these gaps and eliminate
health inequities by assessing,
challenging, dismantling and rebuilding
park and recreation systems
with equity at the center.
Many park and recreation agencies
have made progress toward
this goal, but there is still much
work to be done to eliminate and
prevent health inequities.
To support agencies as they
work to advance health equity,
NRPA released Elevating Health
Equity Through Parks and Recreation:
A Framework for Action (tinyurl.
com/3xjkwnan) in 2021. NRPA
designed the framework to help
professionals apply and center a
racial equity lens within their park
and recreation systems, including
http://www.10minutewalk.org http://tinyurl.com/4aya55ux http://tinyurl.com/2v3xrvj4 http://tinyurl.com/3h25kykr http://tinyurl.com/3k2bamd6 http://www.tinyurl.com/3xjkwnan http://www.tinyurl.com/3xjkwnan
June 2023 - Parks & Recreation

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