October 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 20

RESEARCH
U.S. Adults Place High Value
on Parks and Recreation
By Melissa May and Catherine Tepper
P
ark and recreation professionals foster healthy and prosperous
communities by providing programming and places for all. Since
2016, NRPA's Research team has conducted an annual survey
of 1,000 U.S. adults to better understand how the public engages
with local parks and recreation. The results provide insight on how local
park and recreation facilities impact our nation and inform the recently
released Engagement With Parks Report (nrpa.org/Engagement).
Local parks and recreation continues
to play an integral role in
people's daily lives. Parks and recreation
facilities provide a wide array
of opportunities for community
members to come together, help
maintain healthy ecosystems and
find a moment of peace outdoors.
Eighty-four percent of survey respondents
- the equivalent of more
than 280 million people - visited a
local park or recreation facility at
least once between May 2022 and
May 2023. Among people who
visited a park within the past three
months, parents are the most frequent
visitors at 88 percent.
Not surprisingly,
people
with
nearby access to parks and recreation
facilities are more likely to
use that infrastructure. Seventy-one
percent of survey participants responded
that they live within a
walkable distance of a park or recreation
facility. Meanwhile, 37 percent
indicate that they live within
a walkable distance of more than
one of these areas. Despite these
high percentages of people who
live within walking distance to a
park, 29 percent of survey respondents
- the equivalent of 97 million
people - said that they do not
20 Parks & Recreation | O CTOBER 2 0 2 3
have walkable access to a park or
recreational facility.
When choosing a neighborhood
in which to live, 84 percent of
survey respondents indicated that
proximity
to
high-quality
parks,
playgrounds, open spaces or other
recreational facilities is a determining
factor. A desire to live near
prime park and recreation opportunities
is common across nearly all
segments of the population. More
than 60 percent of survey participants
said that distance to these
areas is " extremely " or " very " important
in their choice of residence.
Nearly 9 in 10 U.S. adults agree
that parks and recreation provides
an important local government
service. This strong support spans
every segment of the population.
Additionally, people hold park and
recreation agencies at virtually the
same high level of significance
as other major local government
services, such as utilities, police and
fire protection, roads/transportation,
health services, education, economic
development, and social services.
Ensuring safe, accessible, inclusive
and welcoming spaces is a top
priority
for park and recreation
professionals. However, this does
| PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
not mean that every community
member feels welcome all the time.
Sixty-five percent of survey participants
described their local park and
recreation facilities as easily accessible,
63 percent described them as
safe and welcoming, and 52 percent
said their parks were inclusive to
people of all races, ethnicities and
incomes. Those who believe local
parks and recreation is inclusive of
those with all abilities visited park
and recreation locations twice as
often as those who did not.
Community engagement is essential
for park and recreation agencies
to ensure their programming and
amenities meet the needs and desires
of every person in the communities
they serve. Eighty-eight percent of
U.S. adults indicate that their local
park and recreation agencies must
engage directly with the public to ensure
every community member has
access to amenities, infrastructure
and programming that meet their
specific needs and desires. More than
two-thirds of respondents agreed
that this engagement is " extremely "
or " very " important.
The Engagement With Parks Report
displays the significance of parks in
the daily lives of people living in the
United States. With more than 280
million people visiting parks and recreation
facilities within the past year
- 71 percent of people living within
walking distance of their local parks,
and 84 percent using access to quality
parks and recreation facilities as a
determining factor in their choice of
residence - the statistics speak for
themselves.
Melissa May is Senior Research Manager
at NRPA (mmay@nrpa.org). Catherine
Tepper is Research and Evaluation Intern
Co-op at NRPA (ctepper@nrpa.org).
http://www.nrpa.org/Engagement
October 2023 - Parks & Recreation

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