December 2012 - Parks & Recreation - 34

WELLNESS & HE ALTH BOOS TING LOCAL GROW TH

for urban revitalization. By investing
in active transportation and community health, Greenville intends to be
known as one of the healthiest cities
in America, attracting new businesses,
residents, and tourists.
The mayor of Montgomery, Alabama,
was worried that high obesity-related
health care costs would deter businesses from relocating to the city. A partnership between parks and recreation,
the Regional Planning Commission,
and the Department of Public Relations
and External Affairs was formed to improve community health with the explicit goal of attracting new businesses
to the area. The Montgomery County
Parks and Recreation Department was
instrumental in implementing bikefriendly roadways, physical activity in
afterschool programs, walk-to-school
programs, and urban farms to promote
Montgomery's standing as a healthy
city. Not only has Montgomery seen
their obesity ranking improve in only
two years, but the city also has documented an economic dividend from
these investments. Local leaders in
Jackson, Tennessee, noted that a nearby city with better health statistics and
better infrastructure for physical activity was winning more bids for new businesses, and they postulated that new
businesses were able to obtain lower
health insurance rates in the healthier
city. The City of Jackson Recreation and
Parks Department quickly mobilized
with the Chamber of Commerce, the
Department of Public Health, and other
local leaders to generate a vibrant farmer's market, community gardens, mobile produce vendors, a more walkable
community, parks with ﬁtness stations,
and plans for a new downtown ﬁtness
center. The park and recreation department has committed ongoing staff time
to community health because it is seen
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Parks & Recreation

| DECEMBER 2012 | WWW.NRPA.ORG

as essential to increasing Jackson's
future competitiveness for economic
development.
While the park and recreation agencies in these communities did not accomplish these feats in isolation, they
were essential partners in all developments. By broadening their scope to
encompass community health, park
and recreation departments in these
communities have moved beyond
" nice but overlooked amenities " to key
players in economic development. This
more prominent role of park and recreation agencies in the community not
only beneﬁts the health of the community, but also helps to ensure the longterm sustainability of park funding
within local budgets. Those communities that have broadened their focus
took the following steps:
■

They actively engaged with other regional stakeholders with an
interest in community health.

■

They used data to assess community assets and needs for
physical activity and nutrition.

■

They actively thought past the
health- conscious minority.
They considered how to move
the " interested but sedentary "
group into the " active " group.

■

They created an action plan with
measurable goals to address needs
and to be able to show progress.

■

They leveraged funds from multiple stakeholders to grow the pot
of money available for the work.

■

They sought out and engaged
in creative local partnerships.

■

They conducted joint fundraising
with partners.
Erika Lehmann is with Smith and
Lehmann Consulting. For more
information, contact Zarnaaz Bashir, MPH
(zbashir@nrpa.org).

December 2012 - Parks & Recreation

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