February 2012 - Parks & Recreation - 46

Public health continued from page 43

Davenport, iowa

can provide new opportunities. A local
non-profit in Morristown called " Grow
it Green " created a partnership with a
property owner. The owner allows Grow
it Green to manage a community garden
on his property, with the understanding
that he will be able to develop the property in the future. Miamisburg recently
entered into an agreement with a private
property owner to convert a vacant parcel
into a privately owned pedestrian walkway and pocket park. The city assisted
in designing an open space with a brick
walkway and landscaping, while the
owner funded the improvements. These
partnerships have been successful in
promoting revitalization and illustrating
private investments in their downtown.

Parking to Produce
Davenport, Iowa, is in the process of transforming the crumbling remains of the
city's first parking structure into a burgeoning source of fresh produce. Raised
vegetable beds, fruit and nut trees, herb
gardens, and grape vines will soon take
hold in place of exposed rebar, broken
glass, and warped chain link fencing. With
a large portion of funding coming from the
City of Davenport's Capital Improvement
Program, municipal planners are bringing
a new, national revolution in urban agriculture to their city: public produce. The idea
of public produce is Davenport's homegrown solution to the national issue of food
insecurity. In addition to offering all community members free access to the produce, the previously dilapidated space will
also serve as a beautiful new park.

Greening Alleys
Baltimore, Maryland, came up with a creative way to transform unused public alleys into thriving green spaces-they

44 Parks & Recreation   F E B R U A R Y

passed an ordinance that allows the citizens to do it themselves. The Gating and
Greening Alleys Ordinance allows citizens to submit requests to close off alleys and convert them into small pocket
parks (http://www.baltimorecity.gov/
Government/AgenciesDepartments/
GeneralServices/AlleyGatingGreening
Program). For an alley to be eligible, the
community must, among other things,
prove that the alley is no longer used
for vehicular traffic and that the greening will promote public health, safety, or
welfare. Neighborhoods that have implemented green alleys have experienced
wild successes, with many residents
saying that their community is safer and
cleaner, property values have increased,
and the process of approving and maintaining the alley has helped strengthen
relationships between neighbors.

Pavement to Parks
San Francisco, California, is in the process of implementing a project called
" Pavements to Parks. " The city found
that " streets and right-of-ways make up
25 percent of the city's land area, more
space even than is found in all of the city's
parks. " (http://sfpavementtoparks.sfplanning.org/) The project, which focuses on
overly wide streets and intersections, will
temporarily reclaim this wasted space
and quickly and inexpensively create
temporary new parks. The city will evaluate these new spaces to see what adjustments need to be made in the short term

2 0 1 2    w w w . N R P A . O R G

and to decide if they should be made
permanent.
These examples also show that people are far more likely to be safe and
healthy in places that encourage them to
be outside. Kids in Baltimore now have
more space to safely play, and people
in San Francisco have added incentives
to walk instead of drive. Davenport has
created a place where citizens can taste
healthy food while also walking around
a safe park. Miamisburg found a way to
improve the aesthetics of its community
while also enticing people to walk and
shop in its downtown. Morristown's garden is improving its citizens' health by offering physical activity opportunities and
increasing access to healthy foods.
As the examples have shown, it takes a
dedicated group of people who are willing to step outside of their traditional roles
to create the types of places in which we
love to live. By thinking outside of the box
when it comes to open space and its uses,
communities can quickly see successful
transformations in how their citizens view
the outdoors, physical activity, and the
park and recreation department.
NRPA supports communities that are
implementing successful practices to promote health and wellness. For more information on these programs, please visit
www.nrpa.org/achieve or www.nrpa.org/
cppw.
MAGGIE COOPER is NRPA Health and

Wellness Program Manager.
February 2012 - Parks & Recreation

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