July 2017 - Parks & Recreation - 40

How Can

Neighborhood
Findings from the National Study of Neighborhood Parks
By Deborah A. Cohen and Kristin Leuschner

T

he United States is home to more than 108,000 parks, ranging from large
regional parks and natural resource areas to sports complexes and small
" pocket parks. " Most urban residents live in close proximity to one or more
neighborhood parks, which are ideal places for people to engage in physical activity, such as sports, brisk walking and other forms of exercise. U.S. guidelines
recommend at least 60 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous physical activity for
youth and 30 minutes a day, five days a week, for adults. However, fewer than half
of Americans currently meet these guidelines and that inactivity is contributing to a
growing epidemic of chronic disease. Given that park space and facilities already exist,
what would it take to encourage people to use this space to be more physically active?
To explore these issues, the RAND Corporation recently conducted the first national study of neighborhood parks - a
special project sponsored by the National
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the
National Institutes of Health. Our team
of 60 field staff visited a representative
sample of parks across the country to understand who is using parks, what features

38

Parks & Recreation

they are using and which factors contribute
most to park use and physical activity.
Between April and August, 2014, one
pair of data collectors traveled to each
of 174 neighborhood parks in 25 major
cities, observing multiple " target areas "
in each park (sports facilities, picnic areas, skate parks, seating areas, etc.) on
12 separate occasions - three times per

| J U LY 2 0 1 7 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

day on two weekdays and on a Saturday and Sunday - for a total of 2,088
hourly observations. Trained individuals
rotated through all the target areas and
recorded who was there by gender, age
group, race/ethnicity and activity level.
We made observations only during clement weather. If it rained, the visit was rescheduled to the next clement day (e.g.,
if it rained on a Tuesday, the team observed the following Tuesday).
In addition to seeing how people are using
neighborhood parks, the team also assessed
whether there are differences in the way
parks are used by men and women, young
and old, and in high- and low-income neighborhoods. Our results provide insights into
how neighborhood parks are being used
today, and what can be done to ensure that
parks take a more prominent role in promoting physical activity in the future.
Access and Users
The average park in our study was a little



July 2017 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July 2017 - Parks & Recreation

July 2017 - Parks & Recreation - 1
July 2017 - Parks & Recreation - 2
July 2017 - Parks & Recreation - 3
July 2017 - Parks & Recreation - 4
July 2017 - Parks & Recreation - 5
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2010
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