June 2016 - Parks & Recreation - 16

Community Center

From the Director's Chair

P

articularly in the health and wellness space, many objectives are
shared among park and recreation departments and their public health
counterparts. Active lifestyles, exposure to natural environments and
strong community connections all contribute to an overall climate of
health - as it happens, all are also available through local parks and recreation,
often with little or no financial barrier for entry. Savvy directors recognize the
opportunities for collaboration between their agencies and public health providers and actively work to cultivate these connections for the betterment of
their constituents, especially those in traditionally underserved populations.
This month, we reached out to Jesús Aguirre, superintendent at Seattle Parks
and Recreation in Washington state; Jack Kardys, director of Miami-Dade
Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department in Florida; and Douglas R.
Kupper, director of the Oklahoma City Department of Parks and Recreation
to ask the following question: What initiatives at your agency have shown the
greatest success in addressing health inequities in your community? Below
are their observations:

Jesús Aguirre
At Seattle Parks and Recreation
(SPR) we support healthy people,
healthy environments and strong
communities, with a special focus
on ensuring access to our neediest
and historically under-represented
residents. This year, we are embarking on an exciting new program designed to get people up and moving.
Our " Get Moving " initiative focuses on people from communities of
color, immigrant communities, people with disabilities and folks from
our LGBTQ community, especially
youth and seniors, in communities
where people are disproportionately affected by health disparities.
With funding from our newly cre14	 Parks & Recreation

ated Seattle Park District, SPR provides grants to local nonprofits, small
businesses and community groups
that offer innovative and culturally
relevant events and projects designed
to get people involved in community
sports, active recreation and physical
fitness activities. Our goal is to reach
1,000 new participants this year.
SPR reached out widely in target
communities and awarded grants
to 14 projects for our initial year.
Funded initiatives include an intergenerational program focusing
on African-American fathers and
sons; a training program by a Latino leadership development group
to help youth become coaches; a
cultural dance program by an organization that supports the Lao
community, especially youth, with
scholarships and activities that
preserve their culture; and an African Diaspora dance classes by an
organization that invests in young
women of color as future leaders
through mentoring and programs
that equip them with confidence
and resiliency.

| J U N E 2 0 1 6 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

Jack Kardys
Perhaps the important initiative that
has served as the blueprint for health
equity in Miami-Dade County is the
Parks and Open Space Master Plan,
unanimously adopted in 2008 by the
Board of County Commissioners.
During the past eight years, not only
have all 35 municipalities, the school
board, three state parks and two national parks in Miami-Dade adopted
its principles - equity, access, seamlessness, sustainability, multiple benefits and beauty - but they also recognized that a great park system is much
more than ballfields and summer programs. Rather, it is a system of great
parks, public spaces, natural and cultural areas connected by great greenways, trails, blueways and complete
streets that serve as safe, linear parks.
Despite significant budget reductions between 2008 and 2014, Miami-Dade Parks managed to make
significant gains in community health
equity by being recognized by First
Lady Michelle Obama as a national
model for health in park afterschool
programs through our Fit2Play program, publishing four articles in
national public health and medical
journals for the healthy community
outcomes from evidence-based programs and designs, building 140 miles
of the 500-mile greenway system, and
June 2016 - Parks & Recreation

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