Values and Benefits of Parks, Recreation, and

Leisure

• Improved Condition, if a human, natural or economic factor is not functioning at full capacity or is functioning in a deleterious manner, the benefit of recreation would be to ameliorate this condition.

• Prevention of a worse condition, not every instance of poor performance or threatening conditions can be improved, so in this case, the value of parks and recreation would be to stem further erosion of deterioration of a human, natural, or economic condition.

• Realization of a psychological experience, this category represent leisure pursuits that people select for the intrinsic value they gain through the experience. Stress reduction, sense of control, and spirituality are examples of these benefits.

Each of the three types of benefits can be further divided into four different categories of values and benefits:

individual, social, environmental, and economic.

• Individual and Personal Benefits, this category encompasses the many different avenues in which a person’s life can be enriched and enhanced or even extended by various leisure pursuits.

Broad Benefits

• Full and meaningful life

• Balance between work and play

• Life satisfaction

• Quality of life

Specific Benefits

• Physical health– Muscle strength– Flexibility– Cardiovascular conditioning– Weight control

• Quality of life– Awareness and appreciation of the arts,

history, and nature

• Emotional well-being– Sense of self– Sense of control– Problem-solving ability

• Lifelong learning– Independent living– Personal growth– Adaptation to change

• The benefits attributed to parks and recreation can be observed in people at play and in pursuits such as the following:– An overstressed adult sitting on a beach quietly enjoying

the serenity of the sunset.– A child the first time he or she manages to ride a bicycle

without external support.– A Saturday hiking group that challenges itself to longer,

steeper treks overtime.– A 78-year old who learns to use the internet at the

community center as a way of keeping pace with the changes in the world around him

• In more recent years, parks and recreation professionals have collected data and statistics that better document the role their services play in a person’s well-being as well as conducting specific studies.

• Some of the studies that reveal the benefits of parks and recreation include the following:

• Children, adolescents, and adults reported healthier-such as choosing heart-healthy food more often-after participating in Heart’s N’ Parks programs that incorporate heart healthy behaviors into regular activities offered by parks and recreation departments (National Institutes of Health, 2003)

• Savanna-like settings are associated with self-reports of peacefulness, tranquility, or relaxation as well as decreased fear and angry; enhanced mental alertness, attention, and cognitive performance as demonstrated through proofreading tasks and psychological testing. (R.S. Urich, 2001, as cited in Frumkin, 2001)

• Significant research indicates that participation in after-school programs is positively associated with more positive attitude toward schoolwork, higher aspirations for college, finer work habits, better interpersonal skills, reduced dropout rate, higher-quality homework completion, less time spent in unhealthy behaviors and improved grades (National Institute on Out-of-School Time, 2003)

• Social and Community Benefits, this subset of values and benefits is characterized by the many opportunities for success and enjoyment that are afforded by interacting with others; these encounters can be positive and enriching for individuals, small groups, and society overall.

Broad Benefits

• Social bonds and sense of belonging

• Strong vitality groups and communities

• Ethnic and cultural understanding and goodwill

Specific Benefits

• Sense of community– Community pride– Community cohesiveness– Reduce alienation– Involvement in issues

• Awareness and appreciation– Tolerance and understanding– Outlets for conflict resolution– Cooperation

• Social support– Lifeline for elderly– Support for youth– Cultural identity

• The social and community benefits attributed to parks and recreation can be exhibited through the following:– A newly widowed gentleman who receives a hot meal

and the social support of others through his daily visit to the senior center.

– The family photo albums replete with treasured memories rekindled by the candid shots of family and friends while on vacation, picnics, holidays, special events, and other social gatherings.

– A young Latino child experiencing firs hand the art, food, and songs of his parent’s homeland at the community Latino festival

– A newcomer to the community who doesn’t know anybody in town and welcomes the open format of drop-in basketball at the local YMCA as a way to meet others who live in the area.

– A child frightened during her first stay in the hospital comfort by playing familiar games with newly acquired friends.

– The sense of belonging and community that envelopes the crowd gathered at the annual Fourth of July picnic and fireworks display.

• Similar to the data and statistics presented for the individual benefits of parks, recreation , and leisure, there is evidence of the value human contact and group interactions can contribute to the social and community well-being of all. Some of the community benefits that can be attributed to parks and recreation include the following:

• A study by the Human-Environment Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that more green space within inner-city neighborhoods resulted in greater use of the public common spaces and that the relationship between neighbors was stronger because of the presence of vegetation(Kuo, Sullivan, Coley & Brunson, 1998)

• A police-documented 28 percent drop in juvenile arrests and significant improvement in grades occurred after the start of the Success Through Academics and Recreation Support (STARS) program was created in Fort Myers, Florida (Witt & Crompton, 1996)

• Neighborhoods with community gardens in St. Louis, Missouri, a city that lost approximately 50,000 residents between 1990 and 2000, were more stable than those without community gardens. The population in neighborhoods without gardens dropped by 6 percent compared to 13 percent for the overall city (Tranell, 2003, as cited in Sherer, 2003)

• Environmental Benefits, addresses the wide-ranging and critical role of the environment in quality of life. An interesting difference between this category and the others is that the environmental benefits sustain life by protecting the ecosystem in addition to providing other more pleasurable benefits.

Broad Benefits

• Clean air and water

• Environment protection

• Preservation of natural and historic areas

Specific Benefits

• Health and well-being– Reduced stress– Venues for physical activity

• Education– Improved science and math skills– Natural life cycle knowledge– Environmental ethic

• Economic Impact– Catalyst for relocation– Reduced cost of utilities– Increased tourism

• The environmental benefits attributed to parks and recreation can be exhibited through the following:– Setting aside public lands as natural water-sheds for

preservation allows residents to pay less drinking water and provides them access to hiking trails.

– Urban dwellers flock to the city parks to reconnect with nature.

– Fourth graders calculate the speed of the water in the streambed during outdoor classroom sessions.

• The natural desert environment surrounding Tucson, Arizona, makes it a desirable location for the many spas and resorts that take advantage of the natural desert environment and residents and business owners alike benefit from reduced tax base and increased business.

• Some of the studies that reveal the benefits of environmental activities conducted through parks and recreation include the following:– Health studies have shown that contact with

plants, animals, pleasing landscapes, and wilderness areas offers a wide range of health benefits including lower blood pressure and reduced cholesterol levels (Frumkin, 2001)

– In a survey conducted in Missouri by Active Living by Design, 55.2 percent of people using trails reported an increase in the amount that they walked since starting to use the trails. This study also found that trail walking might promote physical activity among women and people in lower socioeconomic groups (Active Living by Design, n.d.)

• Economic Benefits, while other values and benefits are often under recognized, this category of benefits tends to be more visible and seemingly more important. The adage “money talks’ certainly comes into play in this instance.

Broad Benefits

• Cost reduction

• Funds generation

• Catalyst for development

Specific Benefits

• Cost reduction– Health care– Decreased vandalism and crime– Less stress

• Increased financial resources– Enhanced land values– Neighborhood revitalization– Increased worker productivity

• Catalyst for economic growth– Favorable business climate– Increased tourism

• The economic benefits attributed to parks and recreation can be exhibited through the following:– The owners of small stores and restaurants

adjacent to national parks who makes a living providing services to park visitors.

– The corporations that increase productivity through fewer sick days by implementing recreation and wellness programs.

– The older adults who lower their cholesterol levels by exchanging medications for daily walks.

– Today’s knowledge workers seek to live, work, and play in communities with access to the natural environment and public places to meet, gather, and socialize. It is these amenities that companies employing today’s knowledge workforce seek as a way of attracting and retaining a highly skilled workforce.

• Some of the information and studies that reveal the economic benefits of parks and recreation include the following:– Physically active people had lower annual direct

material costs than did inactive people. (Pratt & Macera, & Guijing, 2000)

– Recreational sporting events can positively affect a community’s economy. For example, an annual soccer tournament in Tempe, Arizona, has added $1 million U.S. each year of operation to that city’s economy (Sosteck, 2004)

– A review of 25 studies examining the impact of parks and open space on property values found that in 20 of the cases, the presence of parks and open space resulted in higher local property taxes (Crompton, 2000)

End of Presentation