The California Department of Parks and Recreation

California has benefited greatly from this system of both public and private agencies that have made parks a priority. The California Department of Parks and Recreation serves an important role in this system. The Department's roles include the following:

• State Park System — Protect landscapes where nature is primary and facilities complement natural and cultural/historic values: 279 State Parks care for 1.59 million acres for future generations, including almost one-third of California's scenic coastline.
• Develop and maintain the SCORP — Develop analysis, goals, tracking systems and range of partnerships to achieve plan, including facilitating discussion and outreach about plan goals and programs.
• Fund Local Needs — Develop and administer local assistance grant programs from bond acts or federally or state funded annual programs through the Office of Grants and Local Services and the Divisions of Boating and Waterways, Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation, and Office of Historic Preservation. Since 2000, the Department administered over $2 billion in grants.
• Facilitate planning, technical assistance, and funding partnerships — between the health sector, local park agencies, and other sectors to build healthier communities through new parks and programs.

II. Why Parks and Recreation Matter

Parks and recreation matter in many ways to California's 38 million residents. Every day, millions walk, ride, or run through parks, play with friends, and absorb the wonder of nature.

Families and organizations have many needs; among them are the needs for recreation and access to the outdoors. Parks and recreation:

• Support healthy, affordable, physical and social activities
• Improve the quality of life in communities as a form of social equity and environmental justice
• Provide venues for cultural celebrations that can anchor communities
• Are economic engines that fuel tourism, provide jobs, and enhance the value of neighborhoods
• Preserve historic sites that connect Californians to the past and safeguard its future
• Protect California's inspiring vistas, natural resources, habitats, watersheds, forests, and wetlands.

In addition to these direct benefits, the process of planning, creating, using, and improving parks can generate positive change. Community based planning gives stronger ties to one another and safeguards our neighborhoods, bringing people and the governments that serve them closer together.

"It is so surreal to stand here knowing this will become a soccer park. It will build kindness in our community. Here, youth will learn pride-with-purpose and become fit. We have seen kids turn their lives around through sports."

Physical, Mental and Social Health

Public parks and recreation opportunities serve as gateways to a healthier America.

Recognition of many health challenges demands various responses. Parks can help with many if not most of these challenges: obesity; life expectancy; immune systems; general risk of disease; and overall quality of life.

Parks as social meeting places also grow community health — encouraging more volunteering, social engagement, and civic pride. Parks provide affordable places to exercise. Youth join teams and enrichment programs in parks. Parks serve as strong catalysts in reclaiming urban run-down areas, and even contribute to environmental health — park vegetation can clean some pollutants improving local air quality.

Examples of health benefits include:

• Adults and youth who live close to parks experience higher physical activity levels. An international study by the University of Exeter's Medical School (Environ. Sci. Technol., 2014, 48 (2). pp 1247–1255) also found that parks nearby provide psychological benefits — as much as a one-third decrease in mental health issues (anxiety, depression).
• Adolescents with easy access to multiple recreation facilities experience more physical activity and are less likely to become overweight or obese than adolescents without access to such facilities.
• In distressed neighborhoods where vacant lots were converted into small parks and community green spaces, residents reported significantly less stress and more exercise, according to a 2011 study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
• Through a youth community gardening program implemented by 20 park and recreation agencies, 51 percent of participants reported eating more fruits and vegetables. Parks can provide fresh food through community gardens, horticultural, and fruit tree orchards.

The health benefits of parks aren't just a matter of feeling positive about park-based recreation: a 2011 study conducted on a city park and recreation system revealed that the city's residents were able to save $64 million in annual medical costs as a result of getting physical activity in city parks. For individuals, the annual medical cost difference between being active or not was as much as $250–500.

"I made it a goal to walk two miles each day on this park's track with a group of retired friends. Then I use the outdoor gym equipment. I lost many pounds. It is a positive movement to a healthy lifestyle."

The Importance of Play Areas for Children

Play is vital for the health in children. Health professionals agree that the decline of active outdoor play in childhood is linked to the rise of childhood obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and decreased life expectancy. The American Academy of Pediatrics, in its 2007 clinical report titled "The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds," urged doctors to advocate for active free play as an essential part of every child's physical health.

A 2004 study by Frances Kuo and Andrea Taylor, published in the American Journal of Public Health, found that play and other activities conducted in green outdoor settings significantly reduced the symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. The number of children diagnosed with attention problems has skyrocketed in recent years.

Free play is the engine of learning in childhood — a vital force in children's cognitive, social, and emotional development. Providing rich and stimulating outdoor environments for children to play is important.

Removal of Blight to Create a Park — "Our community is polluted and unhealthy. We have been trying to get people to hear us that we need a park with trees, grass, lighting, a place to socialize, exercise and play. Turning this site into a park will improve our community image.

Environmental Justice

While the concept of environmental justice grew out of the disproportionate placement of harmful facilities (dumps, refineries, toxic sites) near people of color and of below average incomes, it applies here, too: the absence of positive things, like parks, can also be harmful. Communities need nearby parks to enjoy many of the benefits described in this section.

Research findings (Godbey and Mowen: The Benefits of Physical Activity: The Scientific Evidence) also show that children who live close to public parks and recreation facilities are more likely to be active. Given the huge challenge of obesity facing so many children, particularly children of color, anything that increases active living is a matter of justice, as well as of health. Public parks also provide a pathway to enrichment programs that are more easily available to more well-off communities, such as special camps, gyms, and private sports activities.

Critical to addressing environmental justice is the development of a positive sense of community. Parks can beautify areas of blight. Parks serve as grand meeting places of diverse populations. Engaging with all of our diversity on a regular basis is something that nearby parks can easily offer — and all of society benefits as the bonds of citizenship grow through these interactions.

Tourism, Jobs and Other Economic Benefits

One cannot travel far in California before seeing a local park, a regional reserve, a national forest or park, or many other types of the state's protected open lands. These lands represent more than just play spaces or scenic wonders — they are strong economic contributors:

• Thousands of people hold jobs in parks and in related programs — rangers, support staff, people who run science programs for kids, wedding planners, and more.
• Thousands of businesses thrive on the support of nearby parks, or recreation generally (sports leagues, hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, etc.) — outfitters, restaurants, hotels, motels, and B&Bs.
• Parks, including state beaches, bring tourists from all over the world — in San Diego, one estimate placed the value of park-related tourism for the county at $40 million, including hotel and food fees, sales taxes, rentals, and other expenditures (see sidebar for statewide analysis).
• Parks increase home values immediately near them by 5–15 percent, according to an estimate by The Trust for Public Land, helping property owners and boosting local property taxes.
• Parks provide "ecosystem services" with large economic benefits — the savings from groundwater capture and cleansing alone are an invaluable but often hidden financial contribution of parks.
• An Outdoor Industry Association report finds that all types of private and public recreation (beyond spending related to public parks) generates $85 billion in consumer spending and 732,100 jobs in California. To learn more go to: https://outdoorindustry.org/resource/2017-outdoor-recreation-economy-report/

III. California Develops New Tools to Assess Park Need

People need the time and financial resources to travel to parks away from their communities. Only the presence of a park within a community can provide immediate daily access for its residents.

How many of the state's 38 million residents have park space in their communities?

Mapping Tools for Parks

To obtain detailed information about all communities statewide, park planners and other interested parties can use web mapping tools available through www.parks.ca.gov/SCORP .

• Park Access Tool (PAT)
  • Park Acres per 1,000 Residents: shows the ratio of park acreage and income threshold in each census tract.
  • Neighborhood Areas with No Parks: identifies neighborhoods that are further than a half mile from any park, includes options to see population density of "no park" areas and income threshold.
• Community FactFinder: analyzes possible new park sites, by creating park and demographic metrics for a half mile area around any site. Also used by OGALS for administering park grants.
• CaliParks.org: a web application that allows anyone to search for any park in California, providing maps, directions and more information about each park.

Illustrations of each of these tools are on the following pages.

"For 40 years my mother, then I, tried to have this lot full of weeds cared for. It was rodent infested and developers dumped here late at night. Everybody is excited waiting for the grand opening. We all fought for this. It brings me a lot of joy seeing the community look out for this park at all times of night while it's being built."

IV. Improving Existing Parks

Even in communities where there is public space devoted to parks and playgrounds, residents are less likely to use parks if they are unsafe, unattractive, poorly designed or maintained.

A recent survey of parks directors across the state showed—by a large margin—an unmet need for maintaining parks due to a deferred maintenance backlog.

Results of the recent State Parks survey of attitudes toward recreation also reflect a desire for safe, well-maintained parks and programs offered in parks.

To improve the use of parks, both facility and program needs must be considered. Addressing these problems requires the active engagement of residents who are in the best position to understand the conditions that lead to the degradation of their parks. Successful collaborations among parks departments, public health and public safety agencies, housing and urban development departments, local nonprofit organizations, and civic-minded businesses and citizens can make the difference in revitalizing parks.

Operating and Maintaining Existing Parks

Although new parks are important, the use and maintenance of existing parks is also critical. As part of the SCORP, OGALS surveyed park agency directors throughout California. A total of 295 directors (approximately 40%) participated in the survey. These directors cited their agency's most important unmet need:

• 55% cited rehabilitation of existing parks to remedy a deferred maintenance backlog
• 19% said a new park in a park deficient area
• 17% said new facilities in existing parks
• 9% said adding or expanding programs such as sports leagues and fitness activities, performing or visual arts, and other recreation and community service programs

"I am really happy this is going up. As a community, we need to think generationally. A whole generation won't have to hear they can't go to a park because it is not accessible, that it will hurt our body. Now we can socialize with kids like us. That is priceless."

V. Sharing Success Stories

The ability to respond to the public need for parks will depend, in part, on available financial resources and the ability to effectively share federal, state, and local resources. Although scarce financial resources pose significant challenges, sharing knowledge can benefit everyone.

This SCORP proposes that the network of parks agencies and advocates in California share their greatest achievements and solutions through the establishment of a special clearinghouse. The clearinghouse will foster understanding and the application of successful practices in these key areas:

• Community based planning
• Operations and maintenance
• Water and energy conservation
• Recreational programs
• Other success stories

The following pages illustrate how sharing stories can help agencies find solutions to challenges facing parks in California.

"Children had no place to play. Parents were fined if children played in apartment courtyards, and the school closed the gates after school and on weekends.

We started selling tamales ten years ago to have a park here. The community is very grateful for this park."

Pogo Park — "We drilled capital monies down, into the community, to hire and train local residents to design and build the park themselves. Our motto is to lift up the people at the same time you lift up the place. And it worked. This public project was a magnet that brought out all the goodness and talents of the neighborhood that are so often hidden."

El Dorado Park — "El Dorado Park in Fresno is an exciting example of the community collaborating with local organizations and agencies to create and sustain a green space in an impoverished neighborhood with high crime. It took a lot of collaboration and an abundant community attitude to visualize what was possible. With persistence and cooperation from the City's park department, the Boys & Girls Club of Fresno County, a local church, PG&E, two private foundations, and KaBoom! Playground Equipment — the New El Dorado Park and home of a Boys & Girls Club became a reality in 2011."

VI. California's Track Record of Parks Funding

For 150 years, Californians have invested in their parks. Statewide bond acts, annual budgeted expenditures, philanthropic gifts, creative real estate ventures, federal funds, local special taxes and fees — have built 14,000 parks and open space preserves throughout the state. Since 2000, this investment totals over $4 billion — equal to about $100 per resident.

VII | The Action Plan

This SCORP establishes the following actions to address California's park and recreation needs:

Statewide Actions

1. Inform decision-makers and communities of the importance of parks.

1. Establish educational outreach and partnerships to inform decision-makers at all levels (including foundations, health providers, and other potential funders) about why parks improve the quality of life for communities.

2. Improve the use, safety, and condition of existing parks.

1. Develop a pilot program through a health and recreation sector partnership designed to improve community wellness. Monitor and report measurable outcomes including a cost-benefit analysis.
2. Inform decision-makers and other key opinion leaders about unfunded deferred maintenance needs reported by agency directors.

3. Use GIS mapping technology to identify park deficient communities and neighborhoods.

1. Inform local agency park planners how to use new GIS tools featured in the 2015 SCORP to scan their jurisdiction for areas that need parks.
2. Encourage park agencies to report the creation of new parks or to correct existing CPAD data using a defined reporting procedure.
3. Every five years, evaluate progress made towards increasing park access by updating the CPAD data inventory and associated GIS technology tools.

4. Increase park access for Californians including residents in underserved communities.

1. Encourage park development within a half mile of park deficient neighborhoods to provide easier access.
2. Utilize federal grants to create new recreational trails and greenways to provide active transportation corridors from neighborhoods to parks, schools, and workplaces.
3. Create and expand programs that transport urban residents to larger regional, State, and Federal parks to experience California's incredible natural and historic legacy.

5. Share and distribute success stories to advance park and recreation services.

1. Launch an online clearinghouse where California's park and recreation agencies and advocates can share innovative solutions. Success story categories will include community based planning, sustainable park design for water and energy conservation, operation and maintenance, recreation programs, and miscellaneous.
2. Provide access to all partner agencies. Encourage agencies to submit descriptions and pictures of success stories to the California Parks Success Stories Clearinghouse established by the Department. (See www.parks.ca.gov/SCORP)