Resources and Research to Use in Program Development, Planning, Context, and Understanding
- A new park development tool for park supervisors and public health staff! Find it here. A recent tool released by the National Parks and Recreation Association offers suggestions to increase physical activity in these green spaces. Parks and recreation are essential to community health, and resilience and well-being. With community engagement, part of what is recommended in this tool, local park and recreation agencies and public health agencies can maximize the impact of park resources for all ages and abilities.
- The Center for American Progress published "The Nature Gap" in 2020 describing and documenting in detail how people of color, families with children, and low-income communities are most likely to be deprived of the benefits that nature provides. Similar to the NCH2 mission statement the forward to this report states: "Clean drinking water, clean air, public parks and beaches, biodiversity, and open spaces are shared goods to which every person in the United States has an equalright both in principle and in law. Nature is supposed to be...free, universal, and accessible to all humans without discrimination.1
- The Trust for Public Land released a new report in late May, 2023 about the public health effects of quality, safe, and convenient parks in the most populous cities. Find it here. Using data from the Centers for Disease Control and the TPL Parkscore, the report shows how parks affect physical and mental health. One of the key findings is that "across the Country, Parks Departments and Their Partners Are Leveraging Parks to Improve Health" and it provides several steps to heighten the impact of the park as a community-based asset.