Rejuvenating Neighborhoods and Communities Through Parks—A Guide To Success www.NRPA.org National Recreation and Park Association © 2011 All Rights Reserved 10 Revisiting the Question: When Is a Park More Than Just Land? A series of five research papers commissioned by NRPA was released in 2010 They present evidence of the impact made by parks and recreation in local communities nationwide Moreover, they provide insight into the benefits important to individuals, communities, our economy, and society Lastly, these research papers help agencies adapt to increasing demands and quantify the benefits of their services to local and national decision-makers The five papers are: • The Benefits of Physical Activity: The Scientific Evidence • Measuring the Economic Impact of Park and Recreation Services • Parks and Other Green Environments: Essential Components of a Healthy Human Habitat • Air Quality Effects of Urban Parks and Trees • The Rationale for Recreation Services for Youth: An Evidence Based Approach Agencies are encouraged to make full use of these resources that enhance the credibility and effectiveness of our profession’s efforts This research series can be found at http://www nrpa org/2010researchpapers/ Small Parcels of Open Space With a Big Impact Parks and Other Green Environments: Essential Components of a Healthy Human Habitat details research examples in the NRPA Research Series that demonstrates the effects that even small amounts of green space can have on the lives of people and neighborhoods The Robert Taylor Homes in Chicago consist of two apartment buildings located in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the United States When people signed up for housing in this complex, they were randomly assigned to either of the two buildings The demographics of occupants in the two buildings were similar regarding age, education, employment, income, household size, marital status, number of children, health, and alcohol and drug usage However, there was one seemingly small but significant difference between the two identical buildings One building faced only concrete and asphalt, while the other building had a view of green: trees and grass Could social dysfunction be found among residents of apartment buildings, the human experience of overcrowding? The answer is yes, but: • The people living in the building with only the view of concrete and asphalt reported higher levels of aggression and violence than the residents of the other building, with its views of trees and grass • Similar differences were reported when residents of both buildings were asked about conflicts with their children Parents living in the building with the concrete view reported using a greater range of psychologically aggressive behaviors How could these results be explained? Were these findings tied to this one particular instance? Similar results were found in a later study conducted in another poor neighborhood, the Ida B Welles low-rise apartment developments Researchers examined two years of police reports from more than 98 of these apartment buildings and found more violent crimes in the buildings with the least amount of vegetation—again the “gray” versus the “green ” Source: Parks and Other Green Environments: Essential Components of a Healthy Human Habitat, by Ming F Kuo, NRPA Research Series, 2010
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