GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE RESOURCE GUIDE | 25 BEST PRACTICES: SITE DESIGN BEST PRACTICE: SUPPORT PUBLIC HEALTH DESCRIPTION: Parks can be important contributors to public health, as they can improve access to recreational opportunities, improve air quality, reduce polluted stormwater runoff, and even facilitate access to healthy food. Both park design and park programming are important in ensuring parks provide maximum public health benefits. Parks must be designed in ways that encourage active use, but their presence alone cannot guarantee that people will visit them – programming, outreach, and education are needed to draw people to parks and build healthy habits. STRATEGIES: • Use Health Impact Assessment (HIA) tools to evaluate potential health impacts of park projects. • Balance the need for active recreation, passive recreation, and green stormwater infrastructure. • Provide programming and facilities that encourage active physical recreation for all users. • Create as much variety as possible in the types of recreational opportunities parks provide. • Partner with organizations that can provide additional park programming and education. EXAMPLES: • Milwaukee’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Culture partners with the private Urban Ecology Center to engage students and teachers in environmental education and outdoor recreation, providing numerous opportunities for healthy activities that some students might not otherwise be able to access. They have found that students become repeat visitors to parks and involve their families in park activities.82 • In 2011, Lancaster, Pennsylvania developed a strategy to install green infrastructure practices throughout the City to meet its stormwater management regulatory obligations under the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load. Brandon Park in Lancaster was selected as a demonstration area and received a $1.7 million renovation. A permeable basketball court was installed as part of the park’s active recreation area, and porous rubber & infiltration was integrated into its playground areas. Bioretention areas, trees, and vegetative curb extensions were installed in the passive recreation areas and along the park’s perimeter and entryway, and part of its parking lot was reconstructed with permeable pavement. New landscaping areas were installed to provide both aesthetics and stormwater benefits. The park now captures 3.61 million gallons of stormwater annually.83, 84 RESOURCES: • American Planning Association: How Cities Use Parks to Improve Public Health • Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Parks, Trails and Health Resources • National Recreation and Park Association: Green Infrastructure and Social Equity (recorded webinar) • National Association of County and City Health Officials • National Park Service • The Trust for Public Land The Urban Ecology Center in Milwaukee, WI engages students and teachers in environmental education and outdoor recreation Sarina Ryals
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