2 | 2023 National Recreation and Park Association EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Local parks and recreation shape our landscapes; more importantly, they shape our lives. Throughout the past year, more than 275 million people in the United States visited a local park or recreation facility. Proximity to high-quality parks and recreation opportunities consistently is an important factor in people’s decision regarding where to live. Nine in 10 U.S. adults agree that parks and recreation is an important service provided by their local government. The value of parks and recreation happens thanks to the tireless and dedicated efforts of the more than 160,000 full-time and hundreds of thousands of part-time, seasonal and volunteer workers at agencies across the nation. The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) provides park and recreation professionals across the United States with the most up-to-date data that inform current and future decisions and equip leaders with insights that help those professionals make the case to key stakeholders and elected officials for greater, more sustainable funding. The 2023 NRPA Agency Performance Review summarizes the key findings from NRPA Park Metrics — the benchmarking resource that assists park and recreation professionals in the effective management and planning of their operating resources and capital facilities. Taken together, the 2023 NRPA Agency Performance Review and NRPA Park Metrics deliver the most comprehensive collection of park and recreation- related benchmarks and insights that apprise professionals, key stakeholders and the public about the state of the park and recreation industry. PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHAEL LEE Gallery Park residents enjoy the annual Fourth of July fireworks show in Glenview, Illinois.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTkzMzk=