A Study of the Park and Recreation Problem of the United States

Cover

Contents

Foreword

Supplemental Foreword

Introduction

Recreational Habits and Needs

Aspects of Recreational Planning

Present Public Outdoor Recreational Facilities

Administration

Financing

Legislation

A Park and Recreational Land Plan

A Study of the Park and Recreation Problem of the United States

LIMITING FACTORS

The most significant trend of the past hundred years relating to recreation is the increased opportunity offered by the decrease in working hours. At the time of the Civil War, the average workweek was 68 hours, which, together with time necessary for sleeping, eating and personal care, left 16 hours of leisure per week. In 1930. the workweek was 47 hours, and leisure time had jumped from 16 hours to 37.⁸ Since 1930 there has been further decrease in work hours. It appears inevitable that if present trends in increased efficiency of production continue, there will be either shorter hours of work or a large percentage of the population not gainfully employed. From the view point of outdoor recreation, the 5-day week and the annual vacation with pay, both of which seem destined to become more common, are of great significance, particularly in making possible more long distance travel. Instead of taking one's vacation in the summer, there is an increasing tendency toward taking shorter and more vacations at different periods of the year. This practice allows more frequent relaxation from strain which is not only more beneficial to the individual but is also likely to result in the improvement of his work efficiency. With child labor laws, shorter workdays, longer weekends, and vacations, there will be increasing opportunities for urban people to get out into the country for recreation and for rural people to find recreation beyond the confines of their own neighborhoods.

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⁸ From a chart by William Green in the New York Times, August 9, 1931.

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The mobility of the population in the pursuit of recreation is dependent upon the following two main factors:

1. Leisure time.

2. Income available for recreation.

The distances people actually travel for outdoor recreation vary in accordance with the following factors:

1. Availability of recreational areas.

2. Availability and cost of transportation facilities:

(a) Private—automobile or group truck or bus.

(b) Public—railroads, airlines, buses, trucks, streetcars.

3. Traffic and road routes (trailways, parkways, freeways).

4. Attractiveness of route.

5. Types of recreational activities offered.

6. Costs involved in participation in activities as offered.

7. Quality of recreational facilities provided.

8. Intensity of use.

9. Publicity given the area.

10. Availability and cost of overnight accommodations on or near the area.

The low-income group, comprising approximately 42 percent of the total population, can spend little, if anything, for recreation travel. For this reason, their outings must largely be restricted to their own neighborhoods for all leisure periods, unless arrangements are made for low-cost transportation. This means that the use of outlying areas is confined almost entirely to those from the moderate and ample income groups. The upper income group, which constitutes less than 10 percent of the population, on the other hand, generally have longer vacations and can afford to travel extensively.

Figure 5.

As a general rule, the more thickly settled a section of the country is, the more restricted will be the range of travel for weekday and holiday outings. Here the factor of traffic conditions becomes dominant. Roads in the industrial East, for example, are congested with traffic during late afternoons and on holidays, which slows travel to such an extent that it becomes impossible to go very far for an outing and have any time left in which to enjoy it. In the thinly settled open spaces of the South, Southwest, and West, on the other hand, a man can range from 25 to 50 miles from his home on weekdays and can easily extend this to a hundred miles on a holiday. The construction of parkways, freeways, and multiple-lane highways should loosen up traffic conditions in the congested population sections, thereby increasing the radius of urban travel for these shorter leisure periods.

Figure 6. (click on image for an enlargement in a new window)

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Last Modified: Mon, Aug 9 2004 10:00:00 pm PDT
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