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Recreational Use of Land in the United States SECTION III PRESENT EXTENT AND USE OF PUBLIC LANDS FOR RECREATION 3. LOCAL SYSTEMS
Because of the present high concentration of the population of the United States in urban communities, and the apparent continuance of the tendency toward urban growth, the utilization of lands and waters within or very near the boundaries of cities for recreational purposes is of special importance to any national recreation plan. The chief burden of year round recreation service must fall upon areas readily accessible for daily or very frequent use. Two studies of municipal recreation areas have been made during the present decade, which give fairly accurate and adequate statistical data concerning the extent to which municipalities have utilized the lands within or very near their boundaries for recreational purposes.6 The first of these studies was made in 192526 by the National Recreation Association in cooperation with the American Institute of Park Executives at the request of the National Conference on Outdoor Recreation. A summary of the findings of this study is presented in the table following:
The total population of these 9 groups of cities in 1920 was 54,304,603 (United States Census). The average ratio of park acreage to population was 1 acre to every 223 persons.
There was a marked deficiency in areas for children's playgrounds, and in areas for playflelds in practically all the cities. In 1930 another study of municipal recreation areas was made by the National Recreation Association. A summary of the findings of this study is presented in Table XII.
The total population of these 8 groups of cities in 1930 was 64,237,233.7 The average ratio of park acreage to population was 1 acre to every 208 persons as compared with 1 acre to every 223 persons in 192526. A remarkable increase in municipal recreation areas was shown during the period 1925 to 1930. This increase in cities of 5,000 population and above was approximately 30 percent.8
Comparable statistics in the studies of 192526 and 1930 of the growth of park acreage for 534 cities are shown in the following table:
The total park acreage is a fair yardstick by which to measure the extent to which a city has provided recreation areas, but this does not indicate the adequacy of the recreation service of any given city's recreation area system. This may be better indicated by the types, and the number of each type, of recreation areas comprising the system. In the 1930 study by the National Recreation Association an attempt was made to classify areas by types with the result shown in Table XIV.
The total number of cities included in Table XIV is 1,763; the number of different areas in the 10 types, 9,258; and the total acreage, 227,113.79. The most numerous types in the park-recreation systems of these cities are small areas (ovals, triangles, etc.) and neighborhood parks. The next most numerous are children's playgrounds, but the acreage devoted to this purpose is comparatively small. It is interesting to note that the number of large parks is more than twice the number of neighborhood playfields; whereas, in well-planned systems, the latter type would be most numerous. It is especially noteworthy that the number of educational-recreational areas and the total acres devoted to this purpose is very small. Over 75 percent of the total area is in large parks and outlying reservations or forest parks. Eliminating the acreage of the forest parks, over 66.8 percent of the 175,783.36 acres remaining within the boundaries of the cities is in large parks. In general, this table shows the lack of balanced planning in municipal park-recreation systems. The number of areas and acreage devoted to children's playgrounds and neighborhood playflelds is without a doubt very inadequate.9 The same may be said of the areas devoted to educational-recreational purposes.
These statistics have not included school sites nor playground and playfield areas in large parks, and do not, therefore, present a true picture of the actual situation with respect to the adequacy of service for the children and youth therein. There is a marked tendency on the part of boards of education to secure larger areas for sites of grade, junior, and senior high schools, and to a liberal use of such areas as children's community playgrounds and as playflelds. Nevertheless, the implication of this table as to the inadequacy of areas for children's playgrounds and neighborhood playflelds may be accepted as showing a condition prevalent in the majority of the cities of the United States, but especially in the larger cities. The inadequacy of areas for children's playgrounds and of areas for the sports and games of youth and active adults, and of certain other types of areas, is partly due to the general inadequacy of the area in municipal recreational systems. If the general standard of 1 acre of recreation area to every hundred of the population in cities be accepted as a reasonable one, and it is generally so accepted, cities of 5,000 population and upwards in the United States have less than half of the desirable minimum acreage of recreation space. As noted above, these cities, in 1930, had an average of 1 acre of park land to every 208 inhabitants. Studies of the Recreation Section of the National Resources Board (1934) indicate that this gap between the existing condition and the desirable minimum total area of recreation space is gradually being lessened. The total recreational area in municipalities of 5,000 and over is larger than in 1930. Summary.On the basis of the minimum standard of 1 acre of recreational area to every 100 inhabitants in cities of 10,000 and over and 1 acre to every 75 people in cities of 5,000 to 10,000, the cities of the United States are now equipped with less than 50 percent of the desirable gross recreation acreage. 2. There is a lack of balanced planning as to types of desirable recreational areas. This is especially noticeable in the lack of a sufficient number and acreage of children's playgrounds and playflelds. Inadequate attention has also been given to areas for educational-recreational purposes, such as botanical gardens, arboretums, areas for natural trails, and educational gardens of other types. 3. Comparatively few cities of the United States have comprehensive plans for the utilization of land within their borders for recreation. The formulation of such comprehensive plans is one of the outstanding needs in the present situation. An auxiliary need is that of continued educational activity by national and local recreation-planning organizations to the end that inhabitants of cities may be brought to an appreciation of the nature and value of civic recreation planning. Continued >>> |
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