online book

Book Cover
Cover Page


MENU

Contents

Preface
Letter


SECTION I

Orientation
Summary


SECTION II

History
Needs
Geography
Historic Sites
Competitors
Economic Aspects


SECTION III

Federal Lands
State and Interstate
Local


SECTION IV

Division of Responsibility
Local
State
Federal
Circulation


SECTION V

Educational Opportunities




Recreational Use of Land in the United States
SECTION III
PRESENT EXTENT AND USE OF PUBLIC LANDS FOR RECREATION
3. LOCAL SYSTEMS


Municipal Recreation Areas

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 1925—26 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:


6 Park Recreation Areas in the United states, Bulletin No. 462, op. cit.
TABLE XI.—Acreage of municipally owned parks and recreation spaces in the United States, by population groups, 1925—26
Municipal groups Number of cities Number reporting Number without parks Number with parks Total park acreage
2,500 to 5,0001,321 30972237 5,186.9
5,000 to 10,000724 32267255 11,366.9
10,000 to 25,000458 38539346 33,589.0
25,000 to 30,000143 1341133 30,129.6
50,000 to 100,00076 73073 37,203.9
100,000 to 250,00043 43043 40,869.8
250,000 to 500,00013 13013 37,546.3
500,000 to 1,000,0009 909 24,920.9
1,000,000 and over3 303 22,467.4
Grand total2,790 1,2911791,112 243,280.71

1 Park Recreation Areas in the United states, 1930, Bulletin No. 565, op. cit.

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.

diagram: municipal recreational areas and their use
FIGURE 30.

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.

TABLE XII.—Acreage of municipally owned parks and recreation spaces in the United States, by population groups, 1930
Population groups Number of cities Number reporting Number without parks Number with parks Total park acreage
5,000 10,000 851448123 32516,631.28
10,000 to 25,000 60631348 26527,472.93
25,000 to 50,000 1851273 12441,596.88
50,000 to 100,000 98930 9336,049.48
100,000 to 250,000 56540 5466,633.60
250,000 to 500,000 24240 2462,681.75
500,000 to 1,000,000 880 820,172.60
1,000,000 and over 550 537,566.35
Grand total 1,8331,072174 898308,804.871

1 Park Recreation Areas in the United States, 1930, Bulletin No. 565, op. cit.

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 1925—26. 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


7 U. S. Bureau of the Census, Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930, Population, Vol. 1, Number and Distribution of Inhabitants, (See p. 14, table 8.)

8 Park Recreation Areas in the United States, Bulletin 565, p. 8.

Comparable statistics in the studies of 1925—26 and 1930 of the growth of park acreage for 534 cities are shown in the following table:

TABLE XIII.—Growth in park acreage in 534 cities, by population groups, 1925—26 to 1930
Population groups Number of cities reporting Total park acreage, 1925—26 1930 Percent increase
5,000 to 10,000 845,317.86,159.57 15.8
10,000 to 25,000 17412,701.620,815.52 63.8
25,000 to 50,000 10317,993.937,775.43 109.9
50,000 to 100,000 8525,305.333,622.65 32.8
100,000 to 250,000 5443,805.666,633.60 52.1
250,000 to 500,000 2147,932.156,550.18 17.9
500,000 to 1,000,000 817,299.720,010.60 15.6
1,000,000 and over 531,089.737,684.91 21.2
Grand total 534201,445.7279,252.46 38.61

1 Average increase.

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.

TABLE XIV.—Number and acreage of park properties, by types of areas (all population groups—5,000 and above)1
Types of areas
Number of cities
Number of areas
Total acreage
Small areas 3093,4325,696.72
Children's playgrounds 2181,3135,182.89
Neighborhood parks 3421,58312,157.12
Neighborhood playflelds 1444926,558.01
Large parks 291989117,499.85
Reservations or forest parks 8413851,330.43
Miscellaneous active recreation areas 11526710,168.60
Educational recreational areas 3168596.66
Boulevards and parkways 12859710,491.67
Miscellaneous 1013797,431.84
Total ----9,258227,113.79

1 Park Recreation Areas in the United States, 1930, Bulletin No. 565, p. 11.

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.


9 If the 172,801.26 acres within these 572 cities had been distributed as to types according to the principles of a balanced plan, no less than 20,000 acres would have been devoted to children's playgrounds and from 20,000 to 25,000 acres to playflelds.

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 >>>




Top


Last Modified: Fri, Sep. 5, 2003 10:32:22 am PDT
http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/recreational_use/chap3-3a.htm

National Park Service's ParkNet Home