Summit convenes to create urban agenda: park and recreation leaders from America's largest cities met to discuss urban issues

Parks & Recreation, August, 2005 by Rachel Roberts

To most, it might have seemed like an ordinary meeting at NRPA headquarters in Ashburn, Va. But those that were in the conference room on June 16 felt a noticeable energy among this meeting's participants.

The group was comprised of 24 park and recreation directors from the country's largest cities--some traveling from as far away as San Francisco to attend the one-day summit. They gathered to discuss the creation of an urban parks and recreation agenda, and to plan the future Urban Parks and Recreation Convention to be held in May 2006 in Chicago, Ill.

The summit was made possible through a generous grant from the National Recreation Foundation (NRF). NRF board member Charlie Hartsoe was present to witness the event, and provided the tone for the day's meeting. "NRPA today is a result of the big cities. They didn't just have a place at the table [to discuss issues], they owned the table," he says. "Urban leaders then saw the need and the benefits of creating a park and recreation voice."

NRPA Executive Committee member Lois Finkelman also welcomed leaders to the association, and gave insight as to why NRPA wanted to help create the summit. "NRPA is a unique organization made up of professionals and citizens," she says. "It needs an urban agenda to develop coalitions that will serve all our constituencies."

As the meeting commenced, the moderator stressed to the group that in the past, these types of talks always moved toward money. This time, the summit would move past the lack of funds, and focus on what was needed regardless of the resources.

The first question to be answered was if an urban agenda could even be created with such diverse regions, problems and support. The answer was a resounding yes. The directors decided that at the micro level, cities may deal with different issues, but at the macro level, they had shared problems and wanted a shared vision on how to solve them.

Dale Larsen, assistant director for Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department says, "We're here because we need to see a light. Where is the optimism that let people know what city parks can do?"

Discussions ranged in topics from advocacy and partnerships to even dogparks. Many participants felt that in urban areas, there is a huge dogpark special interest group that is not being fully used. "Let's turn the energy and passion of the dogpark lobby ... into support for more public parkland," says one director.

After several hours, some consensus was reached about a set of categories that must be included in any national agenda for urban parks and recreation. Some of these categories include family issues (youth safety, risk prevention, youth education, senior services), health and fitness (child obesity, adult obesity, mental health), environment (air quality, transportation, open green space), funding (replacing deteriorating infrastructure) and diversity (immigration, changing age patterns).

A clear message emerged that developing this national agenda is extremely important to the future of urban parks and recreation. The group agreed to meet again at NRPA's Congress in San Antonio, Texas, and perhaps again during NRPA's Mid-Year Conference in February 2006 in Washington, D.C., to further discuss desired outcomes for the convention in Chicago. NRPA Trustee Joe Wynns, director of Indianapolis Department of Parks and Recreation who helped organize the event, was pleased with the results of the summit.

"This meeting was exceptional," he says. "Just the synergy that came from having the 24 largest cities and their excitement about establishing common language that we can take back to our communities was felt by everyone. And this is only the beginning."

For a full list of attendees or more information about the Urban Park Convention in Chicago, Ill., next year, visit www.nrpa. org.