It all starts with citizens

Parks & Recreation, July, 1998 by Ted Flickinger

Dr. John Rauch was concerned about Chicago's death Conditions in the 1850s, so held a drive to from Lincoln Park Along the city's lakefront. Shortly after moving to Pittsburgh, Beulah Kennard realized that the busy industrial city provided no Play activities for children, so with the help of The local civic club, she opened Pittsburgh's First playground in the Forbes School Yard on July 6, 1896. During New York City's fiscal Crisis in the 1970s, Central Park was rescued from severe landscape deterioration by a group of concerned citizens that formed the Central Park conservancy, dedicated to the Civic stewardship of the city's flagship park. The group believed that every citizen must Become a steward of "his or her park."

Stories like these illustrate the unwritten history of public parks And recreation in the United States; and their central characters Are citizens. Since the formation in 1634 Of Boston Common (America's first Public park), ordinary citizens have shown extraordinary Foresight and determination to preserve open spaces and Project the land for all time.

Citizen involvement is no Less important today.

"Bottom-up planning ensures that the park that is developed really meets the needs of the neighborhood," says Erma Tranter, executive director of Chicago's 2,000-member Friends of the Parks, a citizen-based advocacy organization mobilized to protect, preserve, and improve the city's parks.

"While it takes a little more time to get the community involved, the end result is always a better park. The community feels a part of it, has a stake in it, understands it, and that translates into commitment when the park is developed."

According to Dr. Charles E. Hartsoe, executive director of the National Recreation Foundation, "The public park and recreation movement grew out of a citizen demand for a better quality of life in the communities in which they live. Strong citizen support is essential not only to maintaining a high quality park and recreation program, but in obtaining the public support to have that program flourish in the future."

Ultimately, professionals in parks and recreation must combine efforts with citizens to truly make a difference.

"Many of the most effective professionals in this field have successfully incorporated citizens into the operation and advancement of their agencies," says Beverly Brandes, immediate past chairperson of the National Recreation and Park Association's Board of Trustees and program coordinator of the South Carolina Department of Education.

"We cannot fulfill the need for better programs, nor promote their value, without the combined efforts of citizens and professionals."

So how do citizens get involved in their parks? There are many ways that professionals can encourage citizen involvement; and the rewards are endless -- from cleaner, safer parks to successful referendum campaigns for the preservation of open space.

Policymaking Boards

The most common citizen role is the elected or appointed board member. These citizens commit to a term of service as policymakers and sounding boards for the public at-large regarding the public delivery of park and recreation services in a community. These board members give direction to long-range planning, establish policy, and serve as legislative advocates at the local, state, and federal levels.

Advisory Committees

More citizen involvement, through a 15-member citizen advisory committee, helped the Urbana (IL) Park District improve its image and credibility and pass unprecedented referendums for increased recreation taxes.

For more than 27 years, the Urbana Park District Citizen Advisory Committee (UPDAC) has been organized to promote citizen awareness and study citizen and district needs and concerns regarding parks and recreation. Robin Hall, executive director of the Urbana Park District, believes the key to UPDAC's success is its view of the "big picture."

"They are not advocates for the senior golf program or the youth sports program," says Hall. "They understand they must balance the district's operations in a fiscally responsible manner.

"For citizen advisory committees to be successful, there must be a commitment to their success by board and staff. They must be viewed as the valuable resource they really can be. After all, they do represent a park district's reason for being."

Adopt-a-Park Programs

Nestled in the Texas Panhandle, the city of Pampa's 38 parks have been "adopted" by individuals, citizen groups, and companies. Reed Kirkpatrick, director of the Parks Department, developed the Adopt-a-Park program in 1988. Since then, the city's parks have witnessed a 40 percent reduction in vandalism.

"Citizens are very supportive because getting them involved, they become our eyes and ears for our park system," says Kirkpatrick.

The program's crown jewel is a $40,000 Development project, which turned a vacant lot into Pampa's showplace park in an economically depressed area of the city. The project, a successful public/private partnership, was funded entirely by the Cabot Corporation, a locally headquartered chemical manufacturer.