Today, NRPA released its latest research report and the findings are an important tool for our profession to use when telling the story about the power of local public parks. The theme of this research is clear in the title: “Americans’ Broad-Based Support for Local Recreation and Park Services.” The message is unambiguous yet compelling: Americans are passionate about their local parks.

As a park and recreation professional, this may not seem like news to you as we serve millions of Americans every day. But in an environment where budgets are constrained and park agencies must fight for every dollar, it is critical to have data that reinforces the message to politicians, policymakers and the general public that local parks are critical assets to our communities. 

The report’s findings come from research commissioned by NRPA and conducted by Penn State researchers Dr. Andrew Mowen, Dr. Alan Graefe, Austin Barrett and Dr. Geoffrey Godbey. Their work is based on a survey of 1,144 Americans that asked about their usage and perceptions of local public parks. The survey questions closely followed the structure of a survey NRPA commissioned a quarter of a century ago that had also found Americans strongly supported local parks.

The new study’s key findings highlight just how fervently Americans feel about the offerings of their local park and recreation agencies. The five key takeaways are:

 

1. An overwhelming majority of Americans personally benefit from their local parks (80 percent) and agree that their communities benefit from local parks (92 percent). The latter point is even more remarkable when you consider that even non-park users are strong proponents of having well funded public parks.
   
   
2. Americans’ support for local parks is widespread, spanning across virtually every age group, income strata, household formation type and political affiliation. In a time when it seems like we as a nation find little common ground, Americans are united in their passion for their local parks.
   
   
3. Americans agree that NRPA’s Three Pillars are chief priorities for local parks (conservation, health and wellness and social equity).
   
    
   
   
4. Parks are a great value: 4 in 5 Americans concur that local parks are well worth the tax dollars spent on them. In fact, more than 2 in 5 Americans support increasing typical park spending above the current $70 per resident median.
   
   
5. This passion for local parks has gone unabated over the past 25 years, even with dramatic demographic shifts in the United States and the ways technology has transformed how we interact with others and entertain ourselves. The support for local public parks in this study matches, and at times exceeds, what was found in the 1992 study.  

 

The study’s findings make it clear that Americans cherish their local public park and recreation services, seeing them as valuable features of their communities, towns and cities. As indicated by their strong support, Americans do not view their local park and recreation systems as a luxury, but instead as a vital part of what makes their neighborhood a vibrant, dynamic community. The key takeaways from this study, combined with those from the Economic Impact of Local Parks study we released last fall, make the case for greater investment in local parks. 

Check out the full report and explore more of the data with a series of interactive tools here.  

 

How will this study help you gain support for your agency? What other data would be useful? 

 

Kevin Roth is NRPA's Vice President of Research.