Math is Boring.
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Math is Boring.

I hate math. Not just because I got a D in ninth grade geometry (thanks Mr. Nagel). My brain and math just don't seem to be able to get on the same page. I wish that I could — I guess there is a beauty in the certainty and cold efficiency that come from plugging sums into a formula and getting a result. I'm sure mathematicians could wax poetic about the symmetry and pleasure inherent in this, but let's be honest, I'd be nodding off after about three sentences. The only good thing I can say about numbers is that I met my wife in statistics class in grad school (generous B-, thanks Prof. Levinson). But enough about my intellectual shortcomings (of which there are many). Even for a numberphile like me, I do recognize the power of aggregating numerical data to tell a story. So here are a few numbers that have caught my attention this past week.  
 
$1.3 trillion — The House passed and the Senate is expected to follow suit on passing a spending bill that funds the federal government through September 30. Included are increases in key federal programs from the Land and Water Conservation Fund ($425 million, of which $124 million will go towards our beloved state assistance program, including $20 million for an urban park competitive grant program known as the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Program or ORLP — I know, I wish we had a more clever acronym, but we'll take the money anyway). On top of that, $3.3 billion for Community Development Block Grants, $1.2 billion for 21st Century Community Learning Centers, $1.5 billion for TIGER Grants and more. 
 
$154 billion, 1.1 million — The economic impact of park and recreation agencies in 2015. If you're someone who thinks this is frivolous, nice-to-have stuff, go ask one of the 1.1 million people who work in and for our industry — shouldn't be too hard to find someone. Check out how parks and recreation are contributing to your state, we have those numbers too. Learn more about the economic impact of parks. 
 
85 million — The number of meals served by local park and recreation agencies — with support from the Walmart Foundation — to over 4.6 million youth in underserved communities. Agencies provide meals through the Summer Food Service Program, the Child and Adult Care Food Program and in partnership with local school districts through the National School Lunch Program to improve access to the healthy and nutritious foods vital for youth development. Over 310 cities have directly benefited from the support of the Walmart Foundation, with $10 million in grant funding distributed to the field in support of healthy food access, nutrition education and family engagement programming.  
 
522 — The number of NRPA Park Champions who have signed on to help us protect our share of that $1.3 trillion in federal dollars. Add your name to the list. 
 
183 — Number of mayors who have signed onto NRPA/TPL/ULI's national 10-Minute-Walk to a park campaign. Has your mayor signed on yet? 

5 — Number of minutes you spent reading my random musings this afternoon that you'll never, ever get back.
 
0 — Number of perfect NCAA brackets after #16 UMBC knocked off #1 UVA in last weekend's NCAA tournament first round — the first time this has ever happened. Way to be Retrievers! 
 
 
Kevin O'Hara
Vice President of Urban and Government Affairs
 
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NRPA is taking part in USA Today's A Community Thrives Challenge to raise funds to support our members' parks, programs and community improvement efforts. If we raise $6,000 online by May 11, we will also be eligible to receive a grant of up to $100,000. In return, a portion of these funds will be given out to NRPA members through our grant programs. But we need your help to reach our goal! Please "join our team" as a fundraiser or donor and reach out to your community. By doing so, you will enable us to provide more grants to our members!
Join our Team or Donate
Twenty years ago there wasn't a lot going on in downtown Oklahoma City and the city was struggling to compete in the national race to attract businesses and talent. Determined to flip the script, OKC invested billions in quality of life improvements in their city. Join us this May for an NRPA Innovation Lab to learn what this investment has meant for OKC's bottom line and to discuss how parks and recreation can, and must, be at the forefront of business and talent attraction and retention conversations. Space is filling up for this Innovation Lab, so register soon to ensure your spot!
Learn More and Register
Stories That Matter
Urban Park Insider Photo
Health and Wellness
CityLab
Even with the economy humming, Americans are feeling more anxious, depressed and dissatisfied with their lives than they did in 2009.
 
Planting the Seeds of a Food Forest in Philadelphia
Next City
Philadelphia agriculturists are proposing a new type of garden that could address the shortage of supermarkets in low income areas by taking advantage of the 40,000 vacant lots.
 
Fast Co Design
Google Maps' cool new tool turns your real city into a game.
 
The Guardian
The reality for many urban children is too much time spent indoors playing on smartphones — but a few cities are fighting the tide to keep kids healthy, sociable — and outdoors
 
Conservation
Fast Co Design
A community of civic-minded Texans filed a lawsuit to halt real-estate development on a golf course, then took action to transform it into a 200-acre, flood-resistant conservancy.
 
Fast Co Design 
Green spaces in cities are saving us billions of dollars. We need to do more to protect and expand them.
 
The Conversation
Equity is often missing from development projects promoted as green or sustainable.
 
The Conversation
One hundred homeowners in Euclid, Ohio voluntarily give the city their private lakefront properties. Instead of money the property owners will receive a new piece of infrastructure and a public park.
Social Equity
Next City
The 11th Street Bridge Park is designed to connect two neighborhoods separated by the river — one being known for gentrification and growing wealth, the other known for poverty.
 
The New York Times
The mayor of Nashville recently unveiled a plan for the city to honor an overlooked part of the Civil War era: the contributions and sacrifices of slaves.
 
CityLab
Los Angeles struggles with inequality and the threat of natural disasters turbocharged by climate change. Its new resilience plan seeks to address both issues at once.
In Other News
Children & Nature Network
Taking place May 21 & 22, 2018 at the Oakland Marriott City Center in Oakland, California, activate practical citywide policies, programs and partnerships to increase equitable nature access for children and families in your community. Space is limited!
 
The New York Times
Limited risks are increasingly cast by experts as an experience essential to childhood development, useful in building resilience and grit.
 
Route Fifty
Nearly a half-billion dollars is set to flow to 41 infrastructure projects in 43 states through grant awards the U.S. Department of Transportation announced.
 
CityLab
St. Louis' Gateway Arch once stood in splendid isolation. A new $380-million renovation of its grounds brings it closer to downtown.
 
CityLab 
Architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne has become the city's first chief design officer, tasked with making sure the development juggernaut doesn't get ahead of urban-design principles.   
 
MetroQuest 
Planners and public engagement practitioners working for government agencies and their consulting firms increasingly find themselves on the front lines of highly polarized debates.  
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