April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 51

parkland, but are the parks where the
people are? "
Well before the " red fields to green
fields " concept of turning economically distressed properties into parkland
or open space became prominent, Los
Angeles was already buying up rundown housing and contaminated properties for use as potential parkland in
neighborhoods with the most need for
parks, according to Mike Shull, assistant
general manager of the Planning, Construction, and Maintenance Branch. A
community-needs assessment in 2009
revealed exactly which areas were most
in need of more parkland.
" One of the top five priorities was
that they simply wanted more parks

closer to their neighborhoods, " says
Shull. " A simple park with a playground makes a world of difference. "
L.A.'s 50 Parks Initiative actually
includes 61 potential sites, and so far,
13 parks have opened and 10 more are
under construction. Shull notes that
social-equity messaging was crucial
to forming the partnerships with nonprofit organizations and winning the
grants that are funding the 50 Parks
effort, with $100 million raised so far.
" We talked a lot about social equity-I wasn't telling them anything
that they didn't already know. It was
an easy message, and quite frankly, a
lot of the grant funding that we got
demanded it, " Shull explains.

recreation agencies strive to be a catalyst for ensuring that all residents have equal access to their resources and services.
How is NRPA going to be using the pillars?
Tulipane: This past Legislative Forum, I met with the Department of the Interior and the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. It was the first time I was able to share with them
these pillars, and they got it-it just simplified it. I could say
that these are the three areas where parks and recreation make
the most impact, and they could picture these three buckets,
if you will. It was like a light bulb went on, and they asked a lot
of questions about whether we could give data on those three
areas. We are going to continue to use it that way in our messaging, because I think it resonates with legislators and with
regulators, and we hope that it will also resonate with funders.
How were the pillars used in developing NRPA's next strategic plan?
Thompson: When the FY 2014-2016 Strategic Plan was first being formulated, we quickly determined that NRPA's three pillars
needed to be the focus of the next three-year plan. In fact, the
entire framework of the recently adopted Strategic Plan is guided by conservation, health and wellness, and social equity. The
three pillars and the subsequent goals will equip our members
with the tools to increase the impact of parks and recreation in
these value areas. The adopted 2014-2016 Strategic Plan has
been well received by the NRPA Networks and membership,
and has been captured in a comprehensive one-page strategic
map (see www.nrpa.org/strategic_plan).
How will our members use the pillars?
Tulipane: In the magazine, members will get a poster each
quarter that will talk about one of the pillars. We're hoping that
they will start to group their offerings under these three ban-

The idea of park and recreation
agencies uniting under the three-pillar messaging brings an enthusiastic
response in L.A.
" I wish I had thought of those pillars myself-to be honest with you,
we already embrace those. Those
are embedded in our programs, "
Mukri says. " I think that's one of
the centralized, unifying programs
that we should adopt as our platform within all the membership of
NRPA. It covers every aspect we in
recreation and parks are trying to do
every single day. "
Elizabeth Beard is Managing Editor of Parks
& Recreation (ebeard@nrpa.org).

ners and start talking to their community more about the impact they're making and less about their list of programs.
One great example suggested by Board Member Becky Benna
was " What if, under the banner of conservation, we could get all of
our park and rec agencies to agree to ban bottled water or plastic
bags in their parks? " When we can get park and rec agencies to
agree on one thing and all do it together, that creates a movement.
That's been really difficult for NRPA to do. Hopefully, under these
banners, we can do programs like that. That's when the public is
going to sit up and take notice-when we come together.
One thing I have found in this industry is that everyone prides
themselves on how unique their community is. However, I think
we need to look at commonalities where we could be stronger
together. Until we do that, we will always have separate identities. For example, look at the YMCA-they have a brand. You say
" the Y " and everyone thinks, " Okay, I know what that looks like. "
If we could get park and rec agencies to agree on a message,
then I think we would have a much more powerful voice.
So what is the take-home message?
Tulipane: How do we get the average person to recognize how
critical parks and recreation are to communities? We need to
change the way we talk about it. One of the things that organizations like Walmart and the CDC like about us is that we have
a reach in every community. But we don't use it to benefit ourselves. Let's agree that we're going to focus on these three things
and really drive the message home. We have lots of resources,
like the posters, here at NRPA for people to learn more about
these positions. And we want to hear from members about their
ideas. We are the first to admit we don't have all of the answers. If
there's a pillar that you think we've missed, let us know! If we can
get our agencies to all chant the same mantra, that's how we're
going to change public opinion. It would be a powerful event.
-Interview by Elizabeth Beard

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April 2013 - Parks & Recreation

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