August 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 67

P U B L I C H E A LT H

Toward a Better Built Environment
NRPA/CPPW Regional Policy Roundtable tackles an
important dimension of healthy communities.

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ny discussion of how parks
and recreation build healthy
communities must include the
built environment. Without an adequate
infrastructure of facilities, streetscapes,
and greenways, efforts to promote healthy
living will fall far short their potential. And
like much of the parks and recreation field,
trends and issues in the built environment
constantly change and evolve. Recognizing this, NRPA in June held special roundtable on the built environment for its
members to learn from national experts
and community practitioners. Through interactive sessions, attendees were able to
ask questions of the experts and each other. Participants shared their experiences,
including successes and challenges, about
how they are working to improve the built
environment in their communities. They
discussed how they develop new ideas
and act on them. Attendees were also introduced to tools and resources to help
them on return to their communities. The
roundtable at NRPA's Virginia headquarters was part of a two-year program with
the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services as part of the HHS Communities
Putting Prevention to Work initiative, a
comprehensive prevention and wellness
initiative funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Key speakers included Stephen W.
Coleman, president, Washington Parks
& People; Randy Neufeld, fund director,
SRAM Cycling; Joe Schilling, interim director, Metropolitan Institute, and associate director, Sustainable Communities,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
University; and Greg A. Weitzel, director,
Department of Parks & Recreation, City of
Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Randy Neufeld discussed the role of the
National Complete Streets Coalition, an organization that advocates for safe access for

all users of roadways. In discussing the importance of connecting streets with parks,
Neufeld lamented one of the old programs
created in street design and construction,
where sidewalks and other essential features
are treated as afterthoughts. In this old way
of thinking, adding sidewalks and bike lanes,
for example, becomes more difficult and
expensive. " Sidewalks decrease pedestrian
risk by 68 percent and citizens get one third
more physical activity in communities with
sidewalks, " Neufeld said. He cited a Complete Streets Coalition policy analysis that depicts a major trend underway in the last two
years-an explosion of policies to promote
complete street approaches. " The majority
of policies are city ordinances, " he added.
Steve Coleman of Washington Parks &
People urged participants to push for the
idea of " complete parks. " " Put forward
the idea that parks build communities, "
he said. " But you must start with people
and not the physical.
" Think about culture-for too long culture was apart from communities, " Coleman continued. " You can reposition and
repurpose the land when you begin to
think about the interplay of culture. Density doesn't work without green space.
We've got to challenge our policy makers
to invest in complete parks. "
Greg Weitzel described his city as one
big park- " because we have so many kinds
of parks and greenways. " Weitzel showed
parts of a PowerPoint presentation his department gave at city council meetings to
push for upgraded streets. Weitzel showed
overlay photos of current streets with renderings of what they could look like with enhanced crosswalks and bike lanes, among
other improvements. To achieve these
goals, as well as many others in Allentown,
Weitzel had to establish inter-agency partnerships with schools, health department,
planning departments, and, of course, parks.

He described some of his recent accomplishments-destinations playgrounds and
street " smart carts " that offer healthy food
at parks, playgrounds, and other venues.

Sustaining Collaboration and
Managing Change
In an afternoon roundtable session with
panelists Steve Coleman and Joe Schilling,
attendees learned how to make the transition from setting goals to accomplishing
them. When park agencies take leadership
in enhancing the built environment, the
potential rewards include sweeping improvements in quality of life across a city
or region. The challenges? The careful collaboration and communication that must
take place to effect such complex change.
With panelists Steve Coleman and Joe
Schilling leading the discussion, participants
from regional, city, and suburban agencies
each submitted a question relating to their
biggest built-environment challenge.
For Rose Colby of Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission
(MNCPPC), whose job it is to maintain and
develop funding partnerships, the primary
challenge lies in managing and sustaining

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AUGUST 2011

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August 2011 - Parks & Recreation

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