August 2017 - Parks & Recreation - 16

Research
Additional Park and Recreation
Mapping and Data Resources
A variety of tools to help in planning a new facility or assessing a community's recreation needs
By Daniel Espada

uilding a park or facility maintenance schedule, creating a master plan and facilitating long-range planning take resources, tools and data. There are a number of
resources available to the park and recreation professional when it comes to planning a new facility or assessing a community's recreation needs. A major resource
is NRPA Park Metrics, which provides detailed park and recreation agency benchmarks on
staffing, budget, facilities and programming offerings based on data from more than 1,000
agencies across the United States. Whether reading the NRPA Agency Performance Review
or digging deeper into the data through customized reports, Park Metrics can help your agency gain more funding support, improve operations and better serve your community.
We have recently combined other NRPA
data resources with those from respected
outside groups that we believe can provide
your agency with valuable insights. These
park and recreation-focused tools and resources are available for free or minimal
cost in the Research portion of the NRPA
website under Additional Mapping and
Data Resources (www.nrpa.org/publications-research/additional-mapping-and-data-resources/).
NRPA Calculators
NRPA, in partnership with outside researchers, developed the following three
calculators that allow park and recreation professionals to place values to a
number of programs and offerings.
The Park Values Calculator (https://
nrpaproragis.com/EcoBenefit.aspx)
examines the environmental, economic and social areas that reflect the value
of parks. With tightening budgets and
growing needs for environmental actions, agencies must justify their decisions in terms of fiscal accountability.
Comprehensive research studies provide
credibility to the economic value provid-

Parks & Recreation

ed by trees, water bodies and open space.
As an example, costs associated with the
benefits of air quality are calculated by
entering the number of trees in an area.
Using survey-derived data, the Rectangular Fields Calculator (https://nrpaproragis.com/Calculator.asp), which offers
insights on the costs and benefits of rectangular fields, provides details about operating
costs incurred and revenue generated by
multiple sports fields, field surfaces and additional field items (e.g., irrigation, lights).
NRPA worked with Dr. Daniel Ames
and his team at the Brigham Young University Department of Civil and Environ-

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mental Engineering to develop a simplified
process to evaluate ecosystem services. By
navigating an easy-to-use mapping interface and loading park and water body data
with a few simple clicks, the Water Values
Calculator (https://nrpaproragis.com/
parks/index.html) automatically calculates the acreage and subsequent monetary
value of the ecosystem services provided.
You now have the ability to provide evidence of the true value of your local parks
and water bodies through this streamlined
process of ecosystem service valuation.
Other Data Resources
Beyond NRPA Park Metrics and calculators, there are many resources available
to assist your agency in operating more
effectively and efficiently.
Community Commons (www.communitycommons.org/) is a hub of data, tools
and stories that come together to inspire
change and improve communities. As a
partner with the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), Community Commons provides public access to
thousands of data layers that support mapping and reporting capabilities that help
your agency explore community health.
One of the tools within the platform is
called the Community Health Needs Assessment. This reporting function lets you
focus on a county of interest and examine
health indicators, like levels of physical inactivity and diabetes prevalence.
Social Explorer (https://www.socialexplorer.com/) is designed to engage users

August 2017 - Parks & Recreation

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