August 2019 - Parks & Recreation - 52

RURAL CONNECTION

We're the densest community in
Northern New England. " He adds
that his agency constantly grapples
with a conflict between trying to do
things in an urban way and catering
to people with a rural mentality.
" It's an interesting challenge, " he
continues. " So, we have to be creative
about how we use space here, because
we are so small. That's different than
a lot of our neighboring communities
that have a lot more elbowroom to
spread out into and to develop park
space. For us, in particular, it's really
about: How do we leverage and maximize our resources and facilities to get
the most bang for our buck? How do
we keep them sustainable and in great
shape for years to come? "
Social Equity Is Top Priority
For both these cities, it's not just
about park connectivity as much as
it's about building social equity and
inclusivity to meet the needs of their
diverse populations. For Bennetts-

ville, this remains a chief issue at the
heart of the city's long-term goals.
When it comes to creating recreational programming, " we have
to tackle diversity in a different
way than urban areas do, " notes
Jones. The community population
includes African American (63.5
percent), Caucasian (32.5 percent),
American Indian/Alaskan Indian
(1.1 percent) and Other (0.8 percent), which includes Asian, East
Indian and Mexican.
Jones adds that with more urban
areas, " they are more inclusive and
easily can [provide] more diverse
recreational offerings.... You can
celebrate the heritage of certain
people and do that in a park and
draw people in an easy way. " She
says in her city's case, for instance,
" If we want to have an Indian
American festival and draw people
to the park, they're going to say,
'What [type of] Indian festival? Is
it East Indian? Is it Native Ameri-

The Master Plan
Both Winooski and Bennettsville
contend that the master plan for
their respective cities must, first
and foremost, reflect the wants and
needs of all their constituents. That
means engaging the community to
provide their feedback.
" [As] the recreation department
tourism and park, we are in a fortunate position because people want
to use our parks. They come into
our office every day trying to reserve
shelters in our parks, " Jones points
out. " So, we have a direct connection to those individuals about what
amenities in the parks they want,
what improvements they'd like to
see, [etc.]. So, it's our goal to have an

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CITY OF WINOOSKI

Parks & Recreation

can?' So, it's kind of a barrier to us
with programming. "
Coffey says: " In terms of the general population, we're about 20 percent non-white, which, for Vermont,
is a very high percentage. We're the
most ethnically diverse in the state,
and interestingly, we have the only
majority-minority school district
in the state. And then, in terms of
socioeconomics, I think about 27
percent of the general population is
living at or below the poverty line. "
In addition, notes Coffey, " We are a
Refugee Resettlement Community, so
we've seen a really dramatic change
in our demographics over the past 10
to 15 years, and it's something we're
really embracing as a community and
feel really strongly about. We have to
focus on making sure that everybody
is at the table and we're having these
big planning conversations. How do
we create spaces that everyone feels
welcome in? "

Winooski is considered the most ethnically diverse city in the state of Vermont.
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August 2019 - Parks & Recreation

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