January 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 38

TRENDS

All Those Changes Caused
by the Pandemic? They Are
Here to Stay
COVID-19 has affected nearly
everything we do in parks and
recreation, and the effects will reverberate for a long time after we
have defeated the virus. Changes
to work programs, such as working remotely as a standard practice;
participating in virtual learning,
training and meetings; and contactless transactions will continue
post pandemic. In addition, many
societal, economic and transportation system changes likely are here
to stay as well, says David Rouse,
an urban planning expert and former research director for the American Planning Association. These
include disruptive effects from
changing economic conditions,
increasing social inequality from
the digital divide, diminished use
of mass transit systems; changing
land-use patterns and the decline
of brick-and-mortar businesses.
" On the positive side, I think that
the renewed interest in parks, trails
and walkable environments will remain strong, " says Rouse.
Tantalizingly, urban land-use
patterns that already were changing - such as the expansion of
pedestrian spaces in dense urban
areas, the expansion of outdoor
dining on urban streets, the conversion of streets to bike lanes and
trails, and the installation of " parklets " in parking spaces

PREDICTION:
The 10 largest cities in the
United States will reclaim even
more usable public space in dense
urban areas by reducing lanes for
vehicular travel, expanding pedestrian plazas and converting former travel corridors to new linear
urban parks.

Parks & Recreation

and former travel lanes - have
opened all kinds of possibilities for
wholly new types of urban parks.

Operations, Management
and Budgets
Unfortunately, the depressed economic conditions caused by the
pandemic will hit the budgets of
states and localities with a triple
whammy. As local and state tax
revenues from income taxes and
sales taxes continue to decline
sharply, the costs of responding to
the pandemic will continue to rise.
Despite the crushing pressures that
could lead to severe budget cuts
and layoffs, meaningful financial
help from the federal government
may be extremely limited.

PREDICTION:
Without robust federal
help, one-third of all park and recreation budgets will face cuts of
25 percent or more in their ﬁscal
year 2021-2022 budgets, and substantial cuts in ﬁscal year 2022-
2023 budgets. Absent adequate
federal assistance, the coming
budget cuts will be shocking and
likely will exceed those from the
Great Recession of 2007-2009.

Stronger Orientation
Toward Health Equity and
Social Services
One of the strongest emerging trends
for 2021 is the focus on health and
health equity. This movement toward health and well-being has been
magnified by COVID-19, but it will
continue well beyond the pandemic, and will intertwine with a greater
focus on meeting the social needs of
communities. Recent NRPA Parks
Snapshot surveys have shown that
up to 60 percent of agencies are supporting food distribution, food pan-

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tries, COVID-19 testing, daycare for
children of essential workers and
first responders, and safe places for
learning.
" Parks and recreation will play
a greater role in supporting mental
health and well-being, amplifying
recent efforts to address trauma
and substance use disorders, " says
Allison Colman, NRPA's director
of health. The skyrocketing rates
of social isolation and loneliness
will call for a more holistic focus
on well-being, and access to parks
and green space. This will lead to
greater cross-sector partnerships
with public health departments,
school systems and social service
agencies.
" A part of our community was
identified as a food desert and a food
swamp (because of the prevalence of
fast food outlets), " says Theresa Neumann, recreation supervisor for the
city of Kerman, California, about
why she and her park and recreation
staff became involved in nutrition
assistance. Rene Duarte-Cifuentes,
health education specialist for the
Fresno County (California) Department of Public Health, agrees that
it makes perfect sense for the county
health department to work with their
park and recreation counterpart.
" Parks and recreation is already
established in the community, and
they have a high degree of trust from
members of the community. This is
a great partnership, " says DuarteCifuentes.
Lydia Escobedo, a certified health
coach, toddler program supervisor
and NRPA nutrition grant coordinator for Asheville (North Carolina) Parks and Recreation Department, says the majority of kids at
the Stephens-Lee Recreation Center
and in afterschool programs are on
food assistance in the middle of a
food desert. " If we do not also im-

January 2021 - Parks & Recreation

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