July 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 26

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Mobile Recreation for
Fun, Health and Wellness
By Clement Lau, AICP, DPPD

rban planning professor Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris was perhaps
ahead of her time when she said in a 1995 article (tinyurl.com/
ybq2y92d) that " the ever-changing urban form and social ecology
of neighborhoods calls for a flexible rather than rigid park design
and for spatial layouts that can be easily changed in response to future needs....
One can even think of mobile parks - spaces whose equipment and furniture
can be transported to other parts of the city if the need arises. "
As a park planner, I know firsthand how expensive and timeconsuming it can be to acquire land
and build new parks. It typically
takes years before new parks can be
provided due to financial, bureaucratic and political issues, and other constraints. Mobile recreation
may sound strange at first, but it
may be an appropriate strategy to

meet the urgent need for additional
recreational opportunities in underserved areas.
Starting a mobile recreation program is not easy though. As demonstrated in the tZR examples below,
this must be done thoughtfully and
strategically, addressing such details as:
* Securing funding for the program
* Identifying and prioritizing communities that are most in need
* Creating a robust offering of activities to serve a variety of age
groups and needs
* Purchasing supplies and equipment
* Organizing a pilot project
* Buying a new vehicle or repurposing an existing one
* Hiring staff and recruiting volunteers

El Cajon, California

PHOTO COURTESY OF CITY OF LEWISVILLE

Located in San Diego County, the
city of El Cajon is home to more
than 105,000 residents. In 2018, the
city created Rec Squad (tinyurl.com/
y96924t5), a mobile recreation program designed to bring outdoor recreation to local parks that do not have
community centers. The program

Parks & Recreation

The Play Lewisville On Wheels initiative brings recreation opportunities
to areas without park resources in
Lewisville, Texas.
| J U LY 2 0 2 0 | P A R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

serves as one of the strategies detailed
in the El Cajon 2030: Connecting
People with Parks plan (tinyurl.com/
yy8ajt5h) to address the needs of areas that are " underparked. "
Rec Squad was initially formed
to address the need for more staff
presence and recreational opportunities at Wells Park, which generated
a high volume of public safety calls.
Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, Rec
Squad staff worked at Wells Park several days a week, offering free afterschool activities that ranged from
sports and nature activities to arts
and crafts, and board games to bubble blowing and special events. This
resulted in a regular set of kids going
to the park, helping to revitalize the
park and create a more positive environment. A key component of the
city's program is the Rec Mobile, an
orange van that was repurposed and
branded specifically for Rec Squad.
El Cajon is a leader in how it creatively engages communities through
its mobile recreation program. Even
in the midst of a pandemic, Rec
Squad has conducted innovative
events, including the " Hopscotch
challenge " (tinyurl.com/ydfm4lqr),
" JUMP! " (tinyurl.com/ycsej4kv) and
" HOOP! " (tinyurl.com/y7954mxh),
which brought recreation to kids at
hundreds of homes across the city.
Specifically, staff delivered goodie
bags filled with items like inflatable
beach balls, jump ropes and coloring
books, and then used colored chalk
to illustrate sidewalk circuit courses.
Also noteworthy is how the city effectively uses social media and partners
with healthcare providers and sponsors to offer these fun activities to promote play and exercise.

Lewisville, Texas
The city of Lewisville is located near

July 2020 - Parks & Recreation

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