June 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 42

TYLER NORRIS

cuts that allow wheelchairs to go
off the curb and cross the street
in an easy way, that also allows
someone with a walker to be able
to do that; it allows someone
with a baby stroller to be able to
use that; it allows someone who
doesn't see well to have a nice step

We need to make sure that the
mindset of what a fully builtout routine accommodation for
play in nature looks like - not
just one-offs.
down to be able to have routine
walking across there. We did that
for the ADA [Americans with
Disabilities Act]. When you take
the most vulnerable person and
you accommodate that person,
we all win. When we center
Black, brown and Indigenous
populations, we all win. White
people who struggle will do
better when we have an equity
agenda. This isn't about Black
and brown people alone, it's for
all Americans. All Americans
will do better when we have a
BIPOC-centered strategy. And
to me, that's not only a moral
issue, but it's also a pragmatic
issue. It's an economic issue for
the future of our country.
Dr. Wu: How does this translate
into the work that park and recreation professionals do to bring
this all down to a pragmatic level in the park and recreation domain? What would this awakening look like?
Norris: I think that many of our
leaders working in our parks and
active areas have been on the
front line of asking this question
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in city government. And, I want
to acknowledge the leadership
of many professionals in parks,
recreation and open space across
the different types of land uses
that have been involved in the
conversation. Particularly during
COVID, we've seen a lot of innovations. Referring back to the
curb-cut scenario, the first place
to begin is: We've created a resource, how does the most vulnerable access this? Vulnerable
may not be the right word here.
We might want to look through
more of a disability lens or age
lens. I love the language of the
8 80 movement and Gil Penalosa, [founder of 8 80 Cities], from
Canada. Does the resource work
for an 8-year-old and an 80-yearold? Because if it works for the
8-year-old and 80-year-old, it's
going to work for most of us that
are in between. How do we ensure
that we are creating environments
in these places of play, recreation,
renewal and family gathering, in
which all people feel welcome?
Dr. Wu: In your presentation, you
had two maps that demonstrated
the disparity where open space
was located. It probably wasn't
anyone's specific intent, but it
happened on the systemic level. How does that get changed?
What must we do about systemic decisions that result in these
kinds of disparities, which then
lead to differences in access, especially for the communities that
are at risk?
Norris: I'll use the food system as
an example, because it's sort of a
sister issue. We've been working to
create a full-service grocery store in
West Oakland, California, an area
that has been a food desert com-

bined with a food swamp of outlets
with cheap food full of empty calories, high sugars, fats, oils, etc.
The conversation at one point
was: Do we really need a fullservice grocery store, because
there's an occasional farmers market that's not that far from the other? To me, that question was so revealing. In my neighborhood, I am
10 minutes from a farmers market and five minutes from a fullservice grocery store. I have access
to a cornucopia of food options
to be able to access healthy, fresh
foods. And when we get into a
conversation with the city of West
Oakland asking, " Oh, should we
do a full-service grocery store or
farmers markets? " it's as if one
or two of those options are okay.
You need routine accommodation
and access to all modes of fresh,
healthy, affordable foods.
The same thing is true when
we talk about access to nature,
parks or places of recreation. A
pocket park, a green zone, a set
of trees are important, but we
need the build out. If we have areas that do not have tree cover,
where we know that people [are
not] within five to 10 minutes
of a safe place to play, then that
needs to be built out.
For park and recreation leaders,
city planning officials, mayors, city
councils and county commissioners, we need to make sure that the
mindset of what a fully built-out
routine accommodation for play
in nature looks like - not just oneoffs. And, we need to disproportionately invest in communities of
color to ensure that those environments are fully accessible.
Dr. Wu: I think it's fantastic that
Providence is invested in the
mental health arena through an

June 2021 - Parks & Recreation

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