June 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 8

PERSPECT I VES A MESSAGE FROM NRPA' S LEADERS
Parks and Recreation Closes
the Health Divide
On March 24, The New York Times reported on outdoor air quality research
that is being used to inform a new EPA standard in the article, " Cleaner Air
Helps Everyone. It Helps Black Communities a Lot. " The study found that
" tightening the limit on fine particulate matter by four micrograms per cubic
meter of air would result in a 4 percent reduction in the mortality rate for higherincome
white adults. The same change would result in a reduction of 6 percent
to 7 percent for higher-income Black adults, lower-income white adults and
lower-income Black adults. "
The same day, The New York Times published another article, titled " The Income
Gap Is Becoming a Physical-Activity Divide, " that highlights how increasingly
children from low-income families are being priced out of participating
in sports and fitness activities.
These types of disparities are the reason that the 2021-2023 NRPA Strategic
Plan places " Equity at the Center. " Solutions to health issues, such as clean air
and access to physical activity - along with many others - are found within
park and recreation spaces and programs. While these solutions are readily
available for some, numerous data and case studies show that they are less so for others. However,
being central to communities, parks and recreation is in the perfect position to work toward making
health and wellness solutions available to all. " Achieving this future requires that we recognize
systemic inequities that have created very different lived experiences in communities across the
country - differences based on factors like racial disparities and socioeconomic gaps, " states the
plan. " We must put equity at the center of all we do, from how we strengthen our organizational
culture to how we prepare the park and recreation field for the future. "
As June marks the end of the 2021-2023 NRPA Strategic Plan, we reflect on the ways that the
plan has worked not only to advance health and well-being, but also how it has worked to bridge
these divides. In this issue of Parks & Recreation, NRPA Director of Health Allison Colman summarizes
how the plan has worked to recognize park and recreation professionals as essential to
community health systems and advancing health equity in her article, " Parks and Recreation:
A Public Health Solution. " " While we are celebrating our many achievements and milestones
accomplished through our 2021-2023 strategic plan, we recognize there is much more work to
do, " she writes. " Our health and wellness priorities will remain grounded in our guiding principles
of centering equity, advancing systems-change approaches and promoting holistic and peoplecentered
solutions. "
CAROLYN F. MCKNIGHT FREDD
Chair, NRPA Board of Directors
8 Parks & Recreation | JUNE 2 0 2 3
| PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G

June 2023 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of June 2023 - Parks & Recreation