November 2009 - Parks & Recreation - 18

advocacy update

By Stacey Pine

NRPA Focuses on Urban Parks

In September, NRPA hosted an Urban Summit that
collectively brought together many of the agency officials with whom we had been meeting with throughout
the year along with Members of Congress, congressional staff, elected urban officials, and urban park directors for dynamic panel discussions to address critical

needs and emerging opportunities for urban parks
in America. During the summit, agency officials discussed the ways in which they plan to revitalize urban
areas and were met with some very challenging questions from audience members about the role they saw
for parks and recreation in this effort.
The summit was a huge success and did much to
position NRPA as a valuable resource for federal agencies and Congress, and gave the agency officials an opportunity to hear from our urban directors about the
many solutions that parks and recreation agencies can
offer for meeting the needs and challenges of revitalizing urban communities. It was obvious from the discussion and the comments of agency officials that our
advocacy efforts are working and have done much to
educate the Administration about the important role
of public park and recreation agencies to communities and our nation.
Outlined below are several urban legislative and
policy initiatives that are being led by NRPA. We believe that each of these initiatives holds unique promise and opportunities for urban areas. Most things in
Washington do not happen overnight, and funding
urban parks is no exception. However, with these opportunities before us, now is the time for us to fight
harder than before. It is also the time for us to rev up
our advocacy efforts so that every member of Congress
knows about the benefits that are provided to his/her
constituents through parks and recreation. Now is the
time for us to tell our story.
The Urban Revitalization and
Livable Communities Act
In September, Representative Albio Sires (D-NJ) along
with Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Danny
Davis (D-IL), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Mike McMahon
(D-NY), Donald Payne (D-NJ), Janice Schakowsky (DIL), and Edolphus Towns (D-NY) introduced the Urban
Revitalization and Livable Communities (URLC) Act.
Through this legislation, parks and recreation infrastructure will be used as a catalyst to revitalize many
urban areas throughout our country. Specifically, the
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Parks & Recreation

November 2009

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Since the 111 th Congress convened in January of this
year, NRPA has been engaged in a full-court press to
secure funding and represent the interests of urban
parks and recreation facilities before the Administration and Congress. Throughout the year, NRPA has met
with high-level officials in the White House Office of
Intergovernmental Affairs, the Office of Management
and Budget, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well the Departments of Housing and Urban
Development, Transportation and Interior to specifically discuss why, more than ever, urban parks and recreation infrastructure is critical in helping to combat
many of the problems that plague our nation.
November 2009 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2009 - Parks & Recreation
