October 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 38

worse with increasing levels of metropolitan segregation. The research team
stated: " To our knowledge, no study
has examined this issue nationally or
assessed the role that residential segregation plays in driving distributions of
urban tree coverage among racial/ethnic groups in the United States. "
Predominately minority communities affected by such disparities will
find no good news in these findings.
For one, it means that the health and
well-being of everyone in these communities, young and old alike, is likely to be negatively affected by greater
urban heat-island effects, higher ambient daytime and nighttime temperatures, greater impacts from UV
radiation, more noise, more air pollution, less shade and comfort in public
places, and possibly a range of other
as yet known or quantified impacts.
Secondly, such conditions will likely
tend to get worse rather than better
if no changes are made in the urban
landscape as climate change and extreme heat events begin to affect urban cities with greater intensity.
So, what do these findings mean
for public parks and recreation? We
might be feeling a little smug. After

all, we are the stewards of public
parks, the places where trees grow.
It goes without saying that we value
and promote trees for their health
benefits - right? Well, as it turns out,
maybe not so much.
A recent survey on shade policies
conducted by GP RED, a Colorado-based nonprofit, had some interesting implications for parks and
recreation, especially when it comes
to the matter of trees in the urban
landscape. The survey of professionals from parks, recreation and public
health fields found that only a fifth
of the agencies and organizations responding had formal polices regarding providing shade in outdoor recreation areas and facilities, and less
than a third of responding agencies
addressed providing shade in their local planning process. The survey did
not distinguish between shade from
manmade shade structures and shade
produced by trees, but the percentage
of shade cover in urban park settings
that comes from trees and vegetation
is significantly higher than from shade
structures. The fact that so few public
agencies consider provision of shade

Continued on page 70

Latino Community Urban Forestry Grant
NRPA, in partnership with the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) and the Hispanic Communications Network (HCN), recently received approval for a grant from the U.S. Forest Service to promote the value
of trees and urban forests to Latino communities. This competitive national
challenge grant by the Urban and Community Forestry Program of the U.S.
Forest Service awarded matching funds in the amount of $169,043. NRPA,
NEEF and HCN will work with the Houston Parks and Recreation Department
and the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks to implement onthe-ground and in-the-community events, park improvements, messaging
and community-engagement strategies to demonstrate the value and importance of trees and urban forests to Latino communities. The partners will
match the grant funds with in-kind and direct contributions for a total project cost of $452,038. More information and progress on implementation will
follow soon in Parks & Recreation and via NRPA's social media outlets.

See us in Houston at booth #821.
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Parks & Recreation

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October 2013 - Parks & Recreation

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