Agenda - 02-11-2014 - 2 - Laserfiche WebLink

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r 75 Orange County Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan CHAPTER 8- Economic, Health and Environmental Impacts of Parks and Recreation With the clear connections between public health Future Opportunities for Parks and Public Health and parks and recreation, it will be important that These considerations, and the preceding discussion Orange County includes key public health considera- emphasize that access to and use of parks and recre- tions in design of parks and recreation programs, ation facilities are an integral part of an active, policies, or projects. A number of national and state healthy community. Communities that support ac- documents provide guidance on these considera- tive living through parks and recreation, accessible tions, and outline recommended strategies and goals transportation, bike and pedestrian infrastructure 26 Z'to increase active living in communities. improvements could prevent up to 1.7 pounds of Some of the considerations mentioned in these weight gain per year, lower risk of obesity by 35%, documents include: and increase life expectancy by 4 years.28 However, 1. Proximity of recreation facilities to homes, the goal of such an active, healthy community and its schools,or other frequented areas benefits cannot be attained without collaboration 2. Accessibility of recreation facilities to public from diverse community, government, and business transportation partners. Only when these partners all recognize and 3. Cost of recreational facility use strive towards active living as an integrated way of 4. Safety,or perceived safety,of recreational life, and not simply an individual choice to be made facilities each day, will we achieve the health, economic, and 5. Hours of operation of recreational facilities 6. Safe pedestrian/bike facilities connecting parks other benefits we desire. and recreation facilities Inter-Disciplinary Collaboration Similar conversations are occurring in parks and rec- reation, public health, and planning communities. In _ November 2012, an article on trends in parks and _ vy public health further noted the following: I!i Indeed, leaders from both the public health and park and recreation fields make compelling arguments that custodi- ons of our green spaces, trails and greenways, recreation facilities, community centers, and playgrounds hold the keys to our most widely accessible dispensary of national L health solutions: Doctors really ought to prescribe parks and public recrea- tion programs to their patients most at risk for obesity- related illnesses. • Communities should seek to identify and address 4 "recreation deserts"and connect residents with un- der-utilized recreational spaces through bike and i walking trails. • Community-led studies of public health consequenc- es should inform and guide changes to the built envi- ronment—and parks should play key roles. • Organizations chartered to fight chronic diseases should partner with the caretakers of local walking . trails and greenways. 1 • And, we should all agree to keep parks tobacco free. 8-9