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8 Planning August 2001 `4t IFF Ir
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<br /> er Fieldhouses vs . Meadows : Tb.e Debate Goes OnIMF t
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<br /> Recreation has been an important element since the ~.
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<br /> beginning of the parks movement . Frederick Law Olmsted v J" , FF
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<br /> and his 19th century followers provided canals and " ^ FLF
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<br /> lagoons for rowin , trails for walking, rip , : + ' ' » r .
<br /> g g g hills for sledding, ILL
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<br /> and open fields for picnicking and games . As early asIF
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<br /> 1870 , Olmsted and Vaux included playing fields in their
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<br /> ' � .design for Chicago ' s Washington Park. `
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<br /> By the turn of the century, the recreation movement r ''
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<br /> began in earnest . Advocates promoted organized active- = I "I' I.
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<br /> ties and dedicated facilities as a cure for juvenile delin- ' , . . . .
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<br /> quency and other social ills . Over the next 50 ears , the ' ILL- eF IF
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<br /> demand for recreation grew to the extent that it over- LLL
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<br /> shadowed the philosophy behind the Olmsted parks and Fe j "
<br /> changedthe connotation of the word " park. " 4 r y1 - 1
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<br /> By the 1960s, most cities had combined their arks : -
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<br /> department with their recreation department. Since then , " 4
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<br /> the emphasis on recreation has continued and the role of ,�� ti T" y Fe
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<br /> park professionals , such as landscape architects , bota- r . = = k
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<br /> nists , and arborists , has been diminished or eliminated as ,� , Few .
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<br /> park systems have faced fiscal pressures . - : . :,y;,_ FFF
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<br /> Recreation facilities and programming get the lion 's
<br /> share of funding in most communities , because they fit Mayors at a City Parks Forum press conference lastApril
<br /> the cost- benefit model , acknowledges John Crompton, in Louisville. Front left• •jeff Griffin (Reno, Nevada),
<br /> of Texas A&M University. " Over the years, parks people Kenneth Barr (Fort Worth, Texas),
<br /> became overly concerned with funding . They use a
<br /> revenue-driven decision-making4process that only looks Elected officials are also beginning to take no-
<br /> at cost and return . ". tice of parks , in part because the modern business
<br /> In arecreation- dominated system , pure parks tend to community is increasingly aware of their value . As
<br /> be carved up and devoted to recreational facilities . " I John Crompton, of Texas A&M University, au-
<br /> used to thirik that a park could accommodate recre- thor of an upcoming APA Planning Advisory
<br /> ational facilities as long as the facilities don ' t dominate Service report on the economic value of parks and
<br /> the character of the park, " says Lee Springgate, former recreation , points out, companies in a technologi-
<br /> director of the Bellevue , Washington , Parks Department cal economy are free to choose their locations ,
<br /> and principal of the Point Wilson Group consulting Evidence is mounting, he says , that quality of
<br /> firm , life is the primary factor in choosing where to
<br /> " But most communities haven ' t found a way to meet locate a business and that access to parks and
<br /> recreational needs without denigrating the informal park recreational opportunities is central to quality of
<br /> space, " Springgate adds : " Most suburban parks from the
<br /> last 30 years are nothing more than a recreational activity
<br /> center with a landscaped edge . How you choose to
<br /> develop a space dictates the use. If you build baseball
<br /> diamonds then you have no choice but baseball . The A place for kids ' Sketchers from Louisville Collegiate
<br /> space is clearly intended for one activity and it will School in Cherokee Park (far left)
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<br /> remain empty until someone shows up to play baseball . " = 1'7 • � . '. .. -�„z,, 'r
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<br /> In contrast, parks that provide unstructured open 9 spill :_:. ;: ' `
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<br /> e invite users to exercise their imaginations . A base- s
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<br /> ball game may break out in a meadow, says Springgate,
<br /> but a rugby match won ' t start on a baseball diamond .
<br /> The irony is that the focus on " active" recreational
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<br /> facilities devalues and discourages other activities that '" FILL . „ , .
<br /> are erroneously classified as " passive . " i` e ; j
<br /> Springgate bristles at the use of both terms , " Go to a +
<br /> park where there are three slow pitch softball games ` ' ` Ir
<br /> being played and you ' ll find a few people active in each
<br /> game at any one time . ' Compare that to all the people
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<br /> walking, biking, climbing trails , and tossing frisbees ands. . gin . v;
<br /> ask yourself, " Who ' s active ? " r L 1 .
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