If you have issues viewing or accessing this file contact us at NCJRS.gov. l~o/fD

I

THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND iii 150180 U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Justice

This document has been reproduced exactiy as received from the person or organization originating It. Points of view or opinions Sl~,:ld in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the National Institute of Justice. Permission to reproduce this copyrighted material has been g~t for Public land

to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). Further reproduction outside of the NCJRS system requires permission of the copyright owner. .; i

I) I f THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND iii] SUMMARY

WHY WE MUST INVEST IN URBAN PARKS

ealiIlB America's Cities cites examples of the link However, parks and recreation programs in urban H between urban open space and healthy commu­ centers are in crisis. Dwindling funds for open spaces nities which has been documented for several decades. have left little money for city parks. The neighbor­ Recent findings documented in the report show that hoods most in need have the fewest resources for crime drops when adequate parks and recreational acquiring and maintaining open space. Monies from activities are available in inner-city neighborhoods. the primary funding source for parks, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, are spent primarily in sub­ • In Philadelphia, after police helped neighborhood volunteers clean up vacant lots and plant gardens, urbs and rural areas; less than 16 percent goes to crime in the precinct dropped 90 percent. cities, and less still to underserved neighborhoods. After the 1965 Watts riots and other urban distur­ • During the summer, when Phoenix basketball courts bances in 1967, the National Advisory Commission on and other recreation facilities are kept open until 2 Civil Disorders listed insufficient parks and recreation a.m., police calls reporting juvenile crime drop by as as a primary concern of inner-city residents, ranking much as 55 percent. Compared to other crime fight­ ing measures, midnight recreation is a bargain. With above unemployment and difficulties with police. over 170,000 participants in Phoenix, the cost is sixty After the violence in Los Angeles in 1992, a sur· cents per youth. The Office of Juvenile Justice and vey of neighborhood residents most affected by the Delinquency Prevention estimates that the cost of civil unrest revealed that 77 percent ranked improved keeping one teenager in detention for a year current­ parks and recreation as "absolutely critical" or "impor­ ly approaches $30,000. tant" to their communities, giving them a higher pri­ ority than health care or business development. • Fort Myers, Florida police report that juvenile arrests have dropped by nearly one-third since the city began In addition to their role in reducing crime, parks the STARS (Success Through Academics and Recre­ and recreation pay real dividends in increased tourism, ational Support) Program in 1990.Young people's maintaining water quality, controlling urban sprawl, grades have also improved significantly. STARS won creating a better business climate, and contributing the 1992 crime reduction program of t..lIe year from to a higher quality of life. the U.S. Conference of Mayors. As part of its "Green Cities Initiative," the Trust • Since Project HYDRA (Hart Youth Development Re­ for Public Land, a national nonprofit land conservation source Association) in Hart County, Georgia, began organization, plans to help communities in inner-cities putting young first offenders into a recreation and and fast-growing metropolitan areas create neighbor­ mentor program juvenile complaint calls fell by 14 per­ hood playgrounds, ballfields, community gardens. cent and incarcerations went down by 23 percent. recreation areas, greenways, and trails.

Copyright © 1994 by the Trust for Public Land. All rights reserved. This publication may not be reprinted, repro­ duced, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the Trust fOl Public Land, provided that portions of this report may be extracted or quoted if credit is given to the Trust for Public Land.

2 It-' THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND "We are BoinB to recreate or we are BoinB to incarcerate. The choice is ours. We cannot cdJord to put a cop on every corner and we can't build a jail cell Jor every youtJiful c1fender . .. so why do we continue to believe that the answer is strictly in law eriforcement?" Sharpe James Mayor, Newark, New Jersey President, National League of Cities

URBAN NEGLECT ADDS TO RISING CRIME knows somebody who is involved .vith the garden." In the days follOwing the unrest, gang members in embers of the Tenth Street School Mothers' L.A. issued a manifesto listing, among their paramount M Club were not especially surprised when they complaints, a shortage of parks and green spaces in saw the condition of their community garden after the their neighborhoods. 3 civil unrest in Los Angeles in 1992. They had cleared That people consider parks and recreation oppor­ the vacant lot on Union Avenue some years before and tunities so important to their communities should over time had raised lush crops of tomatoes, corn, chili come as no surprise. For nearly 30 years studies into peppers, and squash. The garden is in the heart of the causes of urban violence have reported this con­ Pico-Union, where the remains of torched buildings cern. Following the anger that erupted in the streets of can still be seen. Up and down the streets surrounding Los Angeles in 1992, there was much talk ofremaking the Mothers' Club garden, windows had been shat­ the city, of addressing the root causes of the unrest, tel'ed and businesses looted. But after the violence just as there was talk after the Watts riots in 1965 and subsided, the gardeners returned to their plots and the disturbances in other big cities in 1967 that left 83 discovered that not a single plant had been disturbed. 1 people dead and 1900 injured.4 In 1968, following the In one neighborhood after the next, community violence, the National Advisory Commission on Civil gardens and parks somehow escaped the fury.2 "The Disorders reported a host of ills festering in the cities, gardens are a source of Jose Marti Park, Miami, Florida. pride for the neighbor­ hoods they are in," says Brenda Funches, who leads the grassroots gardening organization Common Ground. Even in areas where aimless violence took hold, Funches says, there was a protective atti­ tude toward the parks and gardens. "People had cleaned up these lots them­ selves. We'd removed a lot of diapers and old Chevro­ lets. Anyone who has a his­ tory in the neighborhood remembers what these places looked like before, and the truth is everybody

HEALING AMERICA'S CITIES 1\ 3 in.eluding a deep-seated unhappiness with the absence Through its Green Cities Initiative, TPL hopes of places to relax and play. "Grievances concerning to serve as a catalyst for mobilizing resources to ex­ municipal recreation programs were found in a large pand and revitalize parks and open spaces in and majority of the 23 cities that were surveyed and near urban centers. Historically the organization has appeared to be acted as an intermediary in land transactions, using one of the most $28 million in revolving capital funds to purchase In the days following serious com­ important natural areas and potential parkland on

th~ unrest, gang mem­ plaints in half," behalf of community groups and government agen­ the report said. cies. Over the next five years, as part of the Green bers in L.A. issued a In three cities, Cities Initiative, TPL plans to help cities acquire as manifesto listing, among inadequate parks many as 250 parcels of land for city parks that meet their paramount com­ and recreation high-priority needs. The organization will offer teams plaints, a shortage of ranked above un­ of experts -::0 help guide local groups through com­ parks and green spaces employment and plicated real estate, legal, and financial transactions in their neighborhoods. difficulties with and will help to devise a strategy for raising the esti­ police as the mated $ 2.5 billion needed to correct some of the most significant deficiencies of the past quarter-century. problem.s This effort will range from buying vacant city Although political leaders through the years lots for conversion into playgrounds and gardens to have embraced the concept of expanding city green assembling extensive greenways that link neighbor­ spaces and recreation, very little has been done. hoods across cities. As TPL president Martin J. The crisis in urban open space that existed in 1968 Rosen sees it, the initiative is not a matter of simply is essentially unchanged. 6 In many central cities, "fixing" the nation's urban crisis. Our cities-old parks are more dangerous and poorly maintained and new-must be reimagined, he says, adding: than ever and fewer opportunities for recreation "Parks and gardens alone cannot solve the problems exist than at any time in the past. faced by our cities, but they are crucial to the health As crime and urban violence continue to esca­ of urban communities. We need to take seriously the late, political leaders, sociologists, and community evidence that open space counts in human lives and activists are considering how neglect of city parks that the places where we live can be places of hope." and green spaces has contributed to these problems, and what improvements in parks and recreation pro­ THE LINK BETWEEN RECREATION grams might do to reduce crime and make cities AND CRIME PREVENTION more livable. rime has now surpassed unemployment and When the Trust for Public Land (TPL) was C economic troubles as the primary concern of founded in 1972, the San Francisco-based nonprofit most Americans. 9 The reflexive response from politi- organization set out with a mission to conserve land cal leaders is to promise more police on the streets for human needs. According to a 1993 TPL study,7 and longer jail terms for offenders. But that ap­ those needs are greatest in metropolitan areas, proach is expensive and not necessarily effective. where 80% of Americans will be living by the turn Violent crime in most cities has increased even 8 of the century. The study, supported by the Lila after additional police officers have been hired. 10 Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund, found that public According to a study by the U.S. Department of open spaces in urban areas are deteriorating, park­ Justice, in many cities half of the young men will be lands are inadequate and overcrowded, and low­ arrested for assault, robbery, burglary, or other serious income communities are critically underserved. crimes by the age of 17.11 In major U.S. cities in 1992,

4 /Ir THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND police arrested 2.8 million people under the age of "We are going to recreate or we are going to

21 .12 The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency incarcerate," adds James, who is also President of the Prevention estimates that the cost of keeping one National League of Cities. "The choice is ours. We teenager in detention for a year currently approaches cannot afford to put a cop on every corner and we $30,000. 13 Nationwide, that added up to $2.3 billion can't build a jail cell for every youthful offender ... for incarceration of juveniles in 1993-a 35% increase so why do we continue to believe that the answer is in spending on juvenile corrections in just five years. 1+ strictly in law enforcement?" 18 But more prisons and a threat of longer sentences do not necessarily deter young offenders. While Califor­ RECREATION-MORE THAN JUST FUN nia was spending $4 billion building new prisons, gang AND GAMES membership in Los Angeles doubled. 15 full 40% of a schoolchild's waking hours are Congressman Bruce Vento (D-Minn.) is among discretionary, according to a major study by the an increasing number of political leaders and com­ A Carnegie Corporation entitled "A Matter of Time­ munity activists who insist that perhaps there is a Risk and Opportunity in the Nonschool Hours." better way to fight crime. "Urban recreation and Frequently young teens are left alone with no adult sports programs are a proven, commonsense, and supervision. 19 When researchers asked adolescents cost-effective means of preventing crime and delin­ what they wanted most during nonschool hours, safe quency," he says. "I wonder if our urban youth crime parks and recreation centers topped the list. 20 rate would be different if these programs had not "[When] you've got a high percentage of single been neglected in the past." Vento is co-sponsoring working parents .. .it doesn't take a rocket scientist legislation to provide crime prevention funds for to realize that you need after-school programs for parks and recreation facilities because, he says, kids:' says Charles Jordan, parks director of Portland, "without accessible and well-maintained places to Oregon.21 Jordan is adamant that recreation be recog­ recreate, there can be no recreation." 16 nized as more than just fun and games. "Vle've been Although criminologists have found no way to building high self-esteem in kids for years. We've been measure directly how much crime is caused by a lack dealing with social harmony, conflict resolution, well­ of open space and recreation opportunities, plenty of ness, appreciation evidence shows that crime frequently drops-some­ for education, times dramatically-when these things are improved. prevention of In many central cities, Yet investments in parks and open space have gener­ juvenile delin­ ally been considered a low priority. As cities cOli.tinue parks are more danger- quency," he says. to witness rising crime and urban distress, it is be­ ous and poorly main- "There is nothing coming increasingly clear that support for parks and tair..ed than ever, and quick and dirty recreation is not a luxury-it is an investment in our about [crime] fewer opportunities for own security and health and the stability of our cities. preventi · on."22 recreation exist than at For the same money that would put one new As examples any time in the past. police officer on the street, says Mayor Sharpe James from across the of Newark, New Jersey, the city could hire three nation make recreation leaders who would have a much greater clear, community impact on keeping kids out of trouble and reducing green space and recreation programs can make a crime. "The answer for those kids who are ... doing difference. In Philadelphia, after police helped neigh­ wrong should not be get off the street, go home, or borhood volunteers clean up vacant lots and plant go to jail," James says. "We should be able to tell gardens, burglaries and thefts in the precinct dropped them where to go and what to do. 17

HEALING AMERICA'S CITIES 'i\ 5 by 900/0-from about 40 crimes each month before The property was ..·tearly snapped up for a condomini­ the cleanup to an average of only four per month.23 um development Ul.til the equestrian community In the summertime, when Phuenix basketball courts protested and the Trust for Public Land stepped in. and other recrea­ TPL negotiated the sale of Skyline Ranch to the park tion facilities are district and helped incorporate the nonprofit Metro­ When Phoenix basket­ kept open until politan Equestrian Preservation Society (MEPS).26 ball courts and other 2 A.M., police When the stable reopens, MEPS hopes to oper­ calls reporting ate the riding programs along with the Black Cow­ recreation facilities are juvenile crime boys Association and another African American kept open until 2 a.m., drop by as much group called High Horse. The groups have already police calls reporting as 55%. But re­ gone into schools and recreation centers to begin juvenile crime drop by ports of crime teaching children how to handle themselves at the as much as 55%. But go up again in stable. "Many of these kids are kind of full of them­ the fall once selves, but a horse doesn't care about that," says reports of crime go up gymnasiums go Cynthia Hall, a TPL program director. "It's a big again in the fall once back to regular animal and kind of scary. But before long they are gymnasiums go back hours. 24 Assistant learning how to mount while the horse is moving, to regular hours. parks director and riding backwards." The result, Hall says, is a big Dale Larsen says boost in self-esteem. the activities­ late-night swim­ BUILDING CONFIDENCE AND SELF-ESTEEM ming, volleyball, basketball, and dancing-are needed onfidence-building programs like the one under year round, but funding is not available. Compared to way at Skyline Ranch have been shown to have a other crime-fighting measures, midnight recreation is C direct impact on crime reduction. a bargain. With 170,000 participants in Phoenix, the In Fort Myers, Florida, police have documented cost is 60 cents per youth. a 28% drop in juvenile arrests since 1990, when the The late Arthur J. Holland, former mayo, of city began STARS-Success Through Academics and Trenton, New Jersey, used to talk about moving into Recreational Support-for young adolescents. 27 To a run-down neighborhood where he encountered support STARS, Fort Myers built a new recreation teenagers who regularly pelted his home with center in the heart of a low-income community. stones. To Holland's relief, as soon as the neighbor­ According to Mayor Wilbur Smith, the location was hood built a small park with a basketball court, the controversial because many people expected tlle stone-throwing stopped. In 1989, Holland told the center to be plagued by crime. It has not turned out President's Commission on Americans Outdoors, that way. The program won an award from the U.S. "That's why I'm convinced, firsthand, that there's a Conference of Mayors as the outstanding crime re­ direct relationship. You don't throw stones when duction program of 1992. you've got balls to throw around."25 In 1991, 75% of the children enrolled in STARS The East Bay Regional Park District in Oakland, were making less than a C average in school. Now California, is currently rehabilitating an old stable in 80% of the 1,500 children enrolled have brought the hills so that inner-city children can participate in a their grades up to a C average or better. "As the riding program. The program win give children an mayor of a city that totally committed itself to using opportunity to learn how to work with a horse, how recreation and academic support as the vehicle for to care for it, and how to care about it. Skyline Ranch combating violent juvenile crime, I can tell you that is only ten minutes from downtown Oakland by bus.

6 ~ THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND it works," Smith says. "In my judgment it is the best, drug addiction. But we have an obligation to try to most cost-effective, and most responsible position do something to counter this social and spiritual to take in the very complex search for solutio'Is to plague. Too many people have simply given up." 31 juvenile crime." In Tampa, Florida, simply establishing the Boys Newark, New Jersey, is also beginning to see & Girls Club results from an aggressively expanded recreation pro­ at Rembrandt gram. The abandoned John F. Kennedy Recreation Homes, a public ((We have an obligation to Center had been a magnet for vandalism and other housing com­ try to do something to crimes until the city invested $1.2 million in renova­ plex, nelped counter this social and tion. Now the center is used by 5,000 young people reduce crime. spiritual plague. Too every month, and crime in the area has decreased. 28 Tampa Housing many people have simply Hundreds of inner-city children are learning to ice Authority direc­ skate, and midnight basketball is available in the sum­ tor Audley Evans given up;' mer, when criminal activity usually escalates. says that in the Arthur Ashe Days cif Grace Newark's tennis program, begun by the late two years since champion Arthur Ashe, requires that kids keep up the club opened, good grades to participate. Peer counseling is com­ "we have seen a bined with tennis lessons several times a week in significant decrease in recidivism, drug trafficking, order to "foster independent thinking, self-discipline, and drug activity." 32 According to a National Park good manners, and a healthy lifelong activity." 29 Service report, similar reductions in drug use have So far, more than 6,000 teenagers have participated, occurred at other public housing projects after and, according to Newark's program director, recreation areas were renovated. 33 Charles Hardman, many of the tennis players have In Hart County, Georgia, Project HYDRA­ substantially improved their grades in school. 30 HartYouth Development Resource Ass~ciation- When Ashe set up the Safe Passage Foundation that Erasin88rciffiti, Cherry Creek Greenway, Denvep. (:olorado. sponsors the tennis pro­ gram in Newark and anoth­ er one in Albany, New York, he was aware that when young people are frustrat­ ed, they often feel they have precious little to lose. In his autobiography, Days if Grace, Ashe wrote that he wanted to help youth make the transition to adulthood "without a crippling loss of faith in society and them­ selves. Safe Passage can hardly solve the problems of poverty, racism, juvenile delinquency, cynicism, sex­ ual promiscuit)', crime, and

HEALING AMERICA'S CITIES "!l. 7 ------.------

puts young first process as key to the nation's future. "The difference "We can either build more offenders into a between a safe country and a country that is going recreation and down the tubes is the degree that we pay attention jails or detention facili­ mentor program to the young peop1 e, "h e says. 39 ties for younO people or as part of an in­ Columbus, Ohio, police officer Sergeant Frank we can invest more in formal probation. Weirick, who represents the National Fraternal the prevention side;' In HYDRA's first Order of Police (FOP), says the fact that recreation Barry Tindall year of opera­ programs can prevent youth from becoming youthful Director of Public Policy tion, juvenile offenders is nothing new to police.4°The FOP began National Recreation and Park Assoc. complaint calls running Police Athletic Leagues (PALs) for teenagers fell by 14% and in the 1930s and now operates 23 PALs. There is a incarcerations by hitch, though, in making youth programs widely 25%.34 In Richmond, Virginia, Project READY­ available. As Weirick puts it, "the hunt for necessary Recreation and Educational Activities Designed for funds is a dog fight." Youth-hires at-risk youth to work on park and road beautification, providing young people with jobs and PUlTlNG URBAN PARKS ON THE recreation while they help maintain green spaces. 35 NATIONAL AGENDA The U.S. departments of Interior and Justice are e spend millions upon millions on our using the same concept in a Youth Environmental "W athletic elites, but [we] seem to be short Service (YES) progran1. that began in 1994: employ­ of money for the grass roots," says former profes­ ing delinquent and at-risk teens to do environmental sicmal basketball starThomas McMillen, the co-chair conservation work on federal lands. Three pilot pro­ of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and grams are under way. In Utah, moderate offenders Sports.41 McMillen says young people "see millions . will be bussed from Salt Lake City to work on Bu­ spent on athletic palaces, yet our parks, recreation, reau of Land Management property, where they will and physical fitness programs are being cut." spend as long as 30 days in wilderness areas. At the The U. S. Conference of Mayors has added recre­ Big Cypress National Preserve and Loxahatchee Na­ ation programs to its list of "weapons to fight crime," tional Wildlife Refuge in Florida, serious and violent and even President Bill Clinton has acknowledged juvenile offenders will live and work near conse:rva­ the need.42 In his 1994 State of the Union address, tion areas, and in WashingtoI?-, D. C., juvenile offend­ Clinton said we must "remember how we came to ers will help the National Park Service maintain the this sad point. In our toughest neighborhoods, on ll?iional parks an d monuments WI·thi n th e Cl'ty • 36 our meanest streets, in our poorest rural areas, we Law enforcement officials who have seen the have seen a stunning and simultaneous breakdown of beginnings of success from these kinds of programs community, family, and work-the heart and soul of are adding their voices to those calling for more civilized society. This has created a vast vacuum resources for parks and recreation. Los Angeles which has been filled by violence and drugs and County Sheriff Sherman Block says young people gangs. So I ask you to remember that even as we say are less attracted to gangs when they have other no to crime, we must give people, especially our alternatives.37 Los Angeles Police Chief Willie young people, somethin g to say yes to."43 Williams specifies that the city needs more "safe The 1992 reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice parks and healthy recreation opportunities to keep and Delinquency Prevention Act was the first major our kids off the streets and out of gangs." 38 Samuel crime legislation to provide funds for parks and recre­ Saxon, director of the Department of Corrections in ation.44 The bill states that "the incidence of juvenile Prince George's County, Maryland, sees the whole

8 ,.. THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND delinquency can be reduced through public recreation ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE­ programs and activities designed to provide youth THE NEGLECT OF CITIES with social skills, enhance self-esteem, and encourage "It is not surprising that the incidence ifjuvenile crime in the constructive uses of discretionary time." 45 The many places directly corresponds to general decreases in na­ Clinton administration has requested $ 30 million for tional, state, and local investment in recreation and parks." 46 fiscal year 1995 for all prevention activities. R. Dean Tice, Executive Director The National Recreation and Park Association National Recreation and Parks Association 50 (NRPA) drafted the act's language and lobbied for its lthough political leaders have declared their inclusion in the law. NRPA Director of Public Policy support for parks and rt'creation programs, ac­ BarryTindall calls the act a major step forward. "It's A tual funding falls short when it comes to cities. The time to turn the corner on how we invest in kids," 1992 Carnegie report noted that "publicly supported he says. "We can either build more jails or detention recreation programs are evolving into a two-tier f,l,Cilities for young people or we can invest more in system, with more and better services available in the prevention side. There are some young people suburban areas than in less affluent rural and urban who should be !.acked up for a long time, but we can a::eas. The current fiscal cutbacks are serving to in­ keep many others out of the juvenile justice system crease the disparity between upper- and lower­ altogether if we invest in appropriate activities." 47 income areas, meaning that youth most dependent Representatives George Miller CD-Calif.) and on public recreation services are increasingly less Bruce Vento CD-Minn.) are pushing for an omnibus crime bill that will allow crime preven­ E1 Sol Brillante Garden, NewYc;R, NelVYork. tion funds to be used for recreation programs and facility improvements in high-crime urban areas. Miller says he is taking this approach because he has seen "the magic effect these pro­ grams have on young people" and because tradi­ tional means of fighting crime have failed. "This is my fifth war on crime," Miller says. "The first four didn't work." 48 Before recreation programs can begin to make a difference, however, safe parks and adequate open spaces for those activities are es­ sential. William T. Spitzer, acting assistant direc­ tor of National Recreation Programs at the National Park Service, emphasizes that commu­ nities need "a strong and healthy infrastructure of parks and facilities to provide a sound base for activity programs. Only with suc~ a base can communities particularly troubled by crime hope to use recreation as one tool in their pre­ vention arsenal." 49 Unfortunately, the neighbor­ hoods most in need generally have the least parkland, the fewest facilities, and the greatest difficulties maintaining them as safe havens.

HEALING AMERICA'S CITIES "$\ 9 likely to have access." 51 The report cites a University Loop district downtovvn, where some of the city's of Chicago study that compared the recreational ac­ most impressive waterfront parks are found, more tivities available in two neighborhoods. The public than 41 acres of parkland exist for every thousand parks department in a mostly white, middle-income residents. But, according to the Chicago Park Dis­ suburban neighborhood provided eight times more trict Land Policies Plan of 1990, "the extensive activities for young people than the parks department lakefront and regional park system is not supported in a low-income, throughout the city ... with a backup system of primarily African neighborhood and community parks." On the Lower A Trust for Public Land American, inner­ West Side, barely half an acre of parkland for every city neighbor­ thousand people appears. 55 survey found that parks hood offered. 52 After a 1983 federal lawsuit accused the city of were concentrated in In 1968, the discrimination in allocating recreational resources, affiuent neighborhoods National Com- the Chicago Park District signed a consent decree .. ,~ in two-thirds of the mission on Civil recognizing the inequities and pledging to do a bet­ cities surveyed, leaving Disorders linked ter job of distributing resources. 56 Enough improve­ lm,:-income, inner-city urban violence ments were made in recreational facilities that the with the decay of decree is no longer in force. But there remain '\"ide communities with in- inner-city recre­ disparities in the number of park acres available to adequate and severely ation facilities. residents of different communities," according to the overcrowded pal'klands Ten years later, Land Policies Plan. The deficiencies have been nearly in 16 out of 23 cities. a study by the impossible to correct. "Large sites, well located in U.S. Depart­ residential areas, at reasonable prices, simply don't ment of the exist," the plan says.57 On top of that, the Chicago Interior found Park District has had no land acquisition budget at virtually no improvement in city parks and recre­ all for several years, making it imperative to search ation programs. 53 The 1978 National Urban Recre­ for alternative means of acquiring land. 58 ation Study (NURS) accused the states of ignoring The Chicago Park District recently completed an municipal recreation needs: Parks in older cities expansion of Senka Park in a working-class neighbor­ were deteriorating, understaffed- and unsafe. One hood just east of Midway Airport. The neighborhood quarter of low-income neighborhoods had no park is listed as short on parkland but in 1989 it nearly lost or play areas at aU. And most important, a wildly one of the few undeveloped open spaces left in the disproportionate share of money for parkland was area. A private company had announced plans to con­ flowing to suburbs and outlying areas. vert 13 acres of unused railroad property into a hous­ In 1993 a Trust for Public Land survey found ing and commercial development. 59 When neighbors the situation essentially unchanged: Parks were con­ objected, the Park District asked the Trust for Public centrated in affluent neighborhoods in two-thirds of Land for assistance. TPL purchased the property and the cities surveyed, leaving low-income, inner-city held it until money could be raised to add the parcel communities with inadequate and geverely over­ to a small adjoining park. According to TPL's Al crowded parklands in 16 out of 23 cities. The study Raymond, who negotiated the transactions, this revealed a pattern of municipal disinvestment and a was the first time in ten years that the Chicago P"rk deteriorating infrastructure of public parks in all 23 District had invested in neighborhood parkland. 60 cities. Among the most serious problems identified: Despite the city's obvious need, the lion's share

inadequate maintenance, crime, and safety. 54 of federal funds for parkland acquisition in Illinois Chicago is a case in point. In the fashionable has gone to projects in outlying areas. Since 1965,

10 ~ THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND Illinois has spent more than $11 per person state­ Study, during LWCF's first 14 years, 40% of the wide out of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, grant money went to rural areas, 43% to suburbs, the largest source of federal park money. Chicago and only 16% for central cities. 66 An administrator in has gotten less than $ 2 per person out of that fund. the grants division of the National Park Service says

This pattern persists nationwide. 61 no one has calculated what the urban-suburban split

is now, but he says there is 110 reason to assume that SHORTCHANGING URBAN PARKS the trends re- ported in 1978 he Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) have Significantly BecaUse ofreduced fund- was established in 1965 to provide federal changed. 67 As the T _.ing for maintenance, funding for the acquisition of parks and other public NURS report -many city parks had. be- lands. Financed primarily with money from offshore explained, oil and gas leasing, the idea behind LWCF was to use "wealthy suburbs come unsafe and were no money from the depletion of one irreplaceable re­ have been among longer used. But after source to protect another irreplaceable resource­ the most success­ neighborhood groups land. But most of the offshore oil and gas royalties ful beneficiaries got involved in planning that are supposed to finance the program-as much of the LWCF the rehabilitation of their as $10 billion-have been spent for other purpos­ [because] they es. 62 Over the past decade, less than one-third of the know the grants­ parks, people started fund has been available for its intended purpose. manship game; using the parks again. Since 1984, LWCF appropriations have averaged they have funds only $ 251 million annually, sharply reducing the available for the fund available for national park acquisitions or fed­ local match; and eral purchases of recreation and habitat lands, and they benefit from state policies which encourage de­

leaving an average of only $35 million a year avail­ velopment of regional parks in suburban areas." 68

able for state and local projects. 63 In 1978, Congress set up the Urban Parks and From a high of $805 million in 1978, appropria­ Recreation Recovery Program (UPARR) to help tions from the fund were just $ 250 million last year. economically and socially distressed cities rehabili­ State and local projects got only $ 24 million, even tate critically needed recreation sites. 69 UPARR was

though local grant requests exceeded $400 million. 64- established in part to remedy the inequities in LWCF And, once again, in many states only a fraction of grants. Under UPARR, competitive matching grants that limited money made it into city projects. are used to rehabilitate playgrounds, recreation cen­ In the early years of LWCF, many states lavished ters, ball fields, tennis and basketball courts, swim­ funds on lakeside resorts and lodges meant to attract ming pools, and picnic areas. Most of th grants

tourism, while urban parks continued to decline. 65 target inner-city parks that provide the only close­ Part of the difficulty for cities has been the require­ to-home recreation space available in many older, ment that every dollar granted be matched with local poorer communities. UPARR's annual report notes ., funds. Often, too many other urgent priorities have that because of reduced funding for maintenance, reduced the amOlmt of money available for matching many of these city parks had become unsafe and I1, funds. While big cities in many states have fared bet­ were no longer used. But after neighborhood groups ter than Chicago-Oregon, for instance, has directed got involved in planning the rehabilitation of their a substantial portion of its LWCF money to Port­ parks, the UPARR report says, people started using land-in most cases, cities have gotten less than a fair the parks again. "In several jurisdictions, neighbor­ share. According to the National Urban Recreation hood volunteers assisted in the cleanup of the parks,

HEALING AMERICA'S CITIES ..;l, 1l which often led to the reduction of vandalism and Los Angeles County supervisors proposed closing

the renovation of entire neighborhoods." 70 24 parks and 20 swimming pools and cutting staff, 73 Although Congress originally planned to provide and the same plan is expected to be revived during $100 million a year for UPARR, financing has always budget discussions in 1994.74- New York City has fallen far short of that goal. In 1994 UPARR is cut back' its park and recreation staff from 4,500 working with a total of $5 million. From 1985 to 3,000 in four years and plans to cut 255 more through 1990 there was no money for UPARR at staff members. 7S all. 71 Such limited resources will not go far in These aging municipal giants are not the only correcting the inequities in park funding. National cities in need of more park resources, however. A Park Service Recreation Grants Supervisor Michael 1994 Texas A&M survey found that nationwide, the Rogers compares number of full-time parks employees in 1990 was it to "using a tea­ lower than the number in 1978.76 Rapidly growing ((All these new and ex- spoon to bail the urban areas in the South and West have also found it Atlantic Ocean." difficult to keep ahead of development in protecting citine initiatives are Philadelphia open space. threatened by our Recreation In its 1993 report, "Setting Priorities for Land inability to maintain Commissioner Conservation," the National Research Council, a and renovate our (fa­ Michael Di branch of the NationalAcademy of Sciences, pointed cilities), which is where Berardinis told a out that "(as) the result of budget constraints at all we do our business and Senate Commit­ levels of government ... the availability of state and tee in 1993 that local recreation opportunities is not keeping up with where all these excitine unless cities get population pressures, especially in urban areas." 77 thines happen;' more help for The National Recreation and Park Association Michael Di Berardinis parks, they can't estimates that between 1989 and 1993 state and Philadelphia Recreation Commissioner carryon the job local governments needed about $ 37 billion for training, anti­ capital investments in land, park development, and

violence, and rehabilitation. 78 The National Association of State delinquency prevention programs they have started Outdoor Recreation Liaison Officers has a list of with assistance from businesses, universities, and cul­ $500 million worth of state and local projects that

tural groups. "All these new and exciting initiatives need doing immediately. 79 The U. S. Conference of are threatened by our inability to maintain and reno­ Mayors listed money for open space and recreation vate our [facilities], which is where we do our busi­ among its highest priorities and requested that Con­ ness and where all these exciting things happen," Di gress appropriate $300 million to fully fund LWCF Berardinis said.72 In 1983 Philadelphia's recreation and UPARR. 80 department had 1,200 full-time employees. In 1994 Senators Bennett Johnston (D-La.) and Dale fewer than 500 workers have to take care of the Bumpers (D-Ariz.) have introduced legislation, same number of parks. Bushes don't get trimmed, ~. 721 , mandating that Congress appropriate $1 bil­ trash doesn't get picked up, graffiti goes unerased, lion annually to LWCF through 1998, with at least

and vandalism is not repaired. "Lo,<;;al governments $200 million for state grants. 81 When President Clin­ just cannot foot the bill," Di Berardinis told the com­ ton was governor of Arkansas he supported a similar mittee. "We have lost federal funds over the years ... bill, but now the Clinton administration has balked at

our budgets are shrinking and we need help." supporting S. 721 because of budgetary concerns. 82 Philadelphia's ordeal is not uncommon. In 1993

12 I~ THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND THE PUBLIC WANTS OPEN SPACE threatened due to changes in tax legislation affecting local budgets."87 ecause it is sometimes dismissed as a fril~, ~.ccess Yet a survey sponsored by the National Recre­ Bto natural areas is a poor contender for hmIted ation and Park Association and conducted by Penn­ public funds. But, by large majorities, people who sylvania State University found tl1at the vast majority live in cities regard access to open space as among of people feel that providing funds for public parks is the most important factors in their well-being and money well spent. Of the adults questioned, 75% the vitality of their neighborhoods. said they supported either the current level of Consider the needs expressed by people in the spending or an increase, while 45% said they would neighborhoods hurt worst by the unrest in Los An­ support an increase over current levels. 75% of geles. In a 1993 survey conducted afterwards for those surveyed said they used parks, 24% of them Rebuild L.A., 77% listed improved parks and recre­ frequently. Public parks were heavily used by chil­ ation facilities as "absolutely critical" or "important" dren, and even more so by people between the ages to the restoration of their communities. The needs of 65 and 74. 88 for better health care and the establishment of more Even so, the budget axe seems to have fallen dis­ businesses ranked lower in priority; only youth ser- proportionately on parks and recreation. TPL vice . . t t 83 VIces were seen as more Impor an . president Ernest Cook says elected representatives In a city stressed by crime, gang violence, un­ are not reflecting the mood of the public. A 1994 employment, and pollution--complicated by wild­ fires, mudslides, flooding, and earthqu~kes-Los C&"O Canal Greenway, Washin8ton, D.C. Angeles voters agreed to impose new taxes upon themselves for the purpose of buying more park­ land. In 1992, shortly after the riots, 64% of Los Angeles County voters approved Proposition A, the Safe Neighborhood Parks Act-a special property ta.-x: surcharge that provides $540 mil­ lion to redeSign old parks so that they are safer, to buy land for n~w ones, and to build new recreation facilities. 84 During the previous 14 years, California's cities and counties had cut spending on parks dramatically in response to the tax revolt of the late 1970s. According to a Los Angeles Times survey, parks were among the public services most sharply reduced after voters ap­ proved Proposition 13, the 1978 state constitu­ tional amendment that rolled back property tax rates to 1975-76 levels and limited future in­ creases in property tax assessments. 85 A Texas A&M study found that property tax ceilings adopted in several other states had the same effect.86 According to a 1984 assess­ ment in the Journal cfPark and Recreation Adminis­ tration, "in some cases, the very existence of municipal recreation and park services has been

HEALING AMERICA'S CITIES "" 13 Louis Harris poll conducted for the Commonwealth nia in 1994, voters in Sacramento and San Diego Fund found that 62% of New Yorkers consider parks will consider assessment district taxes similar to Los an "essential service" on a par with police, fire, Angeles' Proposition A. Measures may also be up and sanitation, and 67% want the parks budget in­ for votes over the next few years in San Antonio, creased. An almost unprecedented 96% agreed that Phoenix, Minneapolis, Miami, Charlotte, Austin, parks make New and Portland, Oregon. Denver is considering a York a more liv- unique financing plan: selling its Winter Park ski A 1994 Louis Harris able city, and area to create a trust fund for city parks. 91 poll conducted for the nearly 85% Commonwealth Fund wanted to see OPEN SPACE PAYS the parks and found that 62% of New recreation sys­ he hope expressed by those who promoted Yorkers consider parks tem expanded T Proposition A in Los Angeles is that by remaking an "essential service" on through green­ the city in a greener linage, other difficulties of urban par with police,fire, and ways, converting life vvill ease-violence will decrease, the economy sanitation, and 67% vacant lots into will improve, pollution will lessen, and the impact of neighborhood natural disasters will be mitigated. This is no dreamer's want the parks budget parks and gar­ utopian fantasy. The case for more and better-managed increased. dens, opening up open space is based in hard economic realities. waterfronts for Studies of the experiences of dozens of cities recreation, and show clearly how economic development follows the

protecting wetlands from development. 89 creation of well-deSigned and properly maintained New York's newly appointed Parks and Recreation parks, greenways, and other open spaces. In Balti­ Commissioner Henry Stern says the results "prove that more, San Francisco, San Antonio, Seattle, New New Yorkers love and appreciate their parks. Ninety Orleans, and elsewhere, investments in waterfront percent of New Yorkers recognize how crucial neigh­ and other open space development have succeeded borhood parks and playgrounds are to [their] quality in attracting new businesses and boosting tourism, of life ... and in a city where consensus is unheard of, with subsequent increases in tax revenues. it's practically unanimous that parks make the city Proximity to open areas has also been shown

livable." 90 Unfortunately, half of those surveyed said to increase real estate values substantially. According they use parks less often now because of concern over to the 1994 Commonwealth Fund/Harris Poll, violence. But to get improvements in the park system 57% of property owners living within two blocks that might add to safety, 65% said they would be will­ of a city park in New York say that being located

ing to pay a small additional voluntary tax. near the park enhances the value of their property. 92 TPL is assisting several communities in figuring In Salem, Oregon, urban land next to a greenbelt out how to raise funds for green space. The organiza­ was worth $1,200 more per acre than urban land tion provides technical advice to local groups on 1 ,000 feet away. drafting and promoting bond issues or other financ­ Floodways, riverside parks, streams, and wetlands ing tools. In King County, Washington, which in­ are also money savers. Such natural areas can replace cludes Seattle, the Council has approved $ 60 million a good deal of expensive infrastructure to handle for parks and greenways on top of the $117 million drainage, water supply, and water quality. A recent already spent from a 1989 county bond issue. Seattle article in The New Yorker noted that the streams of parks advocates are now considering how to fashion southern Staten Island save New York hundreds of another bond issue to continue the work. In Califor- millions of dollars because they handle rainwater so

14 It- THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND efficiently that there is no need to build more storm world influences our emotional, cognitive, aestl1etic, sewers.9~Wetlands help lessen flood damage, reduce and even spiritual rlevelopment, Kellert says, losing erosion, recharge the groundwater, and filter out sed­ touch with nature exposes us to a "deprived and iments and pollution, cutting down on the need for diminished existence." expensive water-treatment facilities. According to the One symptoni of such a loss is stress. Kellert New York Times, over the next decade New York City writes that "a consistent finding in well over 100 plans to spend $250 million on watershed protection studies of recreation experiences in wilderness and in order to avoid spending $ 5 billion on a federally urban nature areas" has been reduction in stress.96 mandated water filtration system. 94 Because ·stress is a factor in many human illnesses, scientists are now beginning to explore whether IMPROVING HUMAN HABITAT exposure to nature can reduce disease and improve recovery. Environmental psychologist Roger Ulrich hile land preservation programs have justifi- "'W found that surgery patients with hospital windows ably focused on the habitat needs of wildlife, overlooking natural scenes recovered more quickly little attention has been given to the kinds of habitat and required less medication than matched patients essential to humans. The environmental benefits of whose only view was a brick wall. 97 green spaces in and around cities may be critical to The biophilia hypothesis and stress research human health. But the effects on the human psyche would argue for the need to protect natural areas as of interacting with the natural world could prove human habitat, including green spaces within cities even more important. that are safe for humans to use. But accomplishing Anthropological and psychological evidence sug­ that goal may require a change in the mind-set of en­ gests a primal need in humans to connect with nature. vironmentalists. At a Sierra Club round table on race, Harvard's preeminent biologist Edward O. Wilson calls justice, and the environment, Earth island Institute it the ''biophilia hypothesis." The theory holds that the human need for association South End Gardens, Lower Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts. with the natural world goes beyond mere attraction or appreciation of nature's utili­ tarian values. Biophilia im­ plies that we are inextricably linked -with nature; that as we evolved in close association ,vith nature, we developed an unshakable, biolOgically based emotional dependence on the living world. 95 "This proposition sug­ gests that human identity and personal fulfillment somehow depend on our relationship to nature," says Yale Environmental Studies professor Stephen Kellert. Because the natural

HEALING AMERICA'S CITIES ""' 15 president Carl Anthony lamented that "the traditional ior. The theory explains, in part, why cutbacks in environmental movement distances itself from the park maintenance have contributed to making parks cities, denying that they are part of the environment." unsafe and why community efforts to clean up pub­ Anthony and other leaders of the environmental jus­ lic spaces have so successfully reduced crime and tice movement have been pushing for more environ­ helped neighborhoods reclaim their parks. mental attention to the needs of humans in urban Take the example of East Little Havana, a tradi­ areas. 98 According to the President's Commission on tionally Hispanic area in one of the oldest sections of Americans Outdoors, 80% of Americans will live in Miami. Jose Marti Park had been a center for drug or near cities by the year 2000.99 If natural areas are dealers and a way station for the homeless in that area. not protected within that context, many people will But once neighbors organized and began cleaning up be deprived of a most basic human need. the park, the atmosphere changed. Nowadays school­ children play in the park and old people can be seen A NEW VISION OF PARKS shuffling dominoes at night. The key is to bring the community into the d~cision-making process about "Any place you can create some open, Breen public space is critical to the spiritual and emotk.;l well-beinB ifthe where gardens, playgrounds, and recreation facilities city-whether or not you call them parks in the tradition­ should be located and how they are managed. 104 al sense if the word." Too often, parks and recreation programs have Brenda Funches been developed without community input. But Program Manager doing so, says Ira Hutchison, "is tantamount tu Common Ground, Los Angeles planned failure." Hutchison is executive director of n prominent display at the Museum of Con­ the Roundtable Associates, Inc., a nonprofit associa­ O temporary Arts in Los Angeles is a diorama of tion of African American park, recreation, and con­ Uhuru Gardens, a planned community garden, servation professionals. Hutchison says he has seen urban forest, environmental education center, and "monster" recreation centers ~uilt in public housing farmers' market. The lot Uhuru Gardens may some­ complexes that were quickly destroyed because resi­ day occupy is at l03rd and Grape streets in Watts. dents felt no sense of pride or ownership in the fa­ The property became vacant in 1965 when the cilities. To correct that problem, Hutchison says, buildings on it burned to the ground; the rubble is people must have the ability to make choices about still there. 100 Portions of the money to build Uhuru what happens in their community, and planners must Gardens will be raised locally from the people who make sure that citizens have enough information to will use it. Neighborhood craftspeople will be em­ make the best decisions. 105 ployed during its construction. A ranger trained in At the Cabrini-Green public housing project in horticulture and human relations will be hired to Chicago, residents say they have often felt left out of

live on the grounds and provide security. 101 the decision-making process. Now they are insisting The sociologists and criminologists who have that their ideas for open space and recreation be explored ways of making urban open spaces safer included in a planned $50 million renovation. 106 would agree that the plan for Uhuru Gardens holds Cabrini-Green is the second-largest public hOUSing promise. When people avoid parks out of fear, crime complex in the nation, with clusters of highrises in

and vandalism increase. 102 The political scientist John various stages of disrepair. 107 Cabrini's Local Advisory Q. Wilson has suggested that when people feel a Council (LAC) has drawn up its own master plan for sense of order in their communities, it is less likely improvements. LAC vice president Cora Moore says

that crimes will be committed. 103 The disorder of a the people who live there know best what they want junk lot or a graffiti-splashed park can contribute to and what will be used. The LAC master plan calls for a sense of permissiveness that fosters criminal behav- an activity center for all ages, with a skating rink and

16 I./r THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND rooms for music and computer classes. Each highrise In most urban communities, more open lands unit would also house a recreation area for younger are needed on both a small and a grand scale. In Balti­ children so they don't have to stray too far from more, Seattle, and Austin, TPL has been helping to set

home to play. 108 Some vacant lots around the housing aside extensive greenways that connect a mix of project are already in use as community gardens, neighborhoods with major urban parks and cultural where volunteers have taught children how to grow facilities. In Atlanta, where TPL played a major role in crops and market their produce. 109 establishing the Martin Luther King, Jr. National His­ Such gardens are now a common feature in many toric Site, the organization is reclaiming an aba.1J.doned cities, where it only makes sense for neighborhoods industrial district to turn abandoned land into centers of community to connect the " activity. In Oakland, California, a newly formed King site to the The key is to bring the nonprofit organization, East Bay Urban Gardeners, Freedom Park­ community into the de­ is working with the city's Recreation and Parks way and the cision-making process Department to convert vacant lots into community Carter Presiden­ about where gardens, gardens. Neighborhood residents are clearing the tial Center. In sites where gardens are to take root."O On Dearborn Minneapolis, TPL playgrounds, a.nd recre­ Street in the Mission District of San Francisco, is looking at ways ation facilities should residents documented a 28% drop in crime after to assist with the be located and how they the first year of their garden project. Working on Hennepin Com­ are managed. the garden encouraged residents to form a neighbor­ munity Works hood watch group, which made the area an unattrac­ Project, an ambi- tive place for drug dealers. Now crime in the area tious proposal to is down by 78%. III put people to work on projects that will improve parks, trails, greenways, watercourses, and recreation AN URGENT PRIORITY facilities in deteriorating neighborhoods. Small spaces are also crucial. In Newark, for in­ reating new open space is an urgent priority be­ stance, where only one-sixth acre of developed park­ C cause opportunities to do so are rapidly disap­ land exists for every 1,000 people, 114 Tubman pearing. Despite an absolute need for more land for Elementary, a highly regarded magnet school, has open space in urban areas, much of it is either being only a tiny asphalt-covered lot to serve as a play­ lost to development faster than it can be acquired or ground. IIS Children in Newark and 28 other cities is priced out of range. Alan Front, TPL vice president are currently learning to kick soccer balls on vacant for Federal Affairs, told a Senate committee in 1993 strips of land through a program called Soccer in the that the low levels of appropriations for land acquisi­ Streets. But the players will need real soccer fields tion have created an "incredible backlog of conserva­ once games get under way. Soccer in the Streets tion properties that are waiting in a line $ 3 billion founder Carolyn McKenzie points out that while deep." And, Front pointed out, "a lot of properties soccer fields are available in the suburbs, inner cities that do not make the backlog list are disappearing off have few. What there is plenty of, however, is ll.'1used the map." 112 William J. Chandler, conservation direc­ vacant land. "All we need to do is cut the grass, tor of the National Parks and ConservationAssocia­ clean them up, and put in sufficient lighting," tion, added that land is being quickly gobbled up by McKenzie says. "We shouldn't have to bus them to development and that "failure to act now raises the Timbuktu to play soccer. We've got to have facilities real costs of buying the same lands later." 113 in their immediate environment." 116

HEALING AMERICA'S CITIES -!.\ 17 RESPONDING TO THE NEED­ deal makers. They exercise quick discovery and re­ TPL'S GREEN CITIES INITIATIVE sponse capabilities that governn1ent agencies may lack. They have the skills, experience, and reputations fter years of disinvestment, it has become in­ to forge multi-parcel assemblages and arrange com­ creasingly apparent that the Land and Water A plex transactions that cross agency boundaries and Conservation Fund (LWCF) and other traditional overcome public and private property dIstinc· . ti ons. "117 nmding sources are not enough to meet the needs of For the past 20 years the Trust for Public Land newer, growing cities and older urban centers. As has been working to protect land for people to more mayors have recognized the economic impor­ enjoy, but the benefits go far beyond pleasure. Com­ tance of parks and open space, they have raised the munities across the nation have discovered that in­ issue to the top of their agendas, and citizens have vestments in parks and recreation pay real dividends voted to tax themselves to pay for better parks­ in terms of reduced crime, more stable cities, in­ even during recessionary times. But additional federal creases in tourism, cleaner environments, and a bet­ investment is critical, whether it is through jobs pro­ ter quality of life. It is for these reasons thatTPL is grams, anti-crime legislation, watershed protection, looking forward to expanding public open spaces or full funding of the Urban Parks and Recreation even further through its Green Cities Initiative. Recovery Program and LWCF. Federal matching dol­ TPL has developed a plan for addressing the park lars provide increased incentives for state and local and open space needs of America's cities and metro­ governments to multiply the investment. politan areas as well as individual strategies in specific The Trust for Public Land's unique role has been locations. Weaving together its extensive experience to bring together a mix of public and private re­ in urban land conservation and its research findings, sources so that preservation of important land is not TPL has identified 12 metropolitan and urban areas entirely dependent upon the slow wheels of govern­ for intensive assistance over the next five years. ment. The National Research Council's report, "Set­ TPL will continue to help civic groups and ting Priorities for Land Conservation," praised TPL public agencies at all levels create more public and other nonprofit organizations for "extraordinary parks and cultural resources by structuring real es- and useful work as entrepreneurs, innovators, and tate transactions that accom­ modate the fiscal limitations and the public land-buying process. TPL will also become more active in public policy, constituency building, park planning, public finance cam­ paigns' and other long-term strategies. Through the Green Cities Initiative, TPL will work with civic and business leaders to pursue its goal of bringing more functional, accessible, and safe parks and public open space to urban communities.

18 ~ THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND NOTES

1 . Funches, Brenda, Program Manager, Common Ground, 15. Jack Foley and Carlyle W. Hall, Jr., "Children, Crime and Los Angeles, telephone interview, 7 March 1994. the County Budget," Los Anaeles Times, 30 July 1993.

2. Ibid.; also see Goleman, Daniel, "Architects Rediscover the 16. Vento, Bruce, U.S. Representative (D-Minn.), statement Best City Planners: Citizens," New York Times, Science, 2 June 1992. to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources,joint OversiBht HearinB on Urban Recreation and Crime 3. Funches, Brenda; also Los AnBeles Times, 17 May 1992. Prevention, Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands and Subcommittee on OverSight and Investigations, 4. Kerner Commission, Report ifthe National Advisory Commis­ 10 March 1994. sion on Civil Disorders, Government Printing Office, Washingt.on, D.C., 1968. 17. James, Sharpe, Mayor, Newark, New Jersey and Presi­ dent, National League of Cities, speech to the National Recre­ 5. Ibid., p. 149. ation and Park Association 1993 Congress, "Revitalization of 6. The Trust for Public Land, Cities Initiative: Opportunities and Our Urban Park and Recreation Departments," San Jose, Calif., StrateBies, January 1994. 23 October 1993, pp. 5-6.

7. Ibid. 18. Ibid., p. 8.

8. The Report ifthe President's Commission on Americans Outdoors, 19. Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, A Matter Island Press, Washington, D. C., 1987, p. 133. ifTime: Risk and Opportunity in the Nonschool Hours, Carnegie Cor­ poration of New York, December 1992, pp. 10,28. 9. Berke, Richard L. "Crime Becomes the Nation's Top Fear," (New York Times/CBS News Poll), New York Times, 23 January 1994. 20. Ibid., p. 43.

10. Federal Bureau ofInvestigation, U.S. Department of Jus­ 21. Jordan, Charles, Director of Parks and Recreation, tice, Uniform Crime Report for the United States 1992, Washington, Portland, Oregon, speech to the National Recreation and Park D.C.: Government Printing Office, 3 October 1993. See p. 58: Association 1993 Congress, op.cit., pp. +-5. 23% increase in violent crime since 1988 and related tables on 22. Ibid., pp. 3--4. subsequent pages; pp. 289-374: law enforcement personnel, compare to figures listed in the report for 1988. 23. Macpherson, Marian, The Benifits if Urban Greenina, re­ port to the Merck Family Fund, Takoma Park, Md., 1993, p. 10; 11. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, for more information: National Crime Prevention Council, (202) "Program of Research on the Causes and Correlates of Delin­ 466-6272. quency:' Congressional Briefing, Washington, D.C., 15 May 1992, p. 1, quoted in Andrew G. Pizor and Barry S. Tindall, Preventina 24. Larsen, Dale, Assistant Director, Phoenix Parks Depart­ Delinquency, An Assessment ifPark &..Recreation Actions, National ment, telephone interview, 4 March 1994. Recreation and Park Association, Arlington, Va., August 1992, p. 1 25. The Report ifthe PreSident's Commission on Americans 12. Uniform Crime Report 1992, op.cit., p. 242. Outdoors, op. cit., p. 28.

13. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 26. Hall, Cynthia, Trust for Public Land, telephone inter­ U.S. Department of Justice, OjjDP Update on Statistics: Public juve­ view; also see various TPL project descriptions. nile Facilities, Children in Custocljr, 1989, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., 1991, confirmation prOvided by OJ]DP, Juve­ 27. Smith, \Vilbur C. III, Mayor, Fort Myers, Fla., testimony nile Justice Clearinghouse, March, 1994, (800) 638-8736. before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources,joint OversiBht HearinB on Urban Recreation and Crime 14. Criminal Justice Institute, CorrectionsYearbook:juvenile Prevention, op.cit., attachment, "Strategy to Combat Juvenile Corrections 1993, South Salem, N.Y:, p. 37; also see United States Crime," p. 3. Senate, Land and Water Conservation Fund Emeraency Fundina Act if 1993: hearina bifore the Committee on EnerB.Y and Natural Resources, 28. James, Sharpe, speech to the National Recreation and Park 18 May 1993, p. 50. Association 1993 Conaress, op.cit., p. 6, confirmed by Newark Parks Department, (201) 733-6454.

HEALING AMERICA'S CITIES ~ 19 29. Safe Passage Foundation, fact sheet, 1994; also see 44. Tindall, Barry, Director of Public Policy, Natier,,,l Reo-e­ various newspaper reports. ation and Park Association, telephone interview, 2 March 1994.

30. Hardman, Charles, director, ABC "Cities" Tennis 45. 1992 juvenile justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. Program, Newark, N.]., telephone interview, 28 March 1994. 46. Wilson, John J., Acting Administrator, Office of Juvenile 31. Arthur Ashe and Arnold Rampersad, Days if Grace:A Justice and Delinquency Prevention, testimony before the U.S. Memoir,AlfredA. Knopf, New York, 1993. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources,joint Oversisht Hearins on Urban Recreation and Crime Prevention, op.cit. 32. Callaway, Robbie, Assistant National Director, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, testimony before the U.S. House of Rep­ 47. Tindall, Barry, telephone interview, op.cit. resentatives Committee on Natural Resources,joint Oversisht Hearins on Urban Recreation and Crime Prevention, op.cit., pp. 7-8. 48. Miller, George, U.S. Representative (D-Calif.), Commit­ tee on Natural Resources , jOint Oversisht Hearins on Urban Recre­ 33. National Park Service, Recreation Grants Division, U.S. ation and Crime Prevention, op.cit. Department of the Interior, Urban Park and Recreation Recovel)' Pro­ sram: Rebuilding for the Future, Ten-year Impact Report, 1979- 49. Spitzer, William T., Acting Assistant Director, National 1989, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1989, p. 15. Recreation Programs, National Park Service, testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Re­ 34. Pizor, Preventins Delinquency, op.cit., p. 9; for more sources,joint Oversisht Hearins on Urban Recreation and Crime information, Phyllis Maass, Director, Project HYDRA, (706) Prevention, op.cit. 376-8899. 50. National Recreation and Park Association, "Recreation's 35. Ibid., p. 8. Role in Preventing Crime and Juvenile Delinquency Untapped," Media Alert, 10 March 1994. 36. Wilson, John ]., Acting Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, testimony before the U.S. 51. Carnegie Council, A Matter ifTime, op.cit., p. 66. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources,joint Oversisht Hearins on Urban Recreation and Crime Prevention, op.cit. 52. Ibid., p. 71.

37. Block, Sherman, Los Angeles County Sheriff, letter in 53. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Urban Recre­ support of Proposition A, 1992. ation Stu&, Executive Report, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1978. 38. Williams, Willie, Los Angeles Police Chief, statement in support of Proposition A, 1992. 54. The Trust for Public Land, Cities Initiative, Opportunities and Stratesies, January 1994. 39. Midnight Basketball League, "The Alternative," The Na­ tional Association of Midnight Basketball Leagues, kc., Oakland, 55. Chicago Park District, Chicaso Park District Land Policies Calif., 1994; Samuel Saxon, Director, Prince George's County, Plan: GuidelinesJar acquisition and disposition if park land, July Md., Department of Corrections. 1990, p. 3.

40. Weirick, Frank, National Fraternal Order of Police, testi­ 56. Ibid., pp. 7-8. mony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on 57. Ibid., p. 7. Natural Resources,joint Oversisht Hearins on Urban Recreation and Crime Prevention, op. cit. 58. Uhlir, Edward K., Assistant Superintendent of Research and Planning, Chicago Park District, telephone interviews, 41.McMillen, Tom, co-chair, President's Council on Physical 22-23 March 1994. Fitness and Sports, testimony before the U.S. House of Represen­ tatives Committee on Natural Resources,joint Oversisht Hearins on 59. Ibid.; also see Chicago Park District, Parkland Need Urban Recreation and Crime Prevention, op.cit. Ana!rsis, 1993.

42. Confirmed by press office, U.S. Conference of Mayors, 60. Raymond, AI, Trust for Public Land, telephone interview. (202) 293-2352. 61. National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 43. Clinton, Bill, U.S. President, State of the Union Address "L&WCF Dollars Per Capita-City/State, 1965-93" (table), Land to Congress, 26 January 1994; see transcript, NelVYork Times, andM'c1ter Conservation Fund, Grants-in-Aid Program Data Base, 1994. 27 January 1994.

20 #r THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND 62. National Research Council, National Academy of Sci­ 75. "Park Prospects," New Yorker, 14- February 1994-, p. 6. ences, SettinB Prioritiesjor Land Conservation, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1993, p. 52; also see testimony of Perry 76. John L. Crompton and Brian P. McGregor, "Trends J. Segura, trustee, National Recreation and Park Association, be­ in the Financing and Staffing of Local Government Park and fore the United States Senate,. Land andl%ter Conservation Fund Recreation Services 1964-/65-1990/91," Texas A&M University, EmerBency FUlldinB Act if' 1993: hearinB bifore the Committee on Enerav submitted for publication in Journal if'Park and Recreation Adminis­ and Natural Resources, 18 May 1993, p. 50. tration, January 1994-.

63. National Park Service, "Land and Water Conservation 77. National Research Council, National Academy of Sci­ Fund Appropriations FY 1965 to FY 1992" (table 1), Data Base ences, SettinB Prioritiesfor Land Conservation, op. cit., p. 93. 1994, op.cit. 78. National Recreation and Park Association, Statement bifore 64-. Updated figures provided by Michael Rogers, NPS Subcommittee on Interior Appropriations, U.S. House if'Representatives, Grants division, (202) 34-3·3700. on Proposed FY 1995 Appropriations, 2 March 1994-, p. 2.

65. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Urban Recre­ 79. U.S. Senate, Land and Water Conservation Fund EmerBency ation Study, Executive Report, Government Printing Office, FundinB Act if' 1991: hearinB bifore the Committee on EnerBY and Washington, D.C. 1978; also see Mitchell, John G., "The Re­ Natural Resources, op.cit., pp. 51,54-. greening of Urban America," Audubon, v.80, 1978, p. 35. 80. Confirmed by press office, U.S. Conference of Mayors, 66. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Urban Recre­ (202) 293-2352. ation Study, op.cit., p. 97. 81. U. S. Senate, Land and Water Conservation Fund EmerBency 67. Rogers, Michael, National Park Service grants division FundinB Act r1' 1993: hearinB bifore the Committee on EnerBY and administrator, telephone interviews, 16-24- March 1994-. Natural Resources, op.cit.

68. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Urban Recre­ 82. Ibid., testimony of U.S. Secretary of the Interior Bruce ation Study, op.cit., p. 98. Babbitt.

69. Spitzer, William T., Acting Assistant Director, National 83. Yankelovich Partners Inc., Rebuild LA, Community Needs Recreation Programs, National Park Service, testimony before the Sum:y: A Look at Four Impacted Los AnBeles Communities, 13 April U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources, 1993, p. 27. Joint OversiBht HearinB on Urban Recreation and Crime Prevention, 84-. Feldman, Esther, The Proposition A Story: How Los AnBeles op.cit.; also see National Research Council, National Academy of County Voters Gained $540 MilIionjor Parks, Recreation, and Natural Sciences, SettinB Priorities jor Land Conservation, op.cit. Lands, The Trust for Public Land, San Francisco, Calif., June 1993. 70. National Park Service, Recreation Grants Division, U.S. 85. Soble, R.L., "Proposition 13 Slows Spending Growth Department of the Interior, Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Rate, Spawns Fees," Los AnBeles Times, 1 October 1978. ProBram: RebuildinBjor the Future, op. cit., p. 9. 86. Crompton, John L., "Trends," op.cit. 71. National Park Service, Recreation Grants Division, U.S. Department of the Interior, Urba:1 Park and Recreation Recovery 87. L.R. Klar and C. Rodman, "Budgetary and administrative ProBram, "FY 1992 Report to Congress," Government Printing Of­ impacts of tax-limitation legislation on municipal recreation and fice, Washington, D.C., 31 December 1992; 1994- figures provid­ park departments,"Journal if'Park and Recreation Administrators, ed by Michael Rogers, op.cit.; also see SpItzer, WilHam T., op.cit. 2(4-),1984-, p. 31, quoted in Crompton,John L., op.cit., p. 6.

72. U.S. Senate, Land and Water Conservation Fund EmerBency 88. Godbey, Geoffrey, et.al., The BemJits if'Local Recreation FundinB Act 1993: hearinB bifore the Committee on Ener8)' and Nat­ if' and Park Services: A nationwide study if'the perceptions if' the American ural Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Third Con­ public, National Recreation and Park Association, 1992; also see gress, first session, on S.721 , 18 May 1993, pp. 55-56. Hall, Trish, "Survey Hears Americans Declare Love for Parks," New York Times, 26 August 1992. 73. Jack Foley and Carlyle W. Hall, Jr., "Children, Crime and the County Budget," Los AnBe1es Times, 30 July 1993. 89. The Commonwealth Fund, news release, "New Yorkers Say That Upgrading Parks is Essential to the City's Quality of 74-. People for Parks, telephone interview, 6 March 1994-, Life," 11 January 1994-. (310) 4-74--4-24-8.

HEALING AMERICA'S CITIES ~ 21 90. Ibid., p. 2. 105. Hutchison, Ira, Executive Director, Roundtable Associ­ ates, Inc., telephone interview, 29 March 1994. 91. Cook, Ernest, Trust for Public Lard, telephone interview. 106. Basil Talbott and Maudlyne Ihejirika, "$50 Million for 92. The Commonwealth Fund, news release, 11 January Cabrini Plan OKd," ChicaBo Sun-Times, 23 September 1993. 1994, op.cit., p. 7. 107. Zimbalist, Andrew, "Little League in the Big, Bad City:' 93. "Park Prospects," New Yorker, op. cit., p.6. WashinBton Post, 21 March 1994.

94. Wald, Mathew L., New York Times, 12 September 1993. 108. Moore, Cora, Vice President, Local AdVisory Council, Cabrini-Green Housing Project, telephone interview, 23 March 95. Stephen R. Kellert and Edward O. Wilson, The Biophilia 1994. HypotheSiS, Island Press, Washington, D. C., 1993. 109. Newman, Lisa, "Youths toil in fertile soil," ChicaBo 96. Ibid., p. 46. Tribune, 23 October 1994. 97. Ulrich, Roger S., "View Through a Window May 110. Hall, Cynthia, Trust for Public Land, telephone interview. Influence Recovery from Surgery," Science, v. 224, pp. 29-44. 111. Ibid. 98. "A Place at the Table-A Sierra Roundtable on Race, Justice and the Environment," Sierra, MaylJune 1993. 112. U.S. Senate, Land andWatcr Conservation Fund EmerBency FundinB Act if 1993: hearinB bifore the Committee on EnerBY and 99. The Report ifthe President's Commission on Americans Natural Resources, op.cit., pp, 43-44. Outdoors, op. cit., p. 133. 113. Ibid., pp. 40-41. 100. Landscape Architecture, January 1993, p. 48. 114. Chicago Park District, Parkland Need AnalySiS, "Total Park 101. Funches, Brenda, telephone interview, op.cit.; also Acreage Per 10,000 Population in Selected Cities:' survey results, Brown, Corey, Trust for Public Land, telephone interview. July 1993, p. 7. 102. Felson, Marcus, t."Timinologist, University of Southern 115. Sommer, Susan, Trust for Public Land, telephone interview. California, telephone interview, 3 March 1994. 116. McKenzie, Carolyn, CEO, Soccer in the Streets, 103. John Q. Wilson and George L Kelling, "Making Neigh­ teleDhone interview 14 March 1994; also see McKenzie, Carolyn, borhoods Safe," The Atlantic, 1 February 1989; also Wilson, John , ' testimony before U. S. House of Representatives Committee on Q., CoIlins Professor of Political Science, Anderson Graduate Natural Resources,joint OversiBht J-fearinB on Urban Recreation and School of Management and Political Science, University of Cali­ Crime Prevention, op.cit.; also see various newspaper reports. fornia at Los Angeles, telephone interview, 3 March 1994. 117. National Research Council, National Academy of 104. Marshall, Brenda, Trust for Public Land, telephone Sciences, SettinB Prioritiesfor Land Conservation, op.cit., p. 180. inte,view.

22 /..'r' THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND -----.~------

Green Cities Initiative Endorsers (partial list)

John Baird Fred Krupp, Executive Director Baird and Warner Environmental Defense Fund Chicago, Illinois New York, New York

Peter A. A. Berle, President and CEO William E. Lide, National Chairman National Audubon Society The Roundtable Associates, Inc. New York, NewYork Silver Spring, Maryland

William R. Burch, Jr. James R. Lyons, Assistant Secretary Hixon Professor of Natural Resource Management Natural Resources and Environment Director of the Urban Resources Initiative Department of Agriculture Yale University Washington, D. C. New Haven, Connecticut Robert H. McNulty, President President Jimmy Carter Partners for Livable Communities Atlanta, Georgia Washington, D. C.

Pablo Eisenberg, Executiv.e Director Richard Moe, President Center for Community Change National Trust for Historic Preservation Washington, D. C. Washington, D. C.

M. Joycelyn Elders, M.D., Surgeon General John Parr, President Department of Health and Human Services National Civic League Rockville, Maryland Denver, Colorado

David Gardiner, Assistant Administrator Paul C. Pritchard, President United States Environmental Protection Agency National Parks and Conservation Association Washington, D. C. Washington, D. C.

Paul S. Grogan, President Joseph P. Riley, Jr., Mayor Local Initiatives Support Corporation Charleston, South Carolina New York, New York Richard M. Rosan, Executive Vice President Chuck Hammond, Mayor Urban Land Institute Fairfield, California Washington, D. C.

Ira Hutchison, Executive Director James W. Rouse and Patricia T. Rouse The Roundtable Associates, Inc. The Enterprise Foundation Silver Spring, Maryland Columbia, Maryland

Sharpe James, Mayor G. Jon Roush, President Newark, New Jersey The Wilderness SOCiety Washington, D. C. Charles Jordan, Portland Parks and Recreation Portland, Oregon Henry]. Stern, City of New York Parks & Recreation Central Park Stephen R. Kellert, Professor New York, New York School of For.estry and Environmental Studies Yale University John J. Wilson, U.S. Department of Justice New Haven; Connecticut Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention WashingtDn, D. C.

HEALING AMERICA'S CITIES "1.\ 23 Green Cities Initiative Endorsers Members if Congress

George Miller, U.S. Representative (Calif.) Washington, D. C.

Charles Schumer, U.S. Representative (N.Y.) Washington, D.C.

Bruce F. Vento, U.S. Representative (Minn.) Washington, D. C.

24 ~ THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND The Trust for Public Land conserves land for pebple, working nationwide to pro­ tect open space as parks, gardens, recreation areas, and wilderness. Our goal is to ensure livable communities and a healthy environment for generations to -come.

THE TRUST F 0 R PUBLIC LAND iii]

Corueryino Land' Jor People

For more information about the Trust for "ublic Land or to receive a copy ofl'Healing America's C:!:ics" contact: -

The Trust for Public Land 116 New Montgomery Street, Fourth Floor San Francisco, CA 94105 800-714-LAND FAX (415) 495-4103

Printe d cn Reo/Ole-'d Paper .~.....v