University of Nebraska at Omaha DigitalCommons@UNO Student Work 5-1-2000 A geographic model for urban parks and recreation facility planning: A case study of Omaha, Nebraska Barbara Daniels University of Nebraska at Omaha Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/studentwork Recommended Citation Daniels, Barbara, "A geographic model for urban parks and recreation facility planning: A case study of Omaha, Nebraska" (2000). Student Work. 613. https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/studentwork/613 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UNO. It has been accepted for inclusion in Student Work by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UNO. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A GEOGRAPHIC MODEL FOR URBAN PARKS AND RECREATION FACILITY PLANNING: A CASE STUDY OF OMAHA, NEBRASKA A THESIS Presented to the Department of Geography/Geology And the Faculty of the Graduate College University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts University of Nebraska at Omaha By Barbara Daniels May 2000 UMI Number: EP73253 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dlsssftation Publishing UMI EP73253 Published by ProQuest LLC (2015). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest' ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 THESIS ACCEPTANCE Acceptance for the faculty of the Graduate College, University of Nebraska, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts, University of Nebraska at Omaha. Committee Name ^ Department Chairperson oY/U / / *2- QhO Date ii ABSTRACT Recreation resources are unevenly distributed and constantly changing in the city. In this case, the structure of parks and recreation resources in Omaha, Nebraska, are of concern. To formulate a more precise and meaningful notion of recreation supply and demand; recreation scarcity, allocation and availability were calculated from a block by block survey of Omaha’s population. Population density was used to determine the distribution of population relative to park acreage. Acres per capita within recreation service areas was considered as a rough estimate of intensity of use at park facilities. Additionally, acres of recreation land relative to acres of non-recreation land was used as a rough measure of land availability. Accessibility has been considered in terms of the distance of the population to existing park opportunities. Standard planning allocation measures were applied as yet another yardstick to measure Omaha’s supply of parks and recreation facilities to the public demand. All of this was done to answer the question “Does Omaha have enough land dedicated to parks and recreation facilities to equitably serve the citizens of Omaha?” The thesis was based on Central Place Theory with attention given to the human and environmental interaction. A geographical classification of Omaha’s parks and recreation system was developed, providing a complete inventory of the park system. Problem solving involved an interactive map layering technique which served as a visual aide offering specific details of the City. An assessment of parks and recreation facilities examined the significance of facility distribution in relation to population. The broad geographic scope of the model best serves planners who use different kinds of information simultaneously. The result is a geographic model prescribing parks and recreation facilities for Omaha. The model indicated that more land needed to be dedicated to parks and recreation facilities in order to equitably serve the population. Following the geographic model are points of concern in Omaha, Nebraska, that are also important to further research of parks and recreation facility planning in the City. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I express my most humble regards to Dr. Charles Gildersleeve and Dr. Jeff Peake for facilitating my geographic education in a manner that allowed knowledge and experience to be applied as I created my own definition of geography. They offered both depth and breadth of geographic understanding to my graduate experience. Without their approval, my understanding of the cultural-physical interface of geography would lack the necessary confidence. These f two individuals have brought balance to the master's program at UNO that satisfied intellectual curiosities, one from a cultural perspective and the other from the physical aspects of geography. Dr. Peter Suzuki's approval had been requested, for h e expressed a genuine interest in this project upon its conception in 1991. His contribution offered greater confidence in the planning model as his work with public administration is both academic and applied. Additionally, I asked Mr. David Thorndike to endorse the historical and philosophical content of my research. To ensure that the maps chosen as examples of my work are not only in keeping with professional standards, but also that their meaning can be interpreted adequately, I thank Dr. Mike Peterson for his direction as well. I would like to mention Mr. Martin Shukert for recognizing m y potential in park planning and sending me to meet Ms. Delores Silkworth, Ms. Karen Klein and Ms. Gail Knapp. They provided many opportunities to participate in the planning process, helped me throughout the internship and during the writing of this thesis. Their professional interaction made this thesis project much more valuable v than sheer number crunching and rhetoric. Your confidence in me made all the difference in my success as a planning geographer. It is a privilege to have interacted with all the individuals I have come to know while working on the project and writing the thesis. Special thanks to my friends Collin Hollcomb, Bob Watrel, Jeff Simon and Dale Spencer who helped me visit every park in the Omaha vicinity and complete the final stages of the thesis. I’d like to thank my grandmother for her faith in me; my father for his strength and courage; my mother for teaching me patience; my sisters Bonnie and Renee for giving me hope; my brother Rick and step-son Matt for inspiring me through their success and adventures. To my sixth grade science teacher, Mr. Cowan, who said, “Anyone can make a book. It is the contents that made all the difference.” TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page ............................................................................................................................. i Thesis Acceptance Page...................................................................................................ii Abstract..............................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................. v Table Of Contents ........................................................................................................... vii List of Figures ...................................................................................................................ix I. INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................... 1 The Problem...........................................................................................................3 Definition of Terms ...............................................................................................5 Planning Parks and Recreation Facilities ........................................................7 Literature Analysis Strategy ..............................................................................20 Assumptions and Justifications ........................................................................ 25 The Case Study .................................................................................................... 28 H. LITERATURE ANALYSIS Developing a Practical Philosophy ..................................................................30 A Geographic Perspective .................................................................................. 30 Spatial Interaction Studies of the City ..........................................................33 Quantification and Technical Literature ......................................................40 A Planning Perspective ......................................................................................46 A Recreation Perspective ................................................................................... 56 Recreation Statistics ................................................................................... 57 Recreation Philosophy ................................................................................58 Recreation Facility Planning .................................................................... 60 Conclusions...........................................................................................................64 m METHODOLOGY...................................................................................................66