President's Message April 2009
A Turf War We Can’t Afford to Lose
By PFP President Jack Foley
Los Angeles’ City and County parks departments are reducing hours and staff cuts are forecast as the recession enters its second year. The budget crisis is forcing us to rethink our lifestyle. This isn’t our first economic downturn, though, and Americans have consistently come to the conclusion that public recreation and parks are even more important when times are bad.
At the dawn of the 20th Century, concerned citizens and churches used recreation to soften the harsh urban realities of child labor, crowded tenement houses and crime. In Chicago, Jane Adams organized Hull House to socialize and celebrate European immigrants. The YMCA, YWCA, boys and girls clubs, and the playground movement were founded during this period.
During the Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt put people to work building WPA projects, including many of Los Angeles’ great public parks. The thinking was that public recreation was necessary to humanize the excesses of capitalism.
Today, instead of cutting programs and increasing fees, City and County officials should develop more effective ways to provide services, especially in low-income communities. Under a growing trend of “smart recreation,” activities are designed to achieve social goals. Another hallmark of this new approach is partnerships with private sector and non-profit groups.
Last summer, People for Parks (PFP) and the City’s Recreation and Parks Department created a Character Building basketball league at Markham Middle School in Watts. Local recreation leaders Karl Stephens and Greg Thomas recruited 75 young residents of the Nickerson Gardens, Jordan Downs and Imperial Courts housing projects, each of which is home to a well-entrenched street gang. By “shuffling the deck,” the 11- to 14-year-olds learned to rely on teammates. Guest speakers taught cooperation and life skills. The overarching social goal – to create a level of friendship and trust that would extend to campus in the fall – has been largely met.
Community-School Parks (CSPs) are a “smart recreation” program with two social goals: replacing asphalt “heat islands” on school playgrounds with trees, gardens and multi-use fields to benefit students during school hours and surrounding neighborhoods on weekends and over holidays. Cities should have three acres of open space per 1,000 residents. Los Angeles doesn’t even come close to that standard. More than 60% of our young people do not live within walking distance of a park. PFP, with a grant from the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, has been working with the L.A. City Council and L.A. Unified School District on a CSP pilot program, and we are nearly ready to break ground at two inner-city elementary schools.
Helen Keller Park in South Los Angeles is an example of what local activists can achieve in partnership with the County Recreation Department and help from non-profit groups. Keller Park was a “killing zone” until a group of ex-gang members formed Common Unity Reaching Everyone (CURE). Today, with resources from the British Arts Film Association and Pete Carroll’s Better L.A. Foundation, Keller is buzzing with youth football, quinceañeras, weddings, family reunions and computer labs for youth.
President Barack Obama’s stimulus program is an opportunity for Los Angeles to promote jobs and healthy lifestyles. Recent consumer research indicates that many well-heeled Americans are responding to the recession by “cocooning” – investing in top-notch home entertainment centers. For the rest of us, “smart recreation” means going outdoors and rediscovering our neighborhoods. Take a hike in the San Gabriel Mountains, play a round of golf in Griffith Park, or learn to play tennis in a Compton park like the Williams sisters did. Our parks offer free refuge during stressful times. If we don’t use them, though, it won’t be long until we lose them.
This article also appeared on February 5, 2009, in the
Daily News and in Spanish in
La Opinión.
I look forward to your feedback. Please send your comments to me directly at
jack.foley1@verizon.net
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