Resources

Resources for Park and Recreation Professionals

With help from our members and research partners, we make the following resources and tools available to equip parks and recreation departments, municipalities, urban design and landscape architecture firms, and advocacy organizations to enhance capacity and build equitable, healthy, and engaged communities.

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The Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Report
City Parks Alliance
This report highlights the physical, mental, and environmental benefits that city parks provide and demonstrates how funds from the LWCF’s Outdoor Recreation L…
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Cross-sectional associations of different types of nature exposure with psychotropic, antihypertensive and asthma medication
Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare
In this cross-sectional study, a higher frequency of green space exposure is thought to be beneficial for human health.
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Safety of Women and Girls Consultation Report
London Legacy Development Corporation
This report analyses the outcomes of the consultation and provides recommendations to increase the safety and feeling of safety of women and girls.
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The COVID-19 Pandemic and Outdoor Recreation: Exploring COVID-19 Induced Changes in Outdoor Recreation Engagement and Behaviour in New Zealand
Land Environment and People Research Report
The second of two reports that explores the impacts of the 2020 COVID-19 national lockdown on outdoor recreationists’ in New Zealand.
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COVID-19 and Greenspace Use Survey Findings
Data and Evidence subgroup of the Environment and Spaces for Public Health Partnership Group
This report provides an overview of findings from surveys looking at visits to and use of greenspace during the pandemic.
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WHO-Green and New Evidence and Perspectives for Action Blue Spaces and Mental Health
World Health Organization
This report presents the results of two systematic reviews on types and characteristics of green and blue spaces and mental health.
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What Makes Parks Safe?
Dr. Anna Barker and Professor George Holmes (University of Leeds) with Dr Rizwana Alam, Lauren Cape-Davenhill, Dr Sally Osei-Appiah and Dr. Sibylla Warrington Brown, in collaboration with West Yorkshire Combined Authority
This research report promotes the use of parks by women and girls, by understanding and responding to the barriers to feeling safe.
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A Framework for Assessing Equitable Health Outcomes of Parks
Urban Institute
Provides a framework for identifying how park systems improves health outcomes for users and understand how parks address health disparities.
Member Exclusive
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PAS QuickNotes: Climate-Resilient Pollinator Gardens
American Planning Association
Pollinator gardens increase climate resiliency and provide ecological, environmental, and health benefits.
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2020 Menino Survey of Mayors
Boston University Initiative on Cities
Mayors have had to deal with COVID-19’s consequences and its impact on their cities' future. Between June and August 2020 this Survey asked 130 mayors about th…