Photo Credit: Illustration by Robby Layton
A study currently underway reveals insights into the human-park relationship in a typical American community. The study makes use of survey responses collected as part of parks and recreation master-planning efforts in four communities located in three different states: Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland, Tulsa, Okla., and Cary, N.C. More than 1,800 responses from those communities were combined to create a wide range of demographics and park facilities. While not intended to represent all communities across the country, the sample provides an idea of what the park system looks like from a typical household in much of America. A geographic information system (GIS) was used to measure characteristics of the park system around each survey respondent’s home address.
The Lay Of The Land
The four communities ranged in population from 139,382 to 967,000 for a combined population of approximately 2.3-million people. The land areas encompassed by the study ranged from 54 to 483 square miles, with a combined area of more than 1,200 square miles. Densities in the immediate neighborhood of survey respondents’ homes ranged from less than one person per square mile to more than 20,000 per square mile, with an average density of 4,245 people per square mile.
A Portrait Of The People
So, who are the people in this study? To begin with, the assumption is they represent individuals who have an interest in parks. While the surveys were sent to a random sample of homes in the four communities, the responses suggest a bias towards people who are interested enough in parks to participate in the survey. When asked to rate the importance of parks on a scale from one to five, with five being highly important, the average response was 4.76.