Parks, Recreation, Fitness, and Sports – STRATEGY 1

Promote programs and facilities where people work, learn, live, play and worship (i.e., workplace, public, private, and non-profit recreational sites) to provide easy access to safe and affordable physical activity opportunities.

TACTICS

• Adopt community strategies that improve access to and the safety and security of parks, recreation, fitness, and sports facilities, especially in low-resource and high-crime neighborhoods. Improve access to public-private recreational facilities in communities with limited recreational opportunities through:
  • Reduced costs for participation in programs and/or use of facilities
  • Increased operating hours
  • Co-location of schools and PRFS
  • Availability of childcare
  • Joint use agreements
  • Establishment of new parks and trails
• Provide programs in parks, recreation, fitness, and sports that are appropriate for individuals of both genders, diverse cultures, abilities, developmental stages and needs and that have demonstrated positive physical activity outcomes.
• Design new and upgrade facilities according to universal design principles to ensure accessibility, safety, and optimal use for physical activity.
• Fund an Active Families Initiative that provides programs that support and benefit families at the community level and in responds to community needs.
• Fund research on safe sports participation (i.e., injury prevention), particularly for youth, and include such issues as progressive exercise program design, exercise order, exercise technique, modal efficacy, and the impact of human movement impairments.
• Fund research on participation in sport alternatives that can be pursued across the lifespan.
• Restore a dedicated federal funding source for the development and rehabilitation of urban parks and recreation infrastructure and programs.
• Establish a coordinator position within the National Parks Service to develop policies and partnerships between the state and federal recreation agencies to promote physical activity.

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