Parks
and Recreation Supports Economic Development
What
easier way is there to convince policy makers to approve funding
for a project, facility or service than to show what the
economic benefit it will have to your city, county or special district?
Economic impact studies are vital to show the value of parks and
recreation to the economic vitality of a community. Although most
economic impact studies usually test just the increase/decrease
of enrollment fees in relation to the expenses of that program/event,
studies should be made to the amount of secondary spending that
happens in the immediate community: restaurants, gas stations,
hotels/motels, sporting equipment, arts/craft materials or job
creation. Not to mention the value parks and recreation may add
to the community through lower health costs, increased tax revenues,
corporate relocations and increased property values.
The
East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) commissioned a study
of economic benefits the district confers on the East Bay region.
The goal of the district was to show that open space, parks,
trails and other recreation facilities are an essential part
of a community, and that the vital economy of the region is linked
directly to “quality of life” benefits. The study
was also intended to assure its continued vitality and responsiveness
to the needs of its constituents.
EBRPD
serves two counties which includes about 2.4 million people.
It is responsible for over
91,000 acres of parks, open space and
trails, including 59 regional parklands and 1,000 miles of trials.
The study found that 90% of East Bay residents visit local parks
at least once each year while the average resident visited local
parks five times a year.
The
report showed that EBRPD has a positive economic impact in the
areas of:
- Quality
of life
- Property
values
- User
utility
Quality of Life
The
probability of a family or business moving to a particular community
increases as the perceived quality
of life increases.
Parks and recreation is a key component when discussing
quality of life, others include public safety, traffic, environmental
concerns and educational resources. Yet when discussing
the
other quality
of life components, parks and recreation impacts those
areas as well. EBRPD found that the presence of its public safety
officers in and around parks had an effect on the neighborhoods
adjacent
to those parks. Traffic congestion is eased by the use
of
trails and greenways when traveling between neighborhoods
and to local
retail areas. Estimated use of regional trails in EBRPD
was about 750,000 visits annually. And parks help environmental
concerns
by providing open space, fresher air, and cleaner water.
Property
values
Regression analyses conducted during the 1970s concluded
that properties adjacent to large parks and open spaces,
with minimum
noise, traffic,
and user conflicts, derive as much as 30% of their value
from these amenities, with a general range of 10% to
30%.(1) The direct
benefit
of this to the city is the increased property taxes paid
by the homes near a community park or greenway.
User
Utility
Another way to view the economic value of parks and recreation
is to view the “user utility.” Although
most park, open space and trail users pay nothing when
using these resources,
there is an intrinsic value that can be placed on them.
User utility is defined as an individual’s perceived
value of the experience of a park visit. A conservative
estimate
of total user utility
associated with visits to EBRPD facilities in dollar
terms approaches $74 million each year.(2) The user
utility associated
with park usage
was estimated at $6.52 per visit and for regional trails
$1.84 per visit.
Studies
in the area of user utility are currently being done on California
beaches. Economist
know that beaches
have some
intrinsic
value. “Beaches must be very valuable, yet
we know very little about the magnitude of those
values,” states
David Layton, an economist at the University of California,
Davis.
Layton plans
on looking at such beach amenities as fine sand,
shells, lifeguards, surfing, and parking. The goal
is to put
a monetary value on the
average visit to the beach. This value will help
policy makers when discussing environmental issues
that may
result in beach closures.
Impact
on Retail Centers
Another economic impact on the local community of
parks and recreation is the money spent by participants
of
programming, sports leagues
and park users in retail stores. Participants in
soccer leagues
must buy uniforms, soccer balls and knee pads.
A participant in an art class will have to buy paints,
canvasses,
and brushes.
The
study by EBRPD found that expenditures in East Bay sporting good
stores of park-related durable
goods approached
the
$236 million range and that $64 million in net
new direct expenditures
on durable
goods occurred due to the presence of the park
district.(3)
Toursim
For some communities, tourism is the major source
of income. Parks and recreation can play an
important role in attracting
tourist
to a community. One of park and recreation’s
roles is in providing attractive parks, campgrounds
and beaches.
The second
is by sponsoring events, festivals and sports
tournaments. Factor in the money spent by tourist
at local restaurants,
hotels and
gas stations and it is easy to see how tourism
is vital to the economic climate of some communities.
The
$64 million estimated by EBRPD doesn’t
include the trickle down value of parks and
recreation. Those employees
of the sporting
good stores now have discretionary income
to spend in the community. The sporting good
stores
also buy products and
services from other
local businesses. Employees of the park and
recreation agency also spend money in the
community. Economic experts
have multipliers
that can estimate what that value may be.
The
economic value of parks and recreation
is far more reaching than just the amount
of money
spent
by participants
in fee-based
programming. When considering such factors
as quality of life, economic vitality,
tourism and
user utility,
it becomes
easy
to see just how important parks and recreation
is to truly creating a community. Endnotes:
- “Quantifying
Our Quality of Life,” East Bay Regional Park District,
Economic & Planning Systems and Strategy Research Institute
- Ibid
- Ibid
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