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Urban Parks and Recreational Facilities

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Commentary
Green Infrastructure in Los Angeles: An Olympian Feat
Los Angeles has an opportunity to reinvent itself by harnessing the collective spirit of Olympics development, climate activism, and Measure W funding. No single project can address all LA's environmental needs, but many diverse projects could provide an opportunity for synergies and to create a new “city feel,” the way palm trees, traffic, and movie-touting billboards do now.
Feb 11, 2020
Report
How Can Parks Help Increase Physical Activity?
Public neighborhood parks play an important role in providing venues for physical activity in urban areas. But they tend to be underutilized, especially for moderate to vigorous exercise.
May 7, 2018

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Q&A
A New Approach to Fighting Synthetic Opioids: Q&A with David Luckey and Jayme Fuglesten
The opioid crisis isn't just about drug policy or law. It involves national security, homeland security, intelligence, diplomacy, supply chain issues, and cryptocurrency. Drawing on RAND's expertise across all those areas, the Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking delivered a plan, a call to action about what it's going to take to save lives.
Apr 26, 2022
Journal Article
Effects of Park-Based Interventions on Health-Related Outcomes: A Systematic Review
Using adapted methods from the Community Guide, a systematic review (search period through September 2019) was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of park-based interventions among adults.
Apr 28, 2021
Journal Article
Use and Non-Use Values of Auckland Council Amenities: Final Report
Auckland Council commissioned this study to quantify how much the public use and value local amenities. To fulfill the study needs, a survey was undertaken with Auckland residents to collect data on their usage of these amenities.
Dec 10, 2020
Journal Article
Improved Street Walkability, Incivilities, and Esthetics Are Associated with Greater Park Use in Two Low-Income Neighborhoods
Improved walkability, incivilities, and aesthetics surrounding parks in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods were associated with greater park use and may help increase visits to underutilized parks.
Dec 3, 2020
Report
Recovery Planning for Natural Resources and Parks in Puerto Rico: Natural and Cultural Resources Sector Report, Volume I
The 2017 hurricanes harmed Puerto Rico's natural resources. Recommended courses of action, detailed in this report, would restore natural resources, manage solid waste, renew parks, and improve economic opportunities. Damage is characterized.
Sep 30, 2020
Journal Article
The Mediating Role of Perceived Crime in Gender and Built Environment Associations with Park Use and Park-Based Physical Activity Among Park Users in High Poverty Neighborhoods
This study conducted mediation analyses to examine the effects of gender and presence of park walking path on park use, participation in park programs, and park-based physical activity through the hypothesized mediator (perception of crime).
Apr 30, 2020
Journal Article
Playground Features and Physical Activity in U.S. Neighborhood Parks
This study of a nationally representative sample of neighborhood parks assessed the characteristics, design, and use of public playgrounds by all age groups.
Dec 12, 2019
Journal Article
Reliability and Validity of Environmental Audits Using GigaPan Technology in Parks
GigaPan is a comprehensive technology that could provide solutions to several issues that arise with GSV and DO. GigaPan provides detailed images of parks, as well as acts as a quick method to capture images during temporal changes in the area. This study may provide insight into other technologies, such as some smartphone capacities, that may be used to measure the BE by taking similar panoramic images.
Jun 10, 2019
Journal Article
Gender Disparities in Park Use and Physical Activity Among Residents of High-Poverty Neighborhoods in Los Angeles
Despite similar proximity to parks and controlling for a range of individual, park- and neighborhood-level factors, women in high-poverty neighborhoods experience consistent disparities in park use and PA as compared with men.
Dec 11, 2017
Journal Article
Promoting Physical Activity in High-Poverty Neighborhood Parks: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial
Modest efforts, such as free classes, to increase physical activity in high-poverty area parks attracted visitors during special programming but were not sufficient to increase overall park use.
Jul 18, 2017
Journal Article
Using Systematic Observations to Understand Conditions That Promote Interracial Experiences in Neighbourhood Parks
We analysed observations from 31 neighbourhood parks, with each park mapped into smaller target areas for study, across five US cities generated using the System for Observing Play and Recreation in the Community (SOPARC).
May 16, 2017
Commentary
The Neighborhood Park: An Underused Oasis
Most neighborhood parks are underutilized, especially in the mornings and on weekdays. But with a modest amount of redesign, investment, and marketing, parks could lead more people to engage in routine physical activity.
Nov 9, 2016
Report
City of Los Angeles Neighborhood Parks: Research Findings and Policy Implications (2003–2015)
This report summarizes more than a decade of research on how well neighborhood parks in Los Angeles support physical activity. Between 2003 and 2015, researchers observed 83 parks and fielded nearly 28,000 surveys of park users and local residents.
Nov 1, 2016
Journal Article
The Prevalence and Use of Walking Loops in Neighborhood Parks: A National Study
Walking loops in public parks appear to not only boost park use but also encourage higher levels of moderate-to-vigorous park-based physical activity, especially among seniors.
Sep 22, 2016
Periodical
RAND Review: July-August 2016
This issue highlights the stress of military deployments and resilience of military families; RAND research on cybercrime, network defense, and data breaches; the 40th anniversary of RAND's landmark Health Insurance Experiment; and more.
Jun 27, 2016
Journal Article
Validation of a New Counter for Direct Observation of Physical Activity in Parks
This assessed the reliability of a tool (a 12-button counter) used to assess physical activity in parks.
Jun 6, 2016
Journal Article
First National Survey of Neighborhood Parks Shows Low Use by Adults, Seniors and Females
Although it is critically important for adults and seniors to engage in physical activity, most neighborhood parks have few programmed activities targeted to those groups. Adding enhancements such as walking loops could attract more visitors.
May 30, 2016
News Release
First National Survey of Neighborhood Parks Shows Low Use by Adults, Seniors and Females
Although it is critically important for adults and seniors to engage in physical activity, most neighborhood parks have few programmed activities targeted to those groups. Adding enhancements such as walking loops could attract more visitors.
May 18, 2016
Journal Article
Are Food Deserts Also Play Deserts?
Parks in two food desert neighborhoods in Pittsburgh could also be called play deserts: local residents didn't use them as much as residents in other areas of the city used their nearby parks.
Apr 19, 2016

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