Equity in the outdoors: an assessment of local recreation and parks plans

Background: The majority of Americans do not meet the minimum recommendations for physical activity (PA). Parks have the potential to increase PA levels; however, evidence shows that over half of people are sedentary in parks and underserved populations are disproportionately less active in parks due to a number of factors. Recreation and Park department plans can direct action that will impact population level behavior and health, and thus have been a strategy utilized to increase PA levels and equity for Americans. Due to their impact, recreation and park plans may have the potential to promote PA and PA equity in parks. Purpose: Analyze recreation and park plans for inclusion of content related to park-based PA and equity in park-based PA. Methods: Park plans were selected from 50 cities across the US using a stratified random sampling technique and analyzed using a policy analysis coding tool. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all variables. Results: Thirty-four plans met inclusion criteria for analysis. The majority of plans (62.9%) were recreation and park master plans and the remainder were city general plans with a recreation and park element (37.1%). Content related to PA was included in 51.4% of plans analyzed. PA-related content included in plans focused on the built environment, programs, and promotions. Few plans included content related to addressing PA in underserved populations (5.7%). Discussion: Parks have the potential to promote PA and reduce PA inequities among underserved populations. Those who create recreation and park department plans have an opportunity to include more content related to increasing park-based PA and equity in park-based PA.