NRPA Launches "Parks Build Commu...( The National...),Health

The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) has a vision for America's urban parks. The NRPA is launching a model for urban park revitalization that will be kicked off at DC's Marvin Gaye Park this summer. The model for this sustainable vision - called "Parks Build Community" - utilizes urban parks as a core component in the revitalization of underserved urban communities across the country.

Washington, DC (PRWEB) June 26, 2009 -- The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) has a vision for America's urban parks. The model for this sustainable vision - called "Parks Build Community" - utilizes urban parks as a core component in the revitalization of underserved urban communities across the country. This initiative is intended to demonstrate the benefits that playgrounds and parks bring to the health of children and families in surrounding neighborhoods, with its first project being a playground in Northeast DC's Marvin Gaye Park.

"Quality urban parks are one of the most important components of livable, walkable, healthful cities," says Rich Dolesh, Public Policy Chief for NRPA, "but we have lost our national focus on how important they really are to our cities. Our nation's urban parks are an investment in the health of our children and the vitality of our urban communities."

Emphasizing that safe, clean parks are at the heart of any successful urban development program, NRPA's Parks Build Community initiative focuses on reviving inner-city communities through purposeful park restoration and sustainable development. In addition to creating a better environment in which children can play, urban parks promote improved citizen health, decreased obesity rates, job creation, reduced crime, environmental stewardship and sustainable landscapes.

"We aren't just putting up a new playground and then leaving,&quo
'/>"/>