City Detective Lesson Plan (PDF)

Title: City Detective: How Many Parks Are Needed?

Audience: Upper elementary through junior high school students

Purpose: For students to identify and observe uses of the existing parks and open spaces in your community so that they can evaluate whether these places meet the needs of community residents and then make appropriate recommendations for change.

Introduction: Every town has public spaces that help create a sense of community and place. These may be county courthouse squares, neighborhood pocket parks, or large multi-use city parks. This activity engages students in analyzing the parks and open spaces in their community and considering questions such as: How well do these parks meet the needs of community members? Are there enough parks? Do these parks need to be modified to meet changing needs?

Objectives: Students will

* Gather data about their community
* Conduct a survey of park users
* Observe the way people use parks
* Compare the number and types of parks to the population
* Analyze existing conditions of community parks/open space
* Make recommendations for community improvement

Materials:

* City/town maps
* Park user survey sheet for each student (attached)
* Park observation sheet for each student (attached)
* City/town census
* Maps of local population breakdowns

Procedure:

1. Have students examine the maps to locate all of the public spaces that serve as parks. Have students determine how many there are and what are the different kinds of parks and public spaces (don’t forget greenways, tot lots, and gardens). Next, have them consider the location of the parks. Are they located in residential areas, downtown, on the edge of the city, or along major roads or water?

2. Have students select one park near the school or near their home. Each student should visit the park and use the Park Observation Sheet to record their observation of their park.

3. Have students investigate the management of the parks. It may be managed by the park district board, the public works department, or a regional nature preserve association. Divide the class into teams and assign each team to an agency or organization. Have students begin by writing a letter or calling to request an interview. The following are possible interview questions:

- Which parks does your agency manage?
- How old are the parks?
- What are the purposes of the parks?
- Is there any play equipment in the parks?
- How many people use the parks? Daily, monthly, or annually?
- Where do they come from in the city? Surrounding neighborhood? Office areas or from downtown?Outside the community?
- How can you describe or characterize the users of the parks? Ages? Gender? Groups?
- Where do the people come from who use the parks?
- How do they get to the parks? Walk? Bus? Car? Bicycle? Other?
- What can they do in the parks?
- When are the parks used most heavily?
- Are there people who the managers would like to have use the parks, but do not?
- What problems do the managers have in maintaining the parks?
- What other uses, besides its present uses, could the parks have?
- How much does it cost to maintain the parks?

4. Have students survey a family member and a neighbor or friend using the Park User Survey Sheet. They should select two people of different ages, sexes, and interests.

5. Have students contact the City Planning Department. If it is available, obtain a copy of the city census. Also, find out if there are maps showing the concentrations of various groups within the city, for example, if there is a clustering of elderly people in a certain neighborhood. If this information is available, students can complete the following exercises:

a. Divide the number of parks into the total population to find out what is the ratio of parks to people. From their conversations with the park managers and residents are there enough parks to serve all the residents of your town? Ask the city planner the same question. Is there a standard ration?
b. Find out what is the make-up of the population. How many children, how many people over 65, how many teenagers?
c. Look closely at the location of the parks in relation to various population groups. For example, are there pocket parks, tot lots, and playgrounds in neighborhoods with children?
d. Decide whether or not the parks are distributed evenly between various areas and neighborhoods.

6. Students should analyze the information they have gathered and answer the following questions:

a. Are the existing parks meeting the needs of the community? Why or why not?
b. Do the people you interviewed believe their needs are being met in the existing parks?
c. What problems exist that keep people from using parks?
d. Can all people regardless of age or disabilities enjoy the park?
e. What changes would you make to the parks?
f. What changes in the city (for example, public transportation routes) would you make to help people use parks more? Make a list.

Program Extensions: Students can send this list with a summary report of their study to the park managers and the planning department, thanking the staff for their participation in your project.

Park User Survey

1. Number of members in the household?
2. Ages and sex of members?
3. How often do family members go to the park?
4. Which parks do the family members use and why?
5. How far do they have to travel to get to the nearest park?
6. What do they do in the park(s)?
7. Are there any problems in using the parks? For example, is it easy for an elderly person to cross the streets to get to the park? Are there enough benches for elderly people to sit on?
8. Do they like the park?
9. What do they think could be done to improve the park?

Park Observation Sheet

1. Students should analyze the information they have gathered and answer the following questions:
- Children
- Parents with small children
- Teenagers
- Young Adults
- Middle Aged Adults
- Senior Citizens

2. What kind of activities are allowed in the park? Which activities are most popular?
- Walking
- Bicycle riding
- Sports, which ones?
- In-line skating
- Swimming
- Sitting on benches
- Sitting and lying on the grass
- Walking on nature trails
- Camping
- Picnicking
- Jogging
- Other

3. What are the most popular areas of the park?

4. Are there any areas in the park in which you feel unsafe?

5. How easy is it to get to the park from the surrounding neighborhood? Or, for other parts of the community? Are there:
- Bus or train stops nearby?
- Car parking lots?
- Bicycle parking racks?
- Safe crosswalks across city streets?

6. Is the park well maintained? If not, what problems are there?

7. Are there areas that are not being used? Why do think this is?