If We Build It, Why Should They Come: Connecting the Community to Recreation Opportunities

In the last twenty years there has been a resurgence of conversation on wellness and health promotion in regard to community design. However, the conversation is often limited to the decision-makers rather than those who will benefit most from the decision.  On occasion, NPS staff have partnered with Public Health practitioners in an effort to articulate messages of health promotion in parallel to its Healthy Recreation Initiative. However, the partnership should not be occasional. It should be a regular occurrence.  Public health practitioners hold the most vital component for communicating the need for recreational opportunities, the data, and RTCA staff are skilled at facilitating that process as well as identifying the appropriate message for specific communities. The end result should be that of connecting both fields in an effort to design and retrofit communities for wellness.