Standards for Outdoor Recreational Areas in the USA - Research Paper Example

Recreational Standards General Standards for Recreational Parks Recreational standards have always been a topic of discussion, and there are many controversies originating from this topic. They extend as far as questioning whether standards should be measured by the value of the recreational needs. This paper will point out the importance of standards, not as rules, but as guidelines. It is hard to define what an adequate area is; however, experts have come up with tough rules to be used in public places. One crucial standard is every city should have a city park that is up to one acre or a play area every 100 population (The Associates reports, 144). A city should also have a regional park that is bigger outside the city for recreational activities. However, even this area can be said to be inadequate unless the tracks’ locations have a clear plan, and meet their needs. They should also be exceptionally well managed and developed. Recreational standards have been there for a long time, in 1914 landscape architect Charles Downing Lay made estimation for a park of 100,000 people. A reservation should be 700 acres, while a city park should be up to 400 acres and ten neighborhood parks each 250 acres. He also estimated that there should be fifty playgrounds located at the neighborhoods and 50 garden and squares. This meant that 1500 acres of land ought to be set aside for recreational purposes in every city that has a population of 100,000 people (Hopper, 57). In 1940, some cities were able to meet the requirement of one acre park per 100 people. Since this period, there has been a tense relationship between cities, parks and recreation areas. There has been a reduced expansion of recreation areas due to population growth. Suburbs that have come up near the central city have increased the population of this city, but parks areas have lagged behind. There have been no new parks and recreational areas added. Many suburbs near central city rely on old parks of central parks. There are suggestions that this rule should be modified especially for areas that are densely populated. In addition, several cities are economically unable to achieve such high standards. In a report prepared in 1959, it was suggested that one acre per 200 populations is more reasonable and attainable for cities with more than half a million population. In regard to cities with a population of over a million, it was suggested one care per 300 people is reasonable. Many cities had recognized the recreational standard of one acre per 100 populations. However, some cities did not agree with the fact that the areas had to be open space. There have been attempts of establishing the percentage of recreation space required compared to the size of the city. This standard would be hard to be implemented and be agreed upon since it does not take into account population density of a place. Moreover, it is usually difficult to arrive at a solution that satisfies all the parties involved. In addition, standards are prone to conditions, variations and peculiarities of the part in which the recreation facility is in. Population affects recreational standards with its age, cultural background, and its social economic status. These factors are vital and should be studied and put into consideration when making modification of recreational standards of a place. Standards should not be adopted just because they look impressive on a paper. Theories are wrong at times, therefore, modifications should be put into consideration before adopting new standards. Hence, there should be an appraisal of recreational standards once in a while. This will enable adjustments to be effected when there are conditions necessitating modifications to be made. Most recreation investments made in the past have gone to waste due to modifications being made without consideration of the local population. An additional factor that should be considered is assessing to what degree population needs are met by private recreational facilities. For instance, in some suburban areas the sizes of residential homes are such that there is almost no need for a playground. On the other hand, in areas with high population of low-income earners where residential areas are limited, play grounds are vital. City planners and recreational standards authorities agree that a certain percentage of a park should use for active recreation only. In addition, another percentage should be set aside for development of the neighborhood. The other percentage should be used to host community facilities at the area. These facilities include building community based elders homes, hospitals and other vital facilities. Recreational parks also increase values of properties in the neighbouring areas. This is because with many people visiting the place, they become a place full of business opportunities thereby increasing value of properties. General Standards for Recreational Parks in Kentucky State Kentucky State has fifty two state parks, and there is a variety of activities in these parks. There is boat riding, camping sites, swimming pools, golf courses and secluded lodges to ensure visitors get what they want. The parks have the natural feeling of Kentucky that encourages the city dwellers to go and relax. Some parks offer meals and drinks to make visitors comfortable and longer without leaving to go take meals. Kentucky state parks have regulations such as not drinking alcohol, littering and injuring animals. The state ensures that parks are clean and enjoyable to everyone who visits. Because of Kentucky’s beautiful scenery, people have a preference of inhabiting the land close to the parks. In this respect, there are state laws that discourage parking vans any place to keep the state in order. Floods Risk Control Measures States have come up with floods risk control measures this includes Ohio. They have come up with flood warning system that detects rain and its capacity. This enables these States to be prepared when floods are coming in advance. Ohio emergency management agency is responsible to rain gauge the upstream side of Ohio while geological survey rain gauge the downstream part. In order to come up with these measures, different risk management organizations met, and come up with recommendations. These are levees meant to protect the communities against floods. However, these levees have been failing, and the States do not rely on them alone anymore. Originally, it was Ohio county ditch law that initialized measures against floods. The law that tackles floods issue today also tackles the issues of drainage. The Ohio Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act ensure that residents of Ohio do not have any floods problems as well as drainage. Ohio has many lakes and this helps with controlling floods by holding water together. Floodwall is another control measure that is used in Ohio for floods protection (Dawson, 98). Levees have been used as floods control measure for many years; however, there has been no federal agency that has taken responsibility for overseeing levees in the country. In 2006, a step was taken by USACE that came up with a creation of levee safety program. This was a way of enabling people to assess how viable levees are, and if they pose any danger to the public. This was also an opportunity for recommendations to be made on the course of action in case it was found out that levee presents risks to the society and environment. States, federal, and private partners have the responsibility to check how safe levees are and the amount of risks they pose to the society. This ensures that individuals have updated information they need to make an informed decision about their safety and thereby making the right action. USACE levee safety program takes matters into their own hands by making changes according to technological changes that have happened latest, and using their engineering profession to provide feedback. They also keep levees reliable by regularly inspecting and assessing them. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2006 came up with a program whose role is to manage floods risks nationally. The National Flood Risk Management Program role is to synchronize and integrate USACE floods risks control activities. This is done both internally as well as with other counterparts actions of federal agencies, homeland security, and other local and regional State agencies. National Flood Risk Management Program objective is to provide its stakeholders and the public with precise information concerning floodplains. This will ensure preparedness in the event of possible floods. The information provided by USACE is as well accurate and reliable and should be integrated. This is because their goal is in to identify and assess floods hazards. This, as a result, reduces damages that flood cause to infrastructure. Ensuring that the public is aware of ways they can reduce floods risks and hazards. Integration of programs that work to ensure floods damages and hazards are reduced. Types of Levees in US Levees are embankments that are earthen whose primary role is to ensure flood protection during rainy seasons. Levees can be defined as dams built to control floods. There are natural levees formed when sediments are deposited at a riverbank facilitated by erosion. In US levees are mainly used in Mississippi and Sacramento rivers. Levees’ protection is short term and can only last for a few day or weeks every year. There are two major classifications of levees. There are those known as agricultural and urban because their requirements are very different. Urban levees’ primary role is to protect people, and their residential, industrial, and commercial facilities. Farmers in order to protect their lands against floods, on the other hand, use agricultural levees. There are tributary and mainline levees that are usually parallel to their main channel or tributary. The second are the ring levees, as classified according to their shape since they are circular shaped and encircle the area they are protecting from all sides (Betchart, 78). There are also set back levees that are made to work as a backup of an existing levee. They ensure that when a levee is endangered due to more floods than expected that people can still be protected from floods. The objective of constructing sub levees is to control under seepage of floods. They are similar to ring levees in that they encircle the place they are protecting. They protect the main land by capturing seepage water during the periods when there is high water. As a result, they counter balance the pressures below the stratum. Finally, there are the spur levees that protect by directing river currents that are erosive back to the river. This prevents water from the river from flooding. Levees in US are designed to protect urban areas from floods. The places where levees are to be located undergo modifications to include features such as relief wells and berms. Due strong waves of wind and rain experienced recently experts have opted to come up with advanced modern means of floods control. Uses of Parks People use recreational parks as enjoyment and relaxation sites. As a result of modern lifestyles of people, recreational pars are important for bringing people of the same neighborhood together. People visit parks for different reasons as some go to have fun having a picnic with friends or family. Moreover, there are parents who take their children to parks to play with other kids. In addition, people also visit parks to hold special events such as wedding. Parks are relaxing, and some people just visit them to enjoy the scenery and walk around as a way of getting out of daily routines of their lives. In favour of this, it has also been proven that people who walk at parks are less likely to get sick and reduce risks of getting various diseases. Relationship between Recreational Parks and Tourism Tourism is a big part of today’s world and plays an important role in economies of different countries. States are under pressure to generate revenues, thus, they end using recreational parks like tourist attractions as one way of generating income. Hence, there are many visitors to cities every day wanting to visit famous recreational parks. Some parks are located out of urban areas and are good getaways from the cities. They give visitors the feeling of the social life of the city and help them relax. Thus, tourists get to meet the locals, and interact with them this enables to learn cultural diversity in the host city. Economic Impacts Parks Have to the Surrounding Area Recreational Parks improve the economic status of not only their host counties but also those people around them. It noteworthy that values of properties near parks increase since many people would like to own properties near parks. Parks also create business opportunities since parts of the parks are used as markets for different things targeted at the visitors. People can sell food and drinks to the visitors thereby generating income. Parks also improve the economic status of local people through their expenditures. This is because to cater for their maintenance; parks require goods and services that they get from the surrounding population. These also generate revenues through taxes. They are also a source of employment opportunities in the economy and to the local residents. Visitors contribute the biggest economic impacts. This is because they are provided with many services and goods aimed at generating income like transportation, lodging, food, and drinks. Well managed parks make huge contributions to the local economy by increasing value of properties around. This, as a result, increases the real estate tax implying extra revenue to State. Parks also act as tourists attractions. They are also recreational and relaxation sites for the locals who visit these parks. This enables them to save money and thereby improving their economic status. In addition, local people derive health benefits when they visit parks regularly, therefore, saving money on healthcare. Parks bring people who live in the same neighborhood together. This strengthens their relationships leading to peaceful coexistence, therefore, reducing the amount of money that is used by the state for policing (Trudeau 112). However, for a park to generate income either directly or indirectly it has to be well maintained. When parks are neglected, they have a negative effect to the economy since they attract vandalism and other crimes. Consequently, there are many benefits in taking care of parks as compared to neglecting them. Part 2 The city of Covington dates back to the 18th century. It was platted in 1818 and became a town in 1833; however, its transition into a city did not happen until 1952. Population density of this city has been declining since 1960s up to date. It holds a population of the old and not very rich. Real estate value in this city has been increasing tremendously since 1998. Covington faces various demographic limitations, which makes it lag behind economically. However, it has remained a place of interest to investors due to its active corporate and economic life. There are a notable number of government facilities, and this is a key point to retailers and employers. Waterfront area of Covington has recently been having the highest value in real estate than before. This is because of its proximity to the urban centers and ports and their aesthetic qualities. Most of the waterfront land is habitats to different fish species and amphibians. These species receive protection from the federal and local laws. Land uses of the waterfront area have been restricted by the local government. Some parts of the waterfront are more legally restricted than other parts of the area (Jacobsen, 85). On the other hand, there is a geographic definition of the waterfront area, and acceptable uses of the surrounding area. There are shorelines that are more restricted than others are, due to their environmental effects are. City of Covington is planning to develop the waterfront area, and the proposed projects are water based or land based. There are two main proposals for possible development projects along Ohio River. There is also the third proposal that aims at building a historical hotel, with conference rooms and entertainment area. The local authorities have shown excitement in the riverfront projects since their vision for the riverfront‘s growth and development. One proposal that is likely to be approved is the construction of a massive building that will house a hotel, two restaurants, and luxury apartments. This building is estimated to have over one hundred rooms and apartments. The restaurants will be located at the rooftop and the other at the ground level. The other proposal is a two-phase development; phase one will involve rebuilding, relocating and reopening of the waterfront restaurant. Waterfront hotel stopped functioning in 2011 due to some complications. Phase two of this project includes waterfront improvements and landscaping, which will be consistent with the master plan of the city. It will also include a water based restaurant and a floating boardwalk as part of the attractions. The proposal request required that developers put into consideration the nature of the waterfront area on Covington. The city wanted a project that is water based or land based or a combination of both. Works Cited The Associates. A Report Upon Recreational Areas, Lake Forest, Illinois. St. Louis, Mo. The Associates, 1954. Print. Betchart, Will B. Delta Levees: Types, Uses, and Policy Options. S.I: s.n, 2008. Internet resource. Dawson, Miles M. Flood Control in Ohio. Columbus, 1959. Print. Hopper, Leonard J. Landscape Architectural Graphic Standards. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons, 2007. Print. Trudeau, Richard C. The Economic Impacts of Parks and Recreation. Alexandria, Va: National Recreation and Park Association, 1989. Jacobsen, Rowan. Shadows on the Gulf: A Journey Through Our Last Great Wetland. New York, N.Y: Bloomsbury USA, 2011. Print. Read More