Tools for Centering Equity from NRPA

Make Equity-Based Planning Decisions and Inclusive Policies and Programs in Your Communities

A Message from Kristine Stratton, NRPA President & CEO

 

I write today with a heavy heart. During an already stressful time, the news of the past weeks is particularly disheartening. More lives have been needlessly lost due to the continued pervasiveness of racism in our society.

As you work tirelessly on how you can safely reopen your parks, open spaces, recreation centers and more, I ask that we take time to remember why we are doing this work. We are opening these spaces to provide essential services and maintain essential infrastructure to support and improve the health and well-being of every single person in our communities.

The essential services we provide have the power to bring our communities together, but only if we approach the management, care and design of these spaces with intention – making them safe and welcoming to everyone.

NRPA has produced several resources to help you make equity-based planning decisions and inclusive policies and programs in your communities. These include our resource on Creating Equity-Based System Master Plans, our Community Engagement Resource Guide, and our Parks for Inclusion resources.

Park and recreation professionals have the power to bring people together, especially as we work to safely bring people together physically in the months ahead.  Let's think about how we create space in our community for important and difficult discussions, champion equity and inclusion in everything we do, and become advocates in the fight against racism.

As always, thank you for the role you play in supporting the physical, mental, and social health of our communities. We continue to share important resources to support your work through the pandemic and beyond.

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