Urban Revitalization and Livable Communities Act (URLC) H.R. 3734 Presented By: Stacey Pine and Joel Pannell National Recreation and Park Association

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Urban Revitalization and Livable
Communities Act (URLC)H.R. 3734Presented By
Stacey Pine and Joel PannellNational Recreation
and Park Association
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Todays Presentation

• History of Funding for Urban Parks
• Need For New Legislation
• Components of the URLC
• Current Status
• Needed Congressional Action

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History Funding For Urban Parks

• Urban Park and Recreation Recovery (UPARR)
  Program established 1978
• Success from 1978-2002
• - Provided approximately 272 million in
  funding
• - Funded approximately 1,500 projects in 380
  localities in 43 states
• For a list of eligible cities and counties under
  UPARR visit http//www.nps.gov/ncrc/programs/uprr
  /eligibility.html
• For a list of funded projects visit
  http//www.nps.gov/ncrc/programs/uprr/funded_city
  .html

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History Funding For Urban Parks
UPARR appropriations for grants
Fiscal Year Amount ( in millions)
1979 19.2
1980 62.2
1981 62.4
1982 7.6
1983 40
1984 6.7
1985-1990 -0-
1991 19.9
1992 4.9
1993 -0-
1994 5
1995 7.5
2000 2.0
2001 28.9
2002 28.9
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Need For New Legislation

• UPARR eligibility based on 1970 census
• UPARR not seen as effective program need for
  quantifiable results
• Appropriations decided by Dept. of Interior
  Appropriations subcommittee

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Need For New Legislation

• 80 of the U.S. population now lives in urban
  areas
• Many urban areas are faced with deteriorating
  infrastructure
• No dedicated funding source for parks and
  recreation infrastructure/programs

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Components of the URLC

• Focuses on revitalizing urban areas through the
  development and rehabilitation of park and
  recreation (indoor and outdoor) infrastructure
  and programs.
• Administered through the Dept. of Housing and
  Urban Development (HUD)
• Authorizes 445 million annually
• Eligibility updated after every census
• Matching grant program

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Four types of grants within URLC

• Rehabilitation Grants-Used for capital
  improvements. Funding for rebuilding,
  remodeling, and/or expanding existing
  recreational areas and facilities.
• - Can also be used to develop or build new
  recreational areas and facilities.
• Innovation Grants-The intent of Innovation
  grants is to test new ideas, concepts and
  approaches aimed at improving facility design,
  operations or programming in the delivery of
  neighborhood recreation services. -Linking
  recreation services with other critical community
  programs such as transportation, housing, and
  health programs.- Funds personnel, facilities,
  equipment and supplies (not part of routine
  operation or maintenance)

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Four types of grants within URLC

• At-Risk Youth Recreation Grants- Grants for new
  programs and existing programs that provide
  alternative activities to youth at-risk of
  engaging in criminal behavior.
• Recovery Action Program Grants- Funding for the
  development of community action plans to
  revitalize parks and recreational resources and
  facilities

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Current Status of URLC

• 114 Co-sponsors(to see if your Representative is
  a co-sponsor visit http//thomas.loc.gov,
  select bill number and enter HR 3734)
• Assigned to two committees in the House-
  Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and
  Community Opportunity
• - Education and Labor Subcommittee on Healthy
  Families and Communities

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Congressional Action

• Secure additional co-sponsors
• Ask members of the Financial Services and
  Education and Labor Committees to bring the bill
  forward for action
• Find a Senate Champion to introduce a companion
  bill

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Urban Parks and Recreation Build Healthy,
Livable Communities!!

• The Quick Economics of Urban Parks
•  
• Urban parks and recreation agencies create jobs
  and a skilled workforce
•  
• Studies show that 20 jobs are created for every
  1 million invested in parks and recreation
  construction
• Park and recreation agencies employee youth in a
  variety of jobs ranging from camp counselors to
  life guards and maintenance staff. These jobs
  introduce youth to real-life work experience
• Urban park and recreation agencies often provide
  job training programs for youth and adults that
  create a skilled workforce.
•  
• Urban parks and recreation facilities provide
  increased opportunity for physical activity.
•  
• A study by the CDC found that the creation of or
  enhanced access to places for physical activity
  led to a 25.6 percent increase in the percentage
  of people exercising on three or more days a week
•  
• According to the Trust for Public Land (TPL), for
  the largest 85 cities in the country with a total
  population of 57.2 million, the health savings
  from parks is an estimated 3.08 billion.

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• Green space, trees and vegetation in urban parks
  save our environment by minimizing storm water
  runoff and air pollution.
• A 2007 study conducted in Philadelphia shows that
  parks reduced storm water runoff in the city by
  75. By not having to treat storm water, the
  savings due to park runoff reductions was
  5,948,613. Similarly, Philadelphia saved
  1,534,000 due to air pollution mitigation.
• Parks spur economic development by attracting
  homebuyers and boosting residential property
  values
• More than 30 studies have shown that parks
  increase nearby residential property values up to
  15.
• In a downturn economy, more people are looking to
  their communities for close-to-home recreation
  opportunities
• Usage of urban parks far exceeds that that of the
  national parksthe most popular major parks, such
  as Lincoln Park in Chicago receive upwards of 20
  million users each year, and New York's Central
  Park gets about 25 million visits annually - more
  than five times the number of visits to the Grand
  Canyon.

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Contact Information

• Stacey L. PineChief Government Affairs Officer
• spine_at_nrpa.org
• Joel PannellAdvocacy and Outreach Coordinator
• jpannell_at_nrpa.org