For the past ten weeks, Dynamic Spaces has become an outdoor education platform with a focus on supporting skateparks, bike paths and open spaces. From the onset, the goal of Dynamic Spaces has been to conduct research, tell local and national stories, and share information with readers with a voice of advocacy. It is our shared belief that people will only support and protect what they understand, so we’ve worked hard to introduce you to the outdoor spaces in and around our community, and we’ve encouraged you to use them with resources, words and pictures.
We began with an initial post on the development of City Center Skatepark in downtown Eugene. This article started with a set of surprising numbers that highlight the main problem surrounding skateboard infrastructure. While the U.S. has 111,000 baseball diamonds for 16 million baseball players, there are only 2,300 skateparks for 13 million skateboarders. Local organizations, like Skaters for Eugene Skateparks, and The City of Eugene, are working hard to address this vital need by seeking public support and raising much-needed funds.
Our next post shared the excitement and controversy around the Delta Ponds bicycle and pedestrian bridge currently being built over Eugene’s Delta Highway. We also addressed the criticism that’s been voiced about past funding of similar projects. It’s true, bicycle bridges aren’t cheap, but each one is part of a safe, alternative transportation system that will continue to benefit the people of our city–and maintain Eugene’s gold level bicycle-friendly ranking by The League of American Cyclists.
We next highlighted how local businesses and outdoor activities create a heightened sense of community, drawing people with like interests together. We told the story of Paul’s Bicycle Way of Life and its sense of community outreach. Educating people about safe riding practices, encouraging people to ride, and community good will are a few of this local bike shop’s goals. Our article also showed how local organizations, like Greater Eugene Area Riders (GEARs), a local bicycle advocacy group, have formed community partnerships with Paul’s to achieve shared goals.
The next post zoomed out, and with good purpose. Not everyone realizes Eugene’s wealth of outdoor spaces, so this post compared Eugene with other cities to remind all of us how fortunate we are to live here. The article also told the story of how other cities struggle just to begin building outdoor infrastructure, while here, in Eugene, it’s been part of our development plan for several generations.
We next addressed the issues of education and accessibility by highlighting the University of Oregon (UO) Outdoor Program. This post provided you with an excellent resource for local, and state-wide, outdoor activities, helping to make it easier to do things outdoors. The UO Outdoor Program is a one-stop-shop for people looking for outdoor adventure. The post also included an informative video interview with the outdoor program’s outreach coordinator, Fred Sproat, who describes the program and shares his passion for outdoor activities.
Explaining the ecological importance of wetland habitats, our next post covered open spaces from a more serious angle. Citing research from NOAA and other agencies, we explained how wetland habitats are directly linked to the health of oceanic food chains. So, while Eugene’s local wetlands are amazing places to recreate, they are also fundamentally important for environmental balance. They host one-third of federally endangered species, filter ground water, and are wonderful places to exercise and relax. They are spaces that must be protected.
Did you know that public parks and green spaces lower the frequency of diabetes, increase test scores, reduce childhood obesity and create healthier community relationships? Our next story explained how cities outside Eugene are discovering some not-so-obvious effects of good development planning. A recent article in G Magazine explained how green neighborhoods are measuring not only increased health, but even improved cognitive functioning among the residents who live there.
Amsterdam, another bicycle-friendly city by Erin J. Kaldor
Our final post of the term went international and provided a glimpse of a city with bicycle infrastructure on steroids–Copenhagen, Denmark. While Eugeneans should be proud of their bicycle infrastructure, they may be astounded to learn that over 42% of Copenhagen’s workers commute by bicycle every day. The environmental benefits for the city are obvious, as well as the benefits of having a healthier population. This post also highlighted Boulder, Colorado’s recent victory as the happiest city in America and drew a connection between this designation and Boulder’s support of bicycle infrastructure. 10% of Boulder’s workforce commutes daily by bicycle and the city spends 19% of its transportation budget on improving bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.
So, we’ve addressed several components of our topic, but we’ve also stepped back to gain an understanding of the larger, more important questions. Do we value dynamic spaces and will we continue to value them?
In a survey we conducted, 32% of respondents said they ride a bicycle more than once per week and 90% said they enjoy using public parks. 94% said they’d support construction of a public skatepark. But, we also know that 53% of respondents were between 18 and 21, many of them students. This is important because it’s difficult to know whether or not this group will continue to support outdoor spaces when they start families and careers. They may bicycle now, but in five years, they may drive SUVs to box stores built in drained wetlands.
The point is, working, tax-paying Americans decide whether or not outdoor spaces remain valued components in our communities. And many of these working Americans are strapped with the bustle of daily life, working hard to take care of families. So, while we encourage the use and support of outdoor spaces, we must also be aware of a large demographic who do not, and may never, use dynamic spaces. It is critically important to reach this group and to teach them the benefits of vibrant outdoor spaces, even if they don’t use them.
Here’s what you can tell them:
Parks and open spaces are good for the environment, good for health, and good for community-building. More bikes mean less traffic, less pollution, and fewer potholes; and bike paths and bridges create safe and scenic connections for cyclists, school children and tourists. Skateparks give skaters much-needed turf where they can develop physically and socially and without damaging property.
Please continue to learn about, use and support outdoor spaces. Vote for measures that create and protect them. Talk to people who don’t use outdoor spaces and teach them what you know. Explain how they benefit from the existence of outdoor spaces even if they don’t use them. Visit our Media page. Watch our Get Up and Get Out! video and send it to your family and friends. Print our Learn, Locate, Live! poster and hang it up at school or work.
Dynamic spaces can’t talk, so give them voice by using your own.
Last but not least, GET UP and GET OUT!
Links
looks real nice people!!!!