1. Power, Promise, Potential,
C H A P T E R 1
Power, Promise, Potential,
and Possibilities
of Parks, Recreation,
and Leisure
Ellen O’Sullivan
Chapter 1 Power, Promise, Potential, and Possibilities of Parks, Recreation, and Leisure

2. Welcome to Exploring Play, Parks, Recreation, and Leisure
And how it might relate to you personally or professionally

3. Depth and Breadth of the Parks and Recreation Field
Activities and pursuits are everywhere, touching the lives of everyone:
24 hours a day
7 days a week
52 weeks a year
Inclusive of all people
At all points on the globe
An ever growing economic force
An aspect of life that is central to human existence

4. Parks, Recreation, and Leisure: Everywhere, Everyone, All the Time
Leisure takes place in cities and towns, small villages, the countryside, and large urban centers.
Leisure experiences occur both inside buildings and outdoors or sometimes both.
Leisure can be found in all the places and spaces in which people gather to play, enjoy, and relax.

5. It’s for Everyone
Leisure touches the lives of everyone: all ages, life stages, cultures, social classes, and genders.
Recall personal experiences or observations of others and identify the people participating. What is your memory of those involved?

6. Examples of All the Time
Ski areas open at first light.
Health clubs open at 4:30 a.m.
Heavily industrialized communities offer adult leagues and activities to accommodate the traditional three shifts of factory work.
The city of Las Vegas offers unusual times for programs and activities because many residents work shifts in the casinos, which operate 24/7.
YMCAs and community centers offer sleepovers for children while providing respite for parents.
Midnight basketball puts recreation on the 24- hour timetable.

7. Parks and Recreation: It Makes Up Most of Our Time
Consider the following:
Approximately eight hours of every day is spent sleeping.
Work, school, and related activities such as chores and errands or homework might consume eight hours per day.
Taking into account individual variations, leisure time could amount to more than one- third of a person’s life.

8. Play, Recreation, Leisure, and Flow
Interchangeable terms or not?

9. Terms Are Related but Differ From One Another
Play is a spontaneous experience undertaken voluntarily in which the rewards are intrinsic.
Recreation refers to activity undertaken for amusement, enjoyment, distraction, or restoration.
Leisure can be defined as any of the following: unobligated time, state of being, or consumption patterns.
Flow is a state of being in which the person is fully engaged in an activity that results in feelings of energy, focus, and success that often turn out to be the optimal life experiences for that person.

10. Values and Benefits of Parks, Recreation, and Leisure
Three Types of Benefits
Improved condition
Prevention of a worse condition
Realization of a psychological experience
(Driver, 1998)

11. Benefits Described
Improved condition. In the case that a human, natural, or economic factor is not functioning at full capacity or is functioning in a deleterious manner, the benefit of recreation is to ameliorate this condition.
Prevention of a worse condition. Not every instance of poor performance or threatening conditions can be improved. The value of parks and recreation is to stem further erosion or deterioration of a human, natural, or economic condition.
(continued)

12. Benefits Described (continued)
Realization of a psychological experience. Leisure pursuits that people select for the intrinsic values afforded through the experience. Benefits such as stress reduction, sense of control, and spirituality are examples.

13. Four Categories of Benefits
Benefits can be segmented into four categories:
Individual—opportunities for living, learning, and leading full and productive lives as well as avenues for people to experience purpose, pleasure, health, and well-being
Social—opportunities to live and interact with friends, families, work or school groups, neighbors, communities, and the world
(continued)

14. Four Categories of Benefits (continued)
3. Environmental—sustaining human life and protecting the ecosystem through the preservation and protection of open space
4. Economic—enhancing the viability of people and places by serving as an investment in the future, rather than a mere expenditure in the present

15. Trends in Play, Parks, and Recreation
Trend is a general change or changes that are general in nature and have overriding implications.

16. Changes Leading to Trends
Patterns and shifts related to economic, sociodemographic, technological, and other societal changes

17. Potential Trend Example
More people working at home or unemployed (economic)
More people living longer and living alone in isolation (science and sociodemographics)
Growing reliance and preference for use of technology to communicate (technology)
Overarching trend: the need for more incentives and activities to encourage physical activity and social interaction

18. Why Parks and Recreation as a Professional Career Choice?
Personal growth
Empowerment
Sense of purpose
Resourcefulness on the part of the professionals in that field

19. Qualities and Characteristics of the Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Profession
Variety of settings
Avoidance of burnout
Less formal settings
Creativity in approaches
Continual changes
Early career responsibilities
Resourcefulness

20. Making a Difference
In the life of one person or even a group of people
By contributing to the vitality and viability of a community
By protecting nature and preserving cultural and historic sites

21. Unique Qualities of Parks and Recreation
People are empowered to choose voluntarily how they will use their own unobligated time.
Fun is fundamental to attracting people to activities and options that are intrinsically valuable to individuals, friends, families, neighborhoods, communities, and society.

22. Focus of Remaining Chapters
To provide a comprehensive view of recreation and leisure and its history, concepts, and delivery systems
To offer information about career choices in recreation and leisure
To introduce students to professors and professionals in U.S. and Canadian recreation and leisure whose careers and passions are in various areas of the profession