Effect of parks
By: J. David Chapman/May 10, 2018
My family moved from a large suburban home on 1 acre of land near Lake Arcadia to a very urban home, smack dab in the middle of downtown Edmond. It’s a very urban setting in the middle of a suburban city. I host European visitors and they once asked why people in Oklahoma thought they had to own their own park – a sentiment to our large lots and yards attached to our homes.
I wondered if our family would miss the land. Julie and I raised two children and had a 1-acre estate for almost 20 years, then traded it for a home on a 30’ x 140’ lot in downtown Edmond. As our family becomes more urban, so has America and so has Oklahoma.
Although I do not buy into the demise-of-the-suburbs theories, it is obvious that more Oklahomans are moving to the urban metropolitan areas in and around Tulsa and Oklahoma City. As this transformation in our way of living continues, the need for more open spaces, green spaces and parks will be vital. This transformation is making citizens more reliant upon municipalities to provide recreational places in urban environments.
This helps explain why Oklahoma City is spending $132 million building a state-of-the-art urban park. The Scissortail Park is in the heart of the city and consists of a 40-acre upper section and a 30-acre lower section connected by the SkyDance Bridge, which spans Interstate 40.
Parks are a way the built environment can improve residents’ quality of life; we call them a positive externality. This park is considered a community park by size and function. Other types are neighborhood, special-use and pocket parks. As you might expect, research shows that well-designed parks provide increases in property values. This benefit is maximized for those within walking distance of the park, but not adjacent to it or subject to the possible nuisance created by active recreational activities. Research also shows that a park poorly suited to a community’s needs or poorly maintained will not produce a large positive effect.
We don’t miss our land. Edmond and OKC have committed significant resources to public parks and recreation. Not only do I not have to maintain the assets, we have met some pretty neat people in those public areas.
Dr. J. David Chapman is an associate professor of finance and real estate at the University of Central Oklahoma (jchapman7@uco.edu).