Esri is very excited to be participating in the upcoming National Recreation and Parks Association 2024 Annual Conference (NRPA), October 8-10 in Atlanta, Georgia. Our parks and recreation experts will be in booth #1049 demonstrating how geographic information systems (GIS) can help you not only better manage your park assets and operations, but also better understand your community to ultimately better serve their recreation needs.
Our team will also be presenting a session, A Whole New Level of Smart Parks Through Geospatial Technology, on October 9 at 2:45 PM in Room B401. Join us to learn how high-performing organizations are using location as the standard analytical approach to achieve insight and make data-driven decisions. We will share real-world examples of parks and recreation agencies that are using GIS to:
- Monitor and visualize critical resources in real-time.
- Identify gaps in park accessibility and ensure equitable access.
- Optimize park operations for efficient asset management.
- Facilitate collaboration and sharing to encourage community camaraderie.
One of the first things all parks staff need to know is, who do your parks serve? Esri’s ArcGIS Business Analyst software can show you all the key demographic information you need to better understand your community. From the basics such as age, race, and income, to more details such as disabilities, spending and recreation habits, Esri provides such a wide variety of data, it helps you answer questions you didn’t even realize you needed to ask. Do you need to know how many kids are in your area? We can map that. Do you need to know how many people play pickleball? We can map that too. Or how many households don’t own a vehicle? Yep, we can map that too.
We actually have a Parks and Recreation Market Report infographic which includes much of the detailed information a parks department would want to know about the community they serve. For those of you attending NRPA, stop by our booth and we will generate a custom version of this report for your specific area. For those that won’t be able to make it to NRPA this year, feel free to reach out via the form at the bottom of our parks and recreation page and just make a note that you would like to request a complimentary custom Parks and Recreation Market Report.
To take your analysis a bit further, we have a demonstration from the Esri User Conference this past summer, that explores how ArcGIS Business Analyst can also be used to site the best location for your latest sports or recreation trend. Using data such as participation in recreation activities and the average amount people spend on recreation activities, you can easily identify the places where the opportunity is the strongest.
This is just a couple ways that GIS can help parks and recreation departments make more informed decisions. Esri has a full suite of software and solutions that can help you better serve your community’s recreation needs. Learn more and see examples of how leading organizations are using GIS to plan parks and recreation for the next generation.
