INTRODUCTION 



By RICHARD B. WATROUS 



Secretart American Civic Association 



VERY much asleep is the city that in these days has not been 

 provided with a park of some kind. Some cities have park 

 areas thrust upon them by generous donors, most cities achieve them 

 by purchase or legal process. Some cities race for acreage and pass 

 the accepted portion of an acre of park for every hundred of popula- 

 tion, but as a rule such acreage remains but a potential municipal asset, 

 and if reduced to terms of efficiency, eliminating all but the really 

 serviceable park areas, the acreage would fall below the desired stand- 

 ard. Other cities centre their efforts on the rich embellishment of a 

 single park, which is in danger of becoming more like a wax figure 

 in a fflass case to be admired by the few than a recreational spot 

 for the many. 



But there are efficient parks, many of them, and the splendid spirit 

 that in the past has prompted the acquisition of embryonic parks is 

 now interesting itself more and more in their development to meet 

 the needs for which such areas were acquired. With the new posses- 

 sions there is becoming apparent a more painstaking study to find 

 just the park chord that responds most harmoniously to the delight 

 and benefit of the greatest number of adults and children. For the 

 youth there has sprung up the specialised park known as the play- 

 ground. How far shall the average park serve as a playground ? How 

 may the playground serve as a park? This is the sort of question that 

 enlists the thought of those seeking to encourage the setting aside 

 of areas to be devoted to recreation. Parks serve, primarily, two 

 functions — one of recreation, the other of decoration. Here again 

 arises the query, where, if any, is the dividing line between them? There 

 are countless examples of the purely decorative park that might, with- 



