CHAPTER II 

 GENERAL PLANNING OF A PARK SYSTEM 



Park planning in the general sense of setting aside areas for recrea- 

 tion in communities has been going on to a more or less intensive degree 

 in American municipalities for the past seventy-five years, and for a much 

 shorter period of time in some counties. Out of this experience it is now 

 possible to distinguish several different types of properties, each type 

 designed to meet some major need of the people or special groups of the 

 people. Likewise certain principles have been evolved as to the gross 

 amount of recreation area any given community should have and as to the 

 distribution and size of certain types of recreation areas, although these 

 principles are not yet fixed upon an absolutely scientific basis. Further 

 developments in the future may show the need of other types of open 

 spaces not yet existing in any community park system. Future experi- 

 ences and study in planning will, without doubt, result in a more certain 

 establishment of the principles involved. 



SECTION I. UNIT ELEMENTS OF A PARK SYSTEM 



Among the various types of park and recreation areas actually in use 

 in American communities it is possible to distinguish the following more 

 or less clearly: 



I. Children's Playgrounds. These are of two types as follows: 



1. Playgrounds for children of kindergarten age and under. 



2. Playgrounds for children from five to fourteen years of age. 

 II. Neighborhood Play field Areas or Neighborhood Play field-Parks. 



III. Miscellaneous Types of Active Recreation Areas. 



1. Bathing Beaches on river, lake or ocean. 



2. Golf Courses. 



3. Athletic Fields and Stadiums. 



4. Municipal Camp Sites. 



IV. Areas in Which Landscaping is a Predominating Characteristic. 



1. Ovals, triangles, circles and other areas of very small 



dimensions. 



2. "Intown" Park Areas or Neighborhood Parks. 



3. The Large Park Areas. 



4. The Reservation or Forest Park. 

 V. Boulevards and Parkways. 



