72 PARKS 



millions more living in the open country tributary to these communities 

 are without public recreation facilities. This presents a problem in rural 

 planning that as yet has not been touched by modern planning movements 

 to any appreciable degree. 



No doubt general statistics of this kind do not give a true picture of 

 the actual outdoor recreational resources of this large group of incorporated 

 communities nor of the open country surrounding them. In the first place 

 the open country is in itself a recreational resource of fundamental impor- 

 tance and none of the inhabitants of these communities are far removed 

 from it. Secondly, many of the communities that have no park properties, 

 strictly speaking, have large school grounds or have private properties that 

 are used recreationally. A goodly number are within reach of properties 

 provided by the Federal Government, the states, counties and in some 

 instances within reach of properties provided by cities. 



After making every allowance possible, however, the barrenness of the 

 recreational resources of the fifty millions or more of the people living in 

 the rural districts of the nation is a fact that has been emphasized from 

 the days of Roosevelt's Country Life Commission to the present time. 



The basic reasons for parks and other recreation areas in relation to 

 village life and rural life are found in various urges for expression that are 

 common to all people whether living in villages or in cities. The urge of 

 children to play is as strong in the village as in the city; the desire of young 

 people to participate in music, dramatics and social activities is as keen. 

 And so through the entire range of interests there is even greater need in 

 the village for the proper tools and leadership than there is in the larger 

 centers of population. 



While the lack of leadership is perhaps the most fundamental problem 

 in recreational needs of the village community, this discussion is concerned 

 only with the material factors of the problem. The following tentative sug- 

 gestions for physical provisions for recreation are offered as being more' or 

 less applicable to the majority of the village communities in this group size. 



1. At least one children's playground as a rule on a school site - 

 of a gross minimum size of from three to five acres. 



2. One larger space ranging from five to ten acres for the sports and 

 games of older boys and girls and adults. In the very small villages this 

 might be combined with a children's playground, and where there is a high 

 school or consolidated school, this area should be the school site, and, if 

 possible, as large as ten acres. 



3. One small park located near the economic center of the village and 

 the surrounding country. This should be approximately one block in size 

 or perhaps larger than two or three acres. The courthouse square in county 



