GENERAL MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY PARK PLANNING 77 



quately provided with park areas. Eliminating Chico, California, which by 

 reason of its extraordinary park area (2,400 acres) is not typical of the 

 most representative cities, the 28 municipalities with a total population 

 (1920) of 188,782 had a total park area of 3,238.69 acres. The ratio of 

 total park area to total population of the 28 cities was one acre to every 

 58 inhabitants. The total number of individual park properties was 128, 

 or an average of a little more than 4 per city. In addition to their park 

 areas the 29 cities had 621.3 acres in 139 school sites. 



AN EXAMPLE IN DETAIL OF THE PROVISIONS FOR OUTDOOR RECREATION AREAS 



MADE BY A SMALL CITY 



CEDAR FALLS, IOWA. Other Public Properties: One State Normal School 



Population, 1920, approximately 6,350. Estimated with a campus of 80 acres, 40 acres of which are devoted 



population, 1926, was approximately 6,800. Area of to outdoor games and sports. This is used by the local 



the city 3.25 square miles or 2,080 acres. schools as well as by the students of the college. The 



Parks: Three small intown parks ranging from 1.033 college also has a nine-hole golf course, comprising 48 



acres to 2.066 acres, or one being a half block and two acres, used by general public. 



an entire block each. Two large parks totaling 184 Properties Privately Controlled but Used by the Public: 



acres, one being 90 acres and the other 94 acres. Eight- One fair ground of 50 acres. In addition to other struc- 



een blocks of center parking in streets. The 94-acre tures on this property there is a dance pavilion in which 



park provides a swimming beach and bathhouse, picnic dancing is conducted three times a week under the 



grounds, horseshoe courts and tennis courts both lighted auspices of the Chamber of Commerce. This hall is 



for evening play. The go-acre park contains one nine- also rented to organized groups for social affairs. One 



hole golf course, football and baseball field, two fine park of 40 acres owned by a church organization, unde- 



double clay tennis courts. Total acreage 190 acres or nominational. The park contains a pavilion seating 



one acre to every thirty-three persons. 4,000, many cottages, dining hall, kitchen, etc. The 



Public School Grounds: Four public schools with a park is used for religious gatherings of many kinds, 



total of 9.35 acres in school sites or an average of approx- picnicking, Chautauquas and lectures, 

 imately 2.34 acres per school. 



Group IV. Incorporated Places of from 10,000 to 25,000 Inhabitants. 



The number of such cities in 1920 was 459, including a total population 

 of 6,942,742, or 6.5 per cent of the total population of the nation. In 1910 

 the population of this group represented 6.0 per cent of the total popula- 

 tion of the United States. 



Of the 459 communities in this group, reports were received of 385, or 

 83.8 per cent of the total number of communities. Of these 385 commu- 

 nities, 346, or approximately 90 per cent, were reported as having parks, 

 while 39, or approximately 10 per cent, had no parks. 



The gross park area of the 346 communities reported as having parks 

 was 33,589 acres, or an average of 97.3 acres per community. Taking 17,500 

 as a population average for communities of this group in connection with 

 the average of 97.3 acres of park properties per community, the approxi- 

 mate average ratio of park acreage to population would be one acre to every 

 1 80 inhabitants. 



Fifty-one communities have been selected as representative of this 



