84 PARKS 



acres; five properties of the neighborhood park class, 1.5, 1.6, 1.6, 2, and 



2.8 acres, respectively; two small triangles and a parked site of a municipal 

 auditorium complete the present layout of the system. Other public prop- 

 erties possessing to some extent a parklike character include a courthouse 

 square of one acre and a water department property of 30 acres. 



In addition to the park properties and other public properties of a 

 parklike character there are u school sites comprising 10.9 acres, of which 



7.9 acres are free play space. This would appear to be inadequate provision 

 for the outdoor play of the school children. This inadequacy is remedied 

 in some instances by use of neighborhood squares adjacent to schools. 



Private properties of a recreational character include a country club 

 of 83 acres and several commercial recreation centers of which the area of 

 the properties was not reported. 



Among other cities in this group especially worthy of note are Boulder, 

 Colorado, with 16 properties totaling 6,000.66 acres; Casper, Wyoming, 

 with 9 properties and 780.25 acres; Burlington, Iowa, with 529.75 acres in 

 7 properties; Ithaca, New York, with 12 properties totaling 340.5 acres. 

 It is often true that many cities with less acreage than those specifically 

 mentioned may be equally efficiently or even better provided with outdoor 

 recreation resources because their properties may have been better selected 

 from the viewpoint of functional uses and more advantageously distributed. 

 A large gross acreage does not always mean efficient park planning. The 

 use of areas for outdoor recreation not comprised in the actual park systems 

 is another noteworthy feature of the recreational resources of many of 

 these communities, a condition which appears as well in connection with 

 communities in all the different population groups. Thus Vicksburg, Missis- 

 sippi, which has 219 acres in 9 park properties, municipally owned, is almost 

 surrounded by the National Military Park of 1,322 acres, beside having 

 a courthouse park, a fairground of 75 acres and a country club. Other 

 instances of such additional recreational resources have been cited in pre- 

 vious examples given. A considerable number of cities in this group have 

 had the foresight to have definite plans made for their park and recreation 

 systems by skilled city and park planners, a step that is strongly recom- 

 mended to all others that have not done so. 



Group V. Cities Having a Population of from 25,000 to 50,000. 



In 1920 there were 143 such urban communities, with a total popula- 

 tion of 5,075,041, or 4.8 per cent of the total population of the country. 

 In 1910 the total population of this group represented 4.4 per cent of the 

 total population of the nation. Reports were received from 134 of the 143 



