Advocacy is the act or process of supporting/defending a cause or a proposal. It’s also something we do every day, even in its simplest format, when we try to convince our families of a fun weekend activity, or our friends to go to this restaurant, movie, or concert. If you are targeting the right audience, with the right facts, then you have the power to advocate for public services, active infrastructure, and the important role that public recreation spaces play in overall Community Vitality.
The right audience can vary depending on the project you are advocating for. It may be people within your neighborhood, private or public agencies, government representatives, or a combination of groups. If you’re reading this, we know you have the passion to advocate for healthy spaces for people. In order to help community-based organizations and public agencies with the tools, research, and potential outcomes that a variety of projects can offer, CORE has created a suite of resources to help you gain the necessary knowledge, elevate your voice, and take advocacy efforts to new levels. These advocacy-focused publications, on a wide range of topics, can help support short- and long-term goals, and back them with research to craft meaningful data stories that help make your case.
Build Community support with this:Playful Placemaking
Using social science to engage communities, Playful Placemaking utilizes play to offer a podium for community input that works for every voice. Through the power of play, communities can reveal what is in their hearts and step into that power of helping realize their needs alongside their design team.
Advocate for play with this: Words on Play & The Science of Play
Take for example, the idea of building a family-focused play area in an under-resourced neighborhood. The publication Words on Play can provide a myriad of scholarly data on how play benefits people, as shared from scholars who approach the topic from their specific discipline, learning, health, obesity reduction, nature immersion, etc. Then, with Dr Stuart Brown’s The Science of Play, you can add more info on how play develops life skills, is important through life, and can contribute to healthy active aging.
Promote the benefits of swimming with this:Water Immersion Works
Maybe you’re trying to advocate for programming at your local pool? The publication Water Immersion Works offers research summaries from leading health scholars on the benefit of water immersion, from a variety of lenses, to help you make the case for the benefits of water and aquatic programming.
Expand your scope with this:CORE Resource Library
Our Resource Library
offers a wealth of complimentary planning and advocacy resources to provide you with scholarly research that enables you to advocate with authority and make your case across a variety of mutual topics and goals.
