Results:

• Only 25% of children lived in communities with formal shared use agreements, and children were more than twice as likely to live in communities with shared use addressed in long-range plans (65%).
• Children were least likely to live in communities that identified shared use partnerships with community recreation leagues (2%), park districts (2%), before and after school programs (1%), or YMCA programs (1%).
• Children in rural areas and in low-income communities were less likely than children in suburban/urban areas or mid/high-income communities to live in areas with formal shared use agreements or general or specific shared use policies in long-range plans.
• Children in majority Hispanic neighborhoods were more likely to live in areas with formal shared use agreements than children in majority White neighborhoods (62% vs. 17%).

Methods:

• This brief analyzed shared use agreements collected from 2010-2012 in 468 communities representing 900 jurisdictions and planning documents collected from 2010-2011 in 308 communities representing 600 jurisdictions. These communities comprised a nationally representative sample of public middle and high school enrollment areas. Partners with schools in shared use agreements for recreational purposes included park districts/departments, YMCA programs, after school programs, community recreational leagues or groups, or local government.

Thrun E, Chriqui JF, Slater SJ, Chaloupka FJ. (2016). Disparities in Shared Use Agreements, Policies, and Plans. [Research Brief.] Chicago, IL: Bridging the Gap Program, Health Policy Center, Institute for Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago.