May 2008

 

In This Version:

  • ICMA Survey Again Says Parks and Recreation
  • Natural Marketing Institute: 2008 Top Trends
  • More on Generation Zzzzzz
  • Getting Harder to Find: Younger Workers
  • Americans Rank Last in “Greendex”
  • Green Guilt

Staycations

What exactly is a “staycation”? It’s the latest buzz word formed by combining two words, stay and vacation. This new word reflects the impact of the downturn in the economy coupled with ever-increasing gas prices leading more Americans to stay at home or much closer to home this summer.

A USA Today/Gallop Poll presented a bar graph titled “Leisure Takes Detour” that reflected behavioral changes caused by increases in gas prices. This poll reported the following:

  • 37% of those surveyed canceled or cannot afford trip
  • 24% indicated they are taking a shorter vacation or staying closer to home
  • 20% of those surveyed stated they were cutting down on the number of trips.

(Source: USA Today, May 22, 2008)

This is likely to be both a challenge and opportunity for parks and recreation with a bit more emphasis upon opportunity. For an expanded list of those opportunities and promotional messages for use by park and recreation agencies, email Ellenosull@aol.com and request “staycation info”.

ICMA Survey Again Says Parks and Recreation

In a new survey to determine local governments’ views on promoting healthy eating and active living, the role of parks and recreation once again surfaced as being critical for addressing these issues. This second survey conducted by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) in 2007 build upon the findings from the initial survey conducted in 2004.

In 2004, ICMA surveyed municipal governments to find out their interests, needs, and programming related to active living, which referred not to exercise and fitness programs but to a way of life that incorporated physical activity into daily routines, such as walking to school or working in the garden. In that survey, city and county managers identified parks and recreation as the #1 department with greatest potential impact upon this crisis.

This new survey, Active Living Approaches by Local Government, 2007, was designed to provide a bigger picture of the obesity issue by better understanding how local government leaders view their role in promoting active living and healthy eating. This survey also attempted to learn what actions local governments have undertaken to build healthier communities, which stakeholders have been most helpful to them in this regard, and what resources they have needed to aid them in their efforts.

The top three actions that local governments indicated they could take to combat health problems related to obesity are 1) developing a cohesive system of parks and trails, 2) using zoning to support mixed land uses, and 3) requiring neighborhood streets to be designed with pedestrians and cyclists in mind.
The 2007 survey also gauged changes over the three year period and secured information about new topics not addressed in the first survey.

Additional Findings from the 2007 survey:

Local governments responding to the survey indicated that the top three actions that they could take to combat health problems related to obesity were:

  • developing a cohesive system of parks and trails (50%)
  • using zoning to support a mix of land uses (37%), and
  • requiring neighborhood streets to be designed with pedestrians and cyclists in
    mind (33%).
  • When responding to their role, virtually all the municipal officials responding said that it is important for local government to encourage and provide opportunities for residents to be physically active; 70% said it was “very important,” compared with 65% who said so in 2004.
  • 70% indicated that opportunities for physical activity were important to residents; 22% indicated that it was an emerging issue.
  • More mixed responses on the question of how important it is for local government to ensure convenient access to healthy foods through grocery stories, farmers’ markets, and community gardens were received

One of the more useful questions from the survey was the list of 18 possible actions that local governments could take to address obesity and its health related challenges. Respondents were asked to select the top 3 actions that would have the greatest impact. The top 3 cited earlier are repeated as part of this list and includes the following:

  1. Develop a cohesive system of parks and trails, incorporating accessible neighborhood parks
  2. Use zoning to support active living (mixed use)
  3. Require neighborhood streets to be designed with pedestrians and cyclists in mind (design guidelines)
  4. Support or sponsor active living programs
  5. Enact measures that ensure pedestrian and bicycle safety
  6. Support farmers’ markets
  7. Collaborate with schools to open school facilities for after-hours community use
  8. Partner with nonprofits, local businesses, and community organizations to share costs, expertise, and resources
  9. Use incentives to target growth to strategic infill locations
  10. Collaborate with school officials to address youth obesity
  11. Facilitate collaboration among governmental departments
  12. Encourage walk-to-school programs
  13. Increase measures to keep pedestrian and bicycle routes crime-free
  14. Incorporate health considerations into planning processes, such as inviting a health official to provide input
  15. Support community gardens
  16. Realign bus routes or provide other transportation to connect underserved neighborhoods with grocery stores
  17. Implement regulations or programs that encourage grocery store development in underserved neighborhoods
  18. Use revenue-raising methods (taxes, bonds, etc.) to fund public health programs/initiatives that address obesity

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Source: This article is an excerpt from Local Government Approaches to Active Living - 2007 (http://bookstore.icma.org/Local_Government_Approaches_to_P1795C29.cfm), by Christine Shenot, published in the Municipal Year Book 2008 (http://bookstore.icma.org/Municipal_Year_Book_2008_P1791C29.cfm) and is also available for download as a PDF file.

Natural Marketing Institute: 2008 Top Trends

Every year the Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) releases the Health and Wellness Trends Report™. This report links consumer behavior with the health and wellness marketplace. NMI’s Top Trends and Countertrends for 2008 include the following:

  1. The Dual Society: The idea that there is one America has evolved to a division in the country across many aspects of society such as politics, religion, environment, health, etc. The countertrend is the impetus of technology to serve as the great societal equalizer as Facebook, Linked In, Family Post, etc. will focus upon connecting people.
  2. Generation Zzzzz: This represents an over-stimulated and burned-out generation, ages 25-45 subsisting on less than 7 hours sleep per night, surviving on caffeine-packed energy drinks and sleeping pills. Health implications include an increase in domestic violence, traffic accidents, obesity and stress. The countertrend are those individual pursuing meditation, reduced schedule, and simplified lifestyle as the alternative approach. (See More on Generation Zzzzz that follows this section)
  3. Stop, I want off! People have had it with too much technology, hectic lifestyles, and drive for instant gratification. These people are shifting to a renewed focus on “quality versus quantity” as they come to recognize the real “price tag” for such a lifestyle. The countertrend is even greater drive for high end, nonstop consumerism and continuation of the 24/7 lifestyle.
  4. Dr. Me: This relates to the more independent attitude people have about health care and their ability to deal with their own symptoms, diagnosis, and cure. There are a variety of factors fueling this trend included TV and magazine advertising directly to consumers, dissatisfaction with health care, the Internet, and affordability. The countertrend does not help the health care crisis as lack of accurate information leads to increasing rates of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
  5. The Culture of Sustainability: This has become a significant movement for this century as depletion of our natural resources is not a matter of “if” but rather a matter of “when”. This will begin to permeate all aspects of society. The countertrend results in people being overwhelmed with sustainability alternatives and are unsure as to what measures to take.
  6. Golden Opportunities: The aging population is living a different type of life than their predecessors as they have greater choice and freedom. As the 80+ generation is the fastest growing demographic group in the United States the idea of how people live the golden years is changing. People work and live at home independently longer than previous groups. Countertrend Issues of loss of independence, control and even financial resources represent major changes ahead for older adults, their children, all levels of government, and society as a whole.
  7. The New Immunity: There is such an increase in allergies and weakened immune systems that seems to result from toxic home and work environments as well as changes in the food supply. Such changes drive the growth of nontoxic industries such as organic foods, air and water purity, etc. Countertrend. The continued growth of a lifestyle group not interested, aware, or concerned about such toxicity. NMI’s health attitude segment, 'Eat, Drink & Be Merrys,' would be one such example.
  8. Giving is the New Taking: The shift is on as consumers seem to prefer the emotional reward of giving rather than taking as evidenced by the growth in volunteerism, activism and participation in the nonprofit sector. Nonprofits are creating more meaningful opportunities for people and even corporations are building in time for such expressions. Countertrend This shift is just not true of everyone as numerous people continue to pursue luxury and luxury in their volunteer efforts as well.

More on Generation Zzzzzz

One of the trends cited in the previous section was Generation Zzzzzz. This trend focuses upon the continuing decline in the amount of sleep experienced by Americans as the average is now 7 hours of sleep a night; a decline of 25% since the early 90s. Prior to the invention of the light bulb, people slept on average ten hours per night.

This fixation upon sleep or lack of sleep has become a growing industry as there were 42 million prescriptions for sleeping pills written last year; nearly a 60% increase from 2000.
Why? Well, ads for sleep products is now the most common drug advertised on television and expenditures on advertising for these products was over $300 million in 2006.

How do Americans deal with this lack of sleep? The answer is drinking as Americans now consume more caffeine packed energy drinks than ever before. These energy drinks are expected to generate more revenue than soft drinks and sport drinks by the end of 2008.

This over-stimulated and burned-out generation aged 25-45 is now experiencing a wide range of health consequences. In addition, this lack of sleep is responsible for over $100 billion annually in lost productivity, sick days, and health care costs.

(Source: http://www.nmisolutions.com)

More Research on Energy Drinks

The March 2008 edition of The Journal of American College Health reported a study that linked consumption of these energy drinks to risky behavior. The article stressed that these drinks do NOT cause risk behavior, but rather they are associated with “toxic jock” syndrome, a collection or risky and aggressive behaviors such as unprotected sex, substance abuse, and violence.

(Source: New York Times, April 2008)

Getting Harder to Find: Younger Workers

What do Arizona and Nevada have that California doesn’t have? While there are a variety of responses to this question, one of the more important ones is a pool of young workers.

The news for the states in the Northeast and Midwest is not good since 20 of those states have seen declines of 5% or more in younger workers, ages 25-44 years, living in their area. The news is not as good as it could be for California as the numbers of this age group has declined by -0.4% while the percentages of this age group has increased by 17.8% and 22% in Arizona and Nevada respectively.

Despite a 7% increase in the population of the United States, the number of residents ages 25 to 44 has dropped by 1.5% since 2000. The influx of immigrants to the United States has contributed to more than half of the population growth in the last 10 years, the number of younger workers has not kept pace with the baby boomers leaving the work world.

(Source: USA Today, May 1, 2008)


New “Greendex” Survey Finds Americans Rank Last

In a new National Geographic-sponsored survey that compared environmental consumption habits in different countries, Americans ranked last. This new ranking system called ''Greendex” compares behaviors and lifestyles of consumers in 14 different countries. Americans were less likely to choose the more environmentally sound option in 3 of the 4 categories examined, housing, transportion, and consumer goods. The 4th category, food, found that Americans ranked ahead of Japan since people in Japan consume more meat and seafood than Americans.

This 100-plus question survey will be conducted annually to determine trends in behaviors and lifestyles around the environment. Scores of nations surveyed included the following:

  • India and Brazil( tied for the highest score) -- 60 points out of a hundred.
  • China 56.1
  • Mexico 54.2
  • Hungary 53.2
  • Russia 52.4
  • Great Britain 50.2
  • Germany 50.2
  • Australia 50.2
  • Spain 50.0
  • Japan 49.1
  • France 48.7
  • Canada 48.5
  • United States 44.9.

Developing countries not included in this survey would rank lower as they are more likely to consume locally produced food and more likely to get to work by foot, bike, or public transportation.
Results are based on 1,000 online respondents per country interviewed in January and February by GlobeScan, an international polling firm based in Toronto. The consumer choice rankings were adjusted for factors in which individuals have no control, such as climate and the availability of mass transit.
An abbreviated version of this survey can be found at nationalgeographic.com/greendex

(Source: U.S. consumers rank last in green habits. http.event.nationalgeorgraphic.com/
greendex)

Americans Suffering Green Guilt

Americans feel more guilty this year about their bad environmental habits than they did last year; 22% feeling guilty this year rather than the 20% registered last year. There is a difference between men and women as men felt less guilty this year and women felt more quilty this year.

Changes in behavior between 2007 and 2008 include:

  • 89% indicated they had recycled “something”
  • More people recycled cellphones and batteries: 41% said they recycled cellphones and 37% recycled rechargeable batteries, vs. 31% and 29% last year.

Children were found to be the primary motivator for people becoming greener as 17% indicated they would practice more environmentally friendly habits if they had a child.

(Source: USA Today, May 2008)

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  © California Park & Recreation Society, 2008. trendSCAN is created for CPRS by Leisure Lifestyle Consulting of Sarasota, FL. Comments and questions can be directed to Dr. Ellen O’Sullivan at leisurlife@aol.com. Please feel free to share interesting trend information with her as well.