The impact of revitalized urban and rural recreation infrastructure on usage levels: evidence from a longitudinal quasi-experimental study in Alberta, Canada

INTRODUCTION: Few studies have analyzed the impact of public investments in indoor and outdoor recreational spaces, and even fewer have assessed this impact longitudinally. This hinders informed decision-making about returns on investments made with limited public budgets. We assessed the impact of a 2008 municipal plan to revitalize existing urban and rural public indoor facilities and outdoor spaces by evaluating changes in usage levels before and after implementation of Phase 1 (2009-2013) of the revitalization plan. METHODS: A quasi-experimental study involving a telephone survey of 750 participants was conducted before and after Phase 1. A region with similar demographics and public recreational indoor and outdoor infrastructure was used for comparison. RESULTS: Our analysis found no changes in usage of recreational venues over time whether indoor (e.g. multipurpose recreational facilities, community halls) or outdoor (e.g. golf courses, off-leash dog parks, multiuse trails), in either the intervention or comparison region. Only one rural multipurpose indoor recreational facility showed a statistically significant increase in usage during Phase 1. CONCLUSION: Strategies targeting only physical infrastructure may not result in increased usage across a municipal population. To address existing inequities in access to publicly funded community resources that support health, both the built and social environments must be considered.