Parks and Recreation Collection – Narratives

This ~68-page strategy, (55 MB) published in March 2002 and prepared inhouse by officers of Toowoomba City Council, aims to improve “the equity, accessibility, convenience and safety of cycling and pedestrian travel” for residents and visitors.

Principles articulated in the report:

1. Consultation should be an open and accountable process and participation and input should be encouraged from all of the community, throughout the development and implementation of the strategy.
2. Cycling and walking* need to be recognised as integral parts of the transport system and be considered in all landuse planning and transport designs.
3. Cyclists can ride on the road or use paths (unless signed otherwise) and this choice should be supported with the appropriate combination of on-road and off-road facilities and integration into the planning and design of road networks.
4. Facilities should be designed to encourage safe and responsible sharing of pathways and roadways by accommodating the different travel speeds of users.
5. Education should form part of the provision of infrastructure to encourage people to use it appropriately and safely.
6. Partnerships with other agencies, private enterprise and community groups are required for successful implementation of this strategy.

The World Leisure Organization passed the updated Charter for Leisure in 2020. Its text reads:

Articles
1. Everyone, whether adult or child, has the right to adequate time for rest and for the pursuit of leisure activity.

2. For those engaged in remunerated work, Article 1 requires recognition of the right to reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay, as well as remuneration for public holidays. Securing these rights generally requires national/ provincial legislation.

3. Article 1 also applies to those engaged in unpaid labour, for example domestic care-givers.

4. Everyone has the right to freely participate in the cultural life of the community.

• Culture is viewed by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as including:
  ‘music and song, ceremonies, sport and games, natural and man-made environments’ and ‘the arts, customs and traditions through which individuals, groups of individuals and communities express their humanity and the meaning they give to their existence’. These activities depend on the provision of: ‘libraries, museums, theatres, cinemas and sports stadiums; literature, including folklore, and the arts in all forms; the shared open spaces essential to cultural interaction, such as parks, squares, avenues and streets; nature’s gifts, such as seas, lakes, rivers, mountains, forests and nature reserves, including the flora and fauna found there’.[i]
• Participation in social and cultural activities includes engagement as: an active participant, a learner, a spectator or audience member or an unpaid volunteer.

5. Leisure is also a medium through which other rights and related benefits set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and associated covenants can be exercised, including: the physical, mental, emotional and social development of the child through play; support for family life; personal expression and development; sustaining of cultural life of the community; and promotion of physical and mental health and well-being through sport, physical activity and cultural engagement. Conversely, denial of time for beneficial leisure activity can have serious consequences for the well-being of individuals and societies.
6. These rights should therefore be observed and supported by all of society’s institutions, including commercial organisations, education institutions, professional bodies and non-government organisations. Governments at national, regional/provincial and local levels have particular responsibilities reflecting commitments under United Nations treaties and, in some cases, provisions in national constitutions and legislation.
7. Recognising that governments at all levels are not the only providers of facilities and services for leisure and that they face many challenges and competing demands for resources, they nevertheless have particular responsibilities to:

• ensure availability and protection of land for open space for recreation in residential areas;
• ensure preservation of, and public access to, natural and culture heritage;
• ensure the provision of suitable space and facilities for children’s play;
• support provision of health-enhancing amenities, such as facilities for sport and exercise;
• support cultural institutions and activities;
• ensure that all members of the community, regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, ability or income, have access to beneficial leisure facilities and services;
• support suitable training of a technical and professional work force for the leisure/ sport/cultural service industries;
• support research on the benefits and costs of leisure activity and on the provision of leisure facilities and services;
• include recognition of leisure-related rights in relevant national/provincial legislation and regulations, including those concerned with regulation of mass communications and digital media;
• recognise, in national, regional and urban policies and plans, the contribution which leisure-related provisions can make to personal, social, cultural and economic development;
• support other human rights which facilitate the participation in the cultural life of the community, including the right to food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services and security, as set out in Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

[i] UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (2009). Guidelines on Treaty-specific Documents to be Submitted by States Parties Under Articles 16 and 17 of the ICESCR. Document E/C.12/2008/2. New York: UN, pp. 4-5.