An Analysis of the City Recreation Program of Houston, Texas

The Playground, almost unknown at the beginning of the century, has become widely recognized as an essential community feature. Educators, judges, church leaders and high government officials testify to the value of playgrounds and their contribution to city, town and village life. The expenditures of funds for acquiring, equipping and conducting playgrounds have been justified on the basis of contributing to the fun, safety, health and character of the children. These are among the chief benefits which persons using the playgrounds receive from them, and they may be expected from every well-developed playground, conducted under competent leadership. Public recreation agencies today are striving to broaden their programs, but are, in some instances, handicapped because of small operating budgets and, as in the case of Houston, Texas, difficulty in securing necessary materials for building facilities. The problem involved in this manuscript is to make an analysis of the City Recreation program of Houston, Texas. A lead-up to the program and its analysis will first be dealt with. The program itself will be covered in the latter part of this thesis. In compiling material for this thesis, books, bulletins, periodicals, personal observations and interviews were used. This thesis is confined to the metropolitan area of Houston, Texas, with limited reference made to other areas