Baldwin Park’s Efforts to Incorporate Health Into Policy

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By 2005, increased rates in childhood obesity and a lack of green space were becoming a concern for the residents of Baldwin Park (80% Latino). The city seemed to lack parks and places of recreation, so the community came together to develop a Parks and Recreation Master Plan. One strategy mentioned in the plan was the shared use of land between schools and the city, as a cost effective method to increase active spaces.

When Parks and Rec. officials learned of a community development grant which could provide funding for shared use projects, they entered discussions with Baldwin Park Unified School District (BUSD), to see about developing a shared use agreement, to keep school property open during after-school hours.

Plans for the 2010 shared use agreement were approved by the City of Baldwin Park and BUSD; however, the city was not awarded the community development grant, so the shared use agreement was no longer enacted.

Despite the disappointment of not seeing this policy pass, the process of getting a shared use agreement has already been initiated, bringing the city one step closer to seeing shared use become a reality in Baldwin Park. Additionally, the City of Baldwin Park has continued to expand recreational opportunities for Latinos by implementing the city’s action plan to get kids moving and by partnering with KaBoom!, a national non-profit, whose mission is to bring playgrounds to underserved areas. The city has also found success with enacting an award winning Complete Streets policy, and citywide initiatives to increase physical activity.

Documents Related to Shared Use & Policies to Prevent Obesity in Baldwin Park

Executive Summary of Baldwin Park’s Comprehensive Park and Recreation Master Plan

This plan was created in the fall of 2005 in order to guide the City of Baldwin Park through the process of developing more recreational opportunities for its citizens. Page 3 of the document specifies that formalized joint use agreements should be established between the City of Baldwin Park and the Baldwin Park Unified School District. The final page of this document displays a map of proposed sites for 5 school parks. In this map Olive Junior High, Charles Bursch Elementary School, Pleasant View Elementary School, Charles D Jones Junior High, and Tracy Elementary School are the 5 sites that have been identified as places for possible joint use agreements.

Healthy Eating, Active Communities (HEAC): Making Changes to Neighborhood Environments to Increase Access to Healthy Foods and Physical Activity

The Healthy Eating Active Communities (HEAC) program, founded in 2005, helped engage the Baldwin Park Community in efforts to create a Parks Master Plan for the city. As part of the development process residents were asked to conduct park audits and assessments of street walkability. Youth also participated in the development of the plan by using Photovoice as a tool to track park utilization. The community’s findings were presented before local policy makers and soon afterwards city officials worked on creating a shared use agreement between the City of Baldwin Park and the Baldwin Park Unified School District (BPUSD).

Agenda Report on the Joint Use Agreement Between the City of Baldwin Park and BPUSD

In this staff report we read about concerns that one of the City Council members had with some of the terms specified in the 2007 shared use agreement proposed between the City of Baldwin Park and the Baldwin Park Unified School District (BPUSD). After having examined the agreement, the City Attorney recommended that one section of the contract be amended. After this change was made, the City Council approved the agreement.

Shared Use Agreement For Use of Shared Facilities, Baldwin Park

This 2010 shared use agreement specifies that the City of Baldwin Park will enter into a shared use agreement with the BPUSD, in order to share recreational facilities at Olive Middle School. The agreement also discusses grants that will be used to construct a gymnasium, running track and additional park amenities at Olive Middle School. Upon the completion of this project the newly constructed facilities will be available to the Baldwin Park community during after school hours. The terms of the agreement state that shared use of these facilities will be in place for the next 30 years.

Linking Efforts: Innovative Partnerships to Innovative Partnerships to Advance Policy Making Advance Policy Making

This slideshow presentation discusses healthy policy changes in Baldwin Park and describes the demographics of residents living there. According to the data presented here, 80.1% of the population is Latino, and 29.9% of the population is under the age of 18. A bar chart indicates that students in the 9th grade had a 27% prevalence of obesity. Now the City of Baldwin Park has incorporated health as a pillar in their areas for policy adoption.

“Baldwin Park Selected as Playful City USA Third Year In a Row”

According to this article in 2011 KABOOM!, a national non-profit organization that builds playgrounds, designated the city of Baldwin Park as a Playful City USA. Helen Hernandez, a program supervisor at the Baldwin Teen Center, describes her experience in helping create the city’s action plan for getting children to use parks and playgrounds. As a result of being recognized as a Playful City USA, Baldwin Park will now have the opportunity to apply for grants which could bring more parks and playgrounds to the community.