I think about community development in terms of three discrete, but interwoven domains: people, places, and the requisite resources to support their interweaving. When leveraged effectively, something greater than the sum of the parts is possible. Not long after I began working in Recreation 20 years ago, I found my new profession offered a privileged position from which to work on these things.

Recreation’s benefits to individual health and wellness are well-documented. Less explicit are the ways Recreation builds communities, both in terms of facilitating interrelationships between community members and organizations as well as contributing to the economic vitality of a specific place. As I think about the future of the City of Eugene Recreation Division within a historical moment characterized by socio-political fragmentation, a palpable shift to virtually mediated living and working where evidence for multiple and at times conflicting “truths” are readily accessible, shared experience becomes fundamental to a thriving community. It is here where I see the opportunity for Recreation Services to deepen our impact in Eugene.

Community Centers as neighborhood hubs: Public space is one of the most important assets a community has and stewarding those spaces is one of Recreation Services’ most consequential activities. Populating our centers with high-quality, compelling programming regularly cross-referenced with local population shifts and community wants/needs will continue in our facilities, though with renewed focus on data-informed decision making. Furthermore, while we will always maintain our Community Centers as locations for our own internal programming, expanding access to our facilities for community members and/or community-based organizations for their own programs and activities will be a priority moving forward.

Expansion of Outdoor Recreation: We all know how lucky we are to live in the Willamette Valley and our proximity to sublime outdoor experiences. Recreation Services is blessed to have a dedicated crew of outdoor recreation professionals who make exploring our natural environment more accessible to our community. With the pressures to virtualize our experiences coming from all angles, connecting to our natural environment reminds us that we are embodied beings embedded in what must be a sustainable ecosystem. We know that as the earlier people developed a harmonious relationship with the natural world, the more committed they became to preserving it. Easing entry into outdoor recreation, through our own programming and in partnership with private sector and non-profit organizations, is one of our key priorities.

Placemaking. We all know Eugene is a special place with admirable access to recreational activities and cultural events. For those of us who have been here for a while, we have carved out our own paths for nourishment. I think about ways to encourage those individual paths to converge toward shared experiences through community events. Continuing to support familiar events like the We Are Bethel Celebration and the Willamette River Festival will continue to be important to Recreation. Looking for new and evocative ways to surface the delightfully creative spirit of Eugene are goals I have for the division—Run For Your Life costumed Halloween 5K, anyone? Occasions like these bring people into shared experiences through which we can all celebrate what it means to live in Eugene and marvel at the diverse histories that have brought 180,000 or so of us to this particular place at this particular time.

Placemaking isn’t just for our local residents, however. Our unique character, geography, and facilities can also serve as a beacon regionally. Amenities like our park system, our river access, and the in-development Golden Gardens sports complex and Suzanne Arlie bike park invite visitors to our city. These visitors, in turn, are additive to the local community, diversifying who we encounter and supporting local commerce.

So…. As I think about Recreation Services for the City of Eugene, mindful of the changes coursing through our community and society writ large, developing expanded opportunities for shared experiences that build relationships between us people and this place is foremost in my mind. I am further convinced that the exuberance so generated will beckon visitors to come and explore what Eugene has to offer. Perhaps they will stay, perhaps they will simply have a lovely meal, raft down the river and have a chat with someone they meet on the street. Whatever the case, they have deposited a new energy into our ecosystem, and it is likely that we all benefit.

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Peter Chavannes
Recreation Services Director
City of Eugene