The Value of Arts and Parks

Written by Mayor Harvey L. Hall

Why are some cities more attractive to new residents and businesses? Is it because they have fancy slogans? Slick marketing campaigns? Lower taxes?

Much has been written on why people and firms choose the cities they do. While there are different thoughts on what approach may be more effective, the research in the field can be traced back to Charles Tiebout. In 1956, Mr. Tiebout theorized that people and firms “vote with their feet.” That means that consumers, whether they are residents or firms, can choose where they want to live.

Because people are different, they will have different ideas of what they think is important in a city. Those with children, for example, may be very interested in the quality of schools. Those interested in outdoor activities may focus on places with varied recreational opportunities. Retired people may find the existence of public transportation, medical facilities, and travel opportunities to be important.

Regardless of what type of businesses exist in a city, they will not be able to attract new workers, or keep existing workers, if the workers will not live there, which brings us to how cities can compete for those workers.

Everyone likes to live in a nice place. Bakersfield continues to work hard to make this city one in which everyone can take pride. One such effort is our embracing of the arts. Our burgeoning Arts District has sky-rocketed, with new galleries opening and the popular First Friday event attracting thousands of people to our central city on a regular basis.

We are seeing an increase in public art around Bakersfield. There also is a greater focus on our galleries and museums and the wonderful work they do to bring the arts into our lives, often into the lives of those who need them most but often have the least access to them.

In addition to the arts, Bakersfield has a tremendous parks system. In 2011, Bakersfield opened four new parks: Greystone Park, Uplands of the Kern River Park, Mesa Marin Sports Complex, and Phase I of Bakersfield Sports Village (see the special story on the Bakersfield Recreation and Parks Department on page 56 for more exciting details). This brings the total number of Bakersfield city parks to 53. Each one is different, but all provide open space and variety of features for nearby residents. Parks enhance property values which, in turn, provide more revenue to local government to provide more services.

To show just how much some people want a park in their neighborhood, look no further than the recent opening of Greystone Park. According to newspaper stories, the residents nearby could not wait for the park to open and the official opening was a crowded affair, as neighbors were finally able to take advantage of the park they had watched being developed.

Our sports parks, like Mesa Marin and Sports Village, attract sporting events. Mesa Marin, for example, is located on 15 acres and includes four lighted softball fields. These fields provide Bakersfield with a distinct competitive advantage when trying to attract sporting events. Those events attract athletes whose stay in hotel rooms and spend money. What many may not know is that youth sporting events attract more people and bring in more spending. Why? Because not only do youth athletes come to town, they also bring their parents and often other family members, meaning more visitors to Bakersfield and more visitor spending.

Sporting events, like people and firms, vote with their feet, and organizers of these events go through a complex decision making process to select the cities that will host them. While the specifics of a sports venue are important, the host city also needs to be able to provide amenities and activities for the athletes and their families for the times they are not on the field. Bakersfield’s tag line “More to Explore” captures our ability to do just that.

As Mayor, I am always proud to say that one of Bakersfield’s best assets is its people. Yet I am also proud to point to our many amenities, like our local arts scene and our vibrant parks, that make our community special. After all, as California’s ninth largest city, there must be reasons why so many people have voted with their feet to call Bakersfield “home.”

Article appeared in our 28-4 Issue - October 2011