The end of the Covid19 pandemic has left behind a B.C community increasingly less inclined to take part in physical activity. 46% of Vancouver’s population is inactive today, and the concentration of the most inactive people lie in the lowest-income groups. There are a variety of reasons for this tendency, including recreational access costs, low self-esteem and uncertainty of navigation of a gym, lack of time or motivation, transport restrictions and lack of information surrounding available programs and general benefits to exercise incorporation in our lives.

The Vancouver Board of Parks & Recreation introduced the Leisure Access Program (LAP) to give Vancouver residents access to basic recreation programs. To qualify for LAP, individuals must show proof of their low-income status. Our community partners are concerned that the application process may pose an additional barrier to utilizing LAP.

In our research, we identified four main barriers that prevent low-income individuals from accessing recreation and physical activity: economic accessibility, informational accessibility, geographic accessibility, and social capital.

Our findings suggest that interventions should reach beyond the realm of economic accessibility – making the pass cheaper – and should address other barriers preventing individuals, especially those who identify as low-income, from accessing recreation centers and physical activity. We make the following recommendations: the creation of an entirely subsidized program, through the acquisition of grants, such that self-reporting is unnecessary; increase the availability of programs and activities; building trust between the facility staff and the community to accumulate social capital; actively spread information about interventions, such as the LAP, through an increased social media presence and/or an outreach coordinator.

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