If you mean city parks, they were developed to give children things to do. Most of the cities in America, at the time, were very crowded and the children were subjected to crime and vice. The park system was developed to give the children a place to get away from this. Oddly enough, the developers envisioned children being willing to do organized exercises with adult supervision, swing sets and whatnot came much later. The original planners of the city parks system would be shocked at what is done in most city parks today.
