The history of urban recreation need assessment in the United States is both short and spasmodic. This is due in part, of course, to the relatively new phenomenon of urbanization in this country. As cities grew and their attendant problems began to emerge, a fundamental philosophical question surfaced for those concerned with [city] recreation and open space. From the time of the transition from the philanthropic provision of recreation for the underprivileged to the municipally provided recreation services for all, the voter has been a powerful determinant of the need for recreation and its primary grass-roots spokesman. Several pertinent generalizations emerge from a review of recent studies of local referendum elections. Standards—commonly based upon population density—provide the basic measure for the equality technique to determine local recreation needs. The recreation movement was born in the era of reformers and child savers who believed in close supervision of an adolescent’s recreation and leisure.