How Can Social and Cultural Prescribing Be Implemented in Communities? — From Referral to Cultivation of Community Resources through Urban Parks and Universal Sports —

Abstract

This paper examines Social Prescribing and Cultural Prescribing not only as mechanisms for referring people to existing community resources, but as a question of local implementation: how can communities cultivate resources that people can actually enter, where people with different backgrounds can mix, where they can return after time away, and where participants themselves can create entry points for others? Drawing on primary records from approximately ten years of practice since 2015 combining urban parks and universal sports, the paper reanalyzes the processes of initial participation, shared activity across attributes, re-participation, changes in roles, and the generation of new pathways into participation. The analysis suggests that the mere existence of a community resource described as “open to everyone” does not necessarily lead to actual participation. People need to become aware of the activity, feel that it is relevant and safe for them, overcome barriers such as distance, mobility, and uncertainty about the setting, and then be able to participate alongside people with different backgrounds. The paper provisionally introduces the concept of “Connection Availability” to describe a condition in which the possibility of re-participating, reconnecting, or taking on a role remains available when needed, even after time away. It proposes a shift from Referral to Cultivation of community resources as an implementation perspective for Social and Cultural Prescribing. This English Version 1 is an expanded reanalysis originating from the oral presentation at the International Social Prescribing Conference 2026 (ISPC2026), held at Kyoto University on 27–28 May 2026. Keywords: Social Prescribing, Cultural Prescribing, Social Inclusion, Social Isolation, Loneliness, Universal Sports, Urban Parks, Connection Availability, Community Resources, Civil Society, Citizen Participation ContactYuichi Ayukawa, Representative Director, HARMOSEmail: yuichi.ayukawa@harmos.or.jp