The annual report that ranks cities based on the quality of their parks shows some cities in the Mountain West are among the best in the country while others ranked low.
Trust for Public Lands is a national nonprofit organization that advocates for outdoor spaces. It ranked 100 urban parks based on several criteria ranging from acreage, amenities and investment.
Will Klein, the organization's director of parks research, said among the most important criteria is how many city residents can access a park within a ten-minute walk. A new metric in the study this year that helps provide a snapshot of equity and for residents' access to outdoor spaces.
"About 70 of the 100 cities have less park space in lower income neighborhoods than higher income neighborhoods," said Klein. "And parks in lower income neighborhoods are half as big and serve 4-5 times more people than parks in higher income neighborhoods."
Parks ranked twice as popular as private gyms as a preference for where people go for physical activity. And the study shows that people who have access to parks tend to have better physical and mental health.
Overall, parks are a valuable investment for communities, said Klein. The study shows that for every one dollar of investment in parks; communities tripled their benefit.
"So, that's lower healthcare costs because people are healthier because they're more active. That's consumer value from people being able to use the fitness zone or the walking zone and not having to pay for a gym membership," Klein said. Increased property values and tax revenue associated with that, that can be reinvested back into communities.".
Nationwide, the study shows that 76% of urban residents live within a 10-minute walk to a park.
Among Mountain West cities, Denver ranks 11th in the country, highest on the list among Mountain West cities, because 96% of residents are able to walk to a park within ten minutes. Boise holds the number 15 spot. North Las Vegas and Henderson received above average marks. Despite large acreage, parks within the Phoenix metro area ranked low due to lower overall investment.
Investment in urban parks increased by nearly 8% after the pandemic but slowed this year to 2%, according to Klein.
"We believe everybody deserves to have access to open spaces," said Klein.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio, KJZZ in Arizona and NPR, with additional support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
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