Weekend Reads | Using Parks to Promote Public Health

by Kevin Schofield

This weekend's read is a pair of reports from the Trust for Public Land related to city parks. The first is its annual "ParkScore" ranking of 100 cities' park systems; the second looks at the impact of parks on public health and proposes that we change the way we build and manage parks to better support health outcomes.

Seattle does well in its park system rankings, coming in 8th overall. We rank highly on the level of dollar investment in parks and on access to those parks. However, we don't fare nearly as well when looking at acreage per capita, and on the amenities provided at parks.

As the second report details, cities with a high score for their parks tend to have lower percentages of their populations who report poor mental health or low levels of physical activity. That alone doesn't tell us much, because we don't know in which direction the causality runs: Do parks make people healthier, or do healthier people demand better park systems? But the rest of the report dives into independent research studies that link various aspects of parks with specific health outcomes.

The report cites third-party research showing that "close-to-home" parks are associated with lower obesity and improved health, but only when those parks include amenities that support physical activity. That means physical facilities, such as walking loops, playground equipment, sport courts, and skate parks; but it also means staff-led programming, such as fitness, yoga, and meditation classes, as well as sports leagues.

The report also discusses how exposure to nature has been shown to lead to lower incidences of depression and anxiety, though the reasons for this connection are not well understood. The park and mental health connection was particularly noticeable during the COVID-19 pandemic.

And the report also points to research showing that parks and open spaces play a critical role in mitigating climate change impacts, in particular the "heat island" effect in cities. They note that research shows neighborhoods within a 10-minute walk of a park are up to 6 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than urban neighborhoods that don't have a nearby park. And there are several health implications for rising temperatures, such as increased heat exhaustion and increased spread of communicable diseases.

The data also shows there are critical equity issues. Across the country, neighborhoods that are primarily occupied by People of Color and low-income neighborhoods have on average 43% less park space — though in Seattle, the numbers run a bit differently: Residents in neighborhoods of color have 5% more park acreage than white neighborhoods, and low-income neighborhoods have 36% less park acreage. Curiously, according to the report, parks generally aren't associated with gentrification, except for greenways with walking and cycling trails.

The report makes several recommendations, derived from three core principles: Ensure that everyone has access to parks and natural areas where they feel welcome; make parks as health-promoting as possible; and "bring on the partnerships!" Most of its recommendations involve investing in amenities, and specifically those amenities (both physical and programming) closely tied to better health outcomes and increased physical activity. It also recommends removing access fees and making free programming available to residents as part of a partnership with organizations offering fitness memberships. It argues strongly that investments in park systems should be made using a mindset that sees them as public health investments, rather than simply community resources.

Seattle has some work to do: Its mediocre-at-best score of 46 points (out of 100) on amenities reflected a relatively high score for dog parks (75), an OK score for restrooms (63), and poor performance on basketball hoops (30), playgrounds (29), and senior/rec centers (32). That said, the Trust for Public Land also has some work to do: Its amenities score is very limited and doesn't yet reflect many of the kinds of health-improving amenities that its own report calls for, such as walking and cycling trails, sports courts, skate parks, climbing boulders, and "fitness zones."

The COVID-19 pandemic turned out to be a critical moment in which many of us saw our local parks in a new light as we sought solace from lockdowns, loneliness, and our own anxieties. While we are lucky to have a strong city park system here in Seattle, these reports suggest it was just the start in a larger change to what we expect from our parks — and the kinds of investments we make in the name of public health.

The Power of Parks to Promote Public Health
The Trust for Public Land ParkScore ranking

Featured image by Ritu Manoj Jethani/Shutterstock.com.