A new tool for assessing the quality of the park systems in America's cities was unveiled this week by The Trust for Public Land. Ryan Donahue delivers the rankings.
Calling it "the most comprehensive park rating system ever developed," The Trust for Public Land's ParkScore aims to "help city residents quantify their need for more and better parks, and
for city governments to craft effective and efficient plans to create
excellent park systems."
Developed using advanced GIS analysis and data collected by the Center for City Park Excellence, ParkScore assessed the park systems of the nation's forty biggest cities based on three primary factors: Acreage (median park size and percentage of city covered by parkland), Access (percentage of residents living within a half-mile walk of the nearest park), and Service & Investment (total spending per resident and playgrounds per 10,000 residents).
San Francisco came out on top in the inagural rankings, with Sacramento and New York filling out the top three. The lowest scoring cities are Fresno, Charlotte, and Louisville.
FULL STORY: What is Your City’s ParkScore?
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