The Trust for Public Land has published the most recent version of its annual ranking of parks and open space. A new twist for 2021includes a new metric to consider equity.
The Trust for Public Land this week published the 2021 ParkScore Index, ranking Washington, D.C. at the top of the list that compares park systems in the 100 most populated cities in the United States.
The ParkScore Index measures park systems across five categories: access, investment, amenities, acreage, and—new for 2021—equity.
"Beyond the ranking of 100 cities, the data behind the ParkScore index also reveals park access levels for nearly every city and town in the United States," according to the Trust for Public Land's website for the 2021 ParkScore Index. The tool is designed to provide communities with information to help close the park equity gap, according to the Trust for Public Land.
Following D.C. in this year's top five on the index are 2) St. Paul, Minnesota; 3) Minneapolis, Minnesota; 4) Arlington, Virginia; and 5) Chicago, Illinois.
Minneapolis topped the 2020 list. Local news coverage in Cincinnati examined that city's fall from fifth to eighth on the list.
FULL STORY: 2021 ParkScore Index
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