Access to Parks and Green Space
Parks are a tangible reflection of the quality of life in a community. According to the National Recreation and Parks Association, parks bring economic value to a community by raising local property values. The presence of parks also provides environment and health benefits, including improved water and air quality and an increased the likelihood that members of a community will exercise. Socially, parks serve as a gathering place for people and families of all ages and income brackets to enjoy.
The Los Angeles Park Shortage
Each year, the Trust for Public Land gives the 100 largest cities in the U.S. a “park score” based on park acres, facilities and investment, and resident access to local parks. (Learn more about the index here.) Cities like Minneapolis, MN; St. Paul, MN; and San Francisco, CA top the list with park scores of more than 80 out of a possible 100 points. Comparatively, Los Angeles has a park score of just 41, ranking 74th out of 100 cities.
According to the County Department of Parks and Recreation, Los Angeles has a median of 3.3 acres of park space per 1,000 people, well below the median of 6.8 acres per 1,000 people in other high-density U.S. cities. Across the county, 41 of the 262 neighborhoods have less than 1 acre of park space per 1,000 people.
Park access varies across neighborhoods in Los Angeles County as well as within them. Long Beach, a city with a population of over 471,000 people, ranks considerably better than the City of Los Angeles in the Trust for Public Land's park scores at 24th out of 100 cities. Despite this high ranking, park access varies significantly within the City of Long Beach. The map below shows park access by census tract within Long Beach, providing a visual representation of the discrepancies within the city. Hover over a census tract to see its acres of parks per 1,000 people and median household income.
Parks Across the Income Distribution
Neighborhoods with less than 1
acre of parks per 1,000 people are spread relatively evenly across the county’s
income distribution, with about half of such neighborhoods having a higher than
average median household income and the other half having a lower than average
median household income. However, in wealthier neighborhoods that lack parks,
such as Beverlywood or Carthay, residential properties are often larger and
have spacious yards, providing more opportunities for neighborhood recreation,
exercise, and socializing. By contrast, a lack of parks in higher density,
lower income areas like Koreatown and Harvard Park often translates to
residents lacking any access to outdoor recreation opportunities.
In light of these differences,
health differs largely across incomes in “park-deficient” neighborhoods. In neighborhoods
with median incomes below the county average, asthma-related ER visits are 58%
higher than in park-deficient neighborhoods with incomes above the county
average. Furthermore, only 48% of 5th
graders were considered in good health in the lower income group compared to
64% in the higher income group.
Parks and Community Health
Investing in future parks for
Los Angeles has important health implications for its residents. Parks are critical spaces to engage in
outdoor physical activity, and the mild climate in Los Angeles gives residents
the opportunity to visit parks and engage in outdoor activities all year. The
CDC reports that regular physical activity
is one of the most important aspects of maintaining health and can reduce the
risk of diseases like cardiovascular disease, depression, obesity, and even
some types of cancer. The health benefits of park-related exercise also extend
to children and teenagers. A study conducted on over 3,000
individuals in Southern California over an 8-year span found that children who
lived closer to parks had significantly lower rates of obesity at age 18 than
those who did not. Access to recreational programs was also shown to have a
significant impact on reducing obesity.
According to a report by the Los Angeles County
Department of Public Health, parks have also been shown to improve public
health through violence-reduction. The
“Parks After Dark” program, which took place in over 20 parks across the county
in 2016, provides youth and adult programming at parks on evenings during the
summer. Several cities in the county have taken up similar initiatives and
documented reduced violence in surrounding neighborhoods, improved relations
between law enforcement officers and the community, and increased perceptions
of safety.
Improving Park Access Today
Several organizations are currently working to
address the lack of parks and green space in Los Angeles. In May of 2016, the Los Angeles County
Department of Parks and Recreation released a Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Needs Assessment
that documents existing parks and recreation facilities and determines the
scope, scale and location of park need in the county. This report represents an
unprecedented effort by a public agency to address the park shortage in the Los
Angeles area.
Additionally, LA2050, which
is a community-guided initiative driving and tracking progress toward a shared
vision for the future of Los Angeles, has outlined five ambitious goals for the
region, including making LA the best place to play. As part of the "play" goal,
LA2050’s vision is that "every neighborhood will provide its residents with
vibrant parks and open space by 2050." The initiative is tracking a number of
metrics to evaluate the region’s progress toward that goal, including: number of residents with easy access to a
“vibrant” park, number of parks with
intergenerational play opportunities, and access to open space and park facilities. LA2050 has invested in
creative solutions to address access to parks and open space, including funding
LA Open Acres, a platform mapping vacant lots that could be converted into
neighborhood parks, and People for Parks.
People for Parks is an innovative organization unlocking schoolyards on the weekends to create Community School Parks (CSP) for local families and children to enjoy. People for Parks has operated a total of 11 parks across a variety of neighborhoods, and is currently operating two parks in the Historic South Central neighborhood and one in Koreatown.
The organization not only opens schoolyards on weekends, but also arranges for a LAUSD after-school enrichment officer to lead kids in creative programming for four hours every Saturday. Children participate in free play, inter-generational play, sports, dance, exercise, arts and crafts and environmental stewardship. Popular activities include street hockey, basketball, and gardening. This program-focused approach to park access provides a fundamental service for high-density, low-income communities that may lack access to parks, or that may have parks that are perceived as unsafe. When it comes to parks access, organizations like People for Parks recognize that it is not just a question of whether or not a resident has a local park to walk to. More broadly, it’s also a question of whether or not children, families, senior citizens and other residents feel safe and welcome in the space.
Organizations like
LA2050 and People for Parks are spearheading important initiatives to increase
access to parks in Los Angeles County. But our region must invest more
resources to ensure that all Angelenos have access to a safe and accessible
park to play, relax, and connect with their families and community. Our health
– and happiness – depend on it.
Sources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Physical Activity and Health." 13 Feb. 2018.
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Parks and Public Health in Los Angeles County: A Cities and Communities Report." May 2016.
National Recreation and Parks Association. "Why Parks and Recreation are Essential Public Services." Jan. 2010.
The Trust for Public Land. "2016 City Park Facts." 2016.
Wolch, Jennifer et al. "Childhood obesity and proximity to urban parks and recreational resources: A longitudinal cohort study." Health & Place, vol. 17, no. 1, 2011, pp. 207-14.