How Philly’s Public Green Space Measures Up Nationally

Do you live near green space? If so, you’re in good company: 95% of Philly residents live within a 10-minute walk of a public park, according to an analysis by the Trust for Public Land.

The nonprofit annually ranks the nation’s 100 largest cities according to their “ParkScore” index — a metric that considers park acreage, access, and amenities in each city, as well as how fairly that green space is distributed and how much money is invested in maintaining it.

This year, Philly scored a 57.5/100, meaning our parks rank 32nd-best in the country by this metric. Several of our Northeast peers managed to beat us out, including Washington, D.C. (no. 1), New York City (no. 12), Boston (no. 14), and Pittsburgh (no. 17).

Philly parks’ top strength was — by far — access. In cities and towns across the country, about 55% of residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park. Here, though, that number is much higher (95%), including for low-income households (95%) and Philadelphians of color (94%).

There are some equity concerns, though: While the vast majority of residents can walk to some kind of park, there are disparities in how extensive those options are. Lower-income neighborhoods have 45% less green space nearby than higher-income areas do, and majority Asian and Latino neighborhoods also tend to have access to less park space.

When it comes to amenities, Philly parks score around average, but there’s a lot of variation. For example, we’ve got a lot of splash pads (107) and recreation and senior centers (165), but not so many dog parks (eight).

Where Philly lost a lot of points was in the investment category. Public and private organizations combined spent around $86 per person on our city’s parks, when you average it out over the past three years. Among the 99 other U.S. cities that were ranked, the average spend was $124 per person.

What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of Philly parks? Does Philly invest enough in its parks? Feel free to send an email with your thoughts!