We’ve written a great deal recently about the ways cities can engage more thoroughly with their residents, and as a result, garner higher levels of trust. One possibility that hadn’t come up in our reporting was developing better parks.

Yet, according to the Center for Active Design,  “living within a 10-minute walk of a park is positively and significantly associated with higher levels of civic trust and appreciation.”

 With that in mind, the findings from the Trust for Public Land’s 13th annual release of the ParkScore index, on May 22, was of great interest. The Index is an annual ranking of park systems across the 100 largest U.S. cities, based on metrics like access, equity, public investment, acreage, and amenities.

The top twelve cities in these latest rankings were (in this order): Washington D.C., Minneapolis, St. Paul, Irvine (CA), Arlington (VA), Seattle, San Francisco,  Cincinnati, Portland (OR), Chicago, St. Petersburg (FL) and New York.

According to a Trust for Public Land release, “The ParkScore index reported significant increases in park investment for 2023. Across all ParkScore cities, average park spending per resident increased to $124, up from last year’s $108 and reaching a ParkScore-era high. ParkScore reports investment per resident as a three-year moving average, so totals for 2023 are based on 2021-2023 city budgets.

“Trust for Public Land attributes the increased investment to heightened awareness among policymakers and local residents about the many ways parks serve as vital community infrastructure, especially during emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic. Local governments are also taking advantage of federal stimulus funding to launch major park projects.”

In addition to the rankings, the Trust published a new report, titled The Power of Parks to Strengthen Community.  A few of its most interesting findings included the following (quoted verbatim from the report): 

• “Residents of cities with the highest ParkScore® rankings are more socially connected and engaged with their neighbors than residents who live in cities with lower-ranking park systems.” 

• “In the top 25 ParkScore cities, there were on average 26 percent more social connections between low- and high-income individuals (“cross-group” relationships) than in lower-ranked cities.

• “Also in those cities, people were 60 percent more likely to volunteer than those living in lower-ranked cities.”

• “About two-thirds of ParkScore cities are investing in community engagement by compensating residents for their input or hiring full-time community engagement staff.” 

• “Park leaders are also hiring and training community organizers to create programs for green spaces to encourage social connection.”

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