The City of Angels' park score? Let’s just say it’s no walk in the park. According to a new report by the Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit organization that makes it their mission to connect people to the outdoors, Los Angeles plummeted to the 90th spot out of 100 major metropolitan areas throughout the U.S. for its park system. This is as astonishing stat, given that Los Angeles netted the 49th spot on the very same ranking just five years prior. What has changed so much in the city to necessitate such poor marks?
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Well, firstly, let's get into the report's methodology: Trust for Public Land looks at five important categories in determining which cities come out on top and which fall short: equity, access, investment, amenities, and acreage. The ranking for each city, including Los Angeles, is determined by comparison to all of the other 100 major metropolitan areas, considering the park system’s features. This national Park Score index is published each year, hopefully sparking not only dialogue, but also an action plan for leaders to achieve more resources for improving a city’s park systems.
Washington D.C. earned the number one spot and it’s easy to see why—99-percent of residents live near a green space and over 21-percent of public land is used for parks. Other cities earning a top spot in all of the five categories include: Minneapolis, Minnesota; Cincinnati, Ohio; St. Paul, Minnesota; and the nearby Irvine, California.
Los Angeles could, in fact, take a page out of San Francisco’s play book—its northern sibling earned a sixth-place spot, edging out L.A. in all five categories. (Fun fact: 100-percent of residents in The Golden City live within a ten-minute walk to a park.)
While Los Angeles scored above average on acreage (or the city’s overall land dedicated to parkland) and average for access to green spaces, the investment score was low. “In Los Angeles, a total of $111 per capita is spent each year on publicly accessible parks and recreation, below average for this category,” the report says. Los Angeles also scored below average for amenities and equity, which indicates "the fairness in the distribution of parks and park space between neighborhoods by race and income”—in L.A., residents living in lower-income neighborhoods have access to 79-percent less nearby park space than those in higher income neighborhoods, while people of color had 33-percent less park space per person than their white counterparts.
Silver lining: The Trust for Public Land report also highlights the areas in Los Angeles that could use the most help. The mapping platform helps leaders determine where to pinpoint their efforts to make the greatest gains because everyone deserves access to the outdoors, regardless of race, income or location.