Summary: Why America Needs More City Parks

The Benefits of Parks:
Why America Needs More City Parks and Open Space
By Paul M. Sherer

Published by:

116 New Montgomery Street
Fourth Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
[phone] www.tpl.org ©2006 the Trust for Public Land - Reprint of “Parks for People” white paper, published in 2003.

Table of Contents
Forward: Will Rogers, President, Trust for Public Land

5

Executive Summary

6

America Needs More City Parks
U.S. Cities Are Park-Poor
Low-Income Neighborhoods Are Desperately Short of Park Space
Case Study: New Parks for Los Angeles
The Public Wants More Parks

8

History of America’s City Parks: Inspiration, Abandonment, Revival
The Decline of City Parks
A Revival Begins
Budget Crises Threaten
“The concept that plants have a role in mental health is well established,” according to a review of previous studies by Howard Frumkin in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. “Horticultural therapy evolved as a form of mental health treatment, based on the therapeutic effects of gardening. It is also used today in community-based programs, geriatrics programs, prisons, developmental disabilities programs, and special education.”38
Further, “research on recreational activities has shown that savanna-like settings are associated with self-reported feelings of ‘peacefulness, ' ‘tranquility, ' or ‘relaxation, '” Frumkin writes.
“Viewing such settings leads to decreased fear and anger…[and] is associated with enhanced mental alertness, attention, and cognitive performance, as measured by tasks such as proofreading and by formal psychological testing.”39
An extensive study published in 2001 in the Netherlands set out to determine the link

14
© The Trust for Public Land

between green space and health. The study overlaid two extensive databases, one with health information on more than 10,000 residents of the Netherlands, and the other a
A 1998 real estate industry report calls livability “a litmus test for determining the strength of the real estate investment market…. If people want to live in a place, companies, stores, hotels, and apartments will follow.”65
A vice president at computer giant Dell Corp. in Austin, Texas, observed, “People working in high-tech companies are used to there being a high quality of life in the metropolitan areas in which they live. When we at Dell go and recruit in those areas, we have to be able to demonstrate to them that the quality of life in Austin is at least comparable or they won’t come.”66
In Missouri and Illinois, civic leaders led by Missouri Senator John Danforth have used the upcoming 2004 bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition to launch an ambitious effort to revitalize St. Louis and the nearby region, in a program called St. Louis 2004.
Improving quality of life is a major goal, with a central emphasis on keeping well-educated young people in the region.
As a cornerstone of the plan, Missouri and Illinois are working to create the