Story at a glance
- Washington D.C. is the best city in the country for parks, according to a new report from the Trust for Public Land.
- 99 percent of D.C. residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park, the report found.
- Other top-ranking cities include St. Paul, Minn., Arlington, Va. and Cincinnati, Ohio.
Washington D.C. is the best city in the nation for parks, according to a new ranking from the Trust for Public Land.
The national nonprofit recently released a report on how the 100 biggest U.S. cities are meeting the nation’s need for parks.
In the report, each city is ranked based on its ParkScore, or the combination of points earned based on five categories: park access, acreage, investment, amenities, and equity.
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The nation’s capital earned the number one spot on the list in part due because of how easily accessible parks are—99 percent of Washington D.C. residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park.
Out of the nation’s 100 most populated cities, the median percentage of the population that lives within a 10-minute walk of a park is 74.
This easy access to parks is nearly the same for all Washington D.C. residents regardless of age, income and race, the report found.
But residents in D.C. neighborhoods of color have 52 percent more park space per person than the average neighborhood and 13 percent more than white neighborhoods, the report also found.
Here are the top 10 cities for public parks:
- Washington D.C.
- St. Paul, Minn.
- Minneapolis, Minn.
- Irvine, Calif.
- Arlington, Va.
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- San Francisco, Calif.
- Seattle, Wash.
- Portland, Ore.
- New York, NY
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