The Trust for Public Land gave the Big Apple 4.5 out of 5 “park benches” in its annual ParkScore index. Although New York came in behind Minneapolis, the nonprofit gave the city high marks for the parks’ proximity to residents and for overall investment in its public spaces.
The trust used three factors to determine its score: the percentage of residents living within a 10-minute walk from the park, median park size and the amount spent on park creation and maintenance.
New York scored high in the first category, since 97% of residents live within a 10-minute walk from a green space. The city also did well with spending, $170 per resident.
However, it didn’t measure up when it came to park size. The median acreage for a city park is 1.1 acres, well below the national ParkScore average of 6 acres, and the nonprofit said that was a major factor in the second place listing.