Green Cities: The Best City Park Systems In America

By Mark Johanson | May 23 2012 11:06 AM

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No. 2 Sacramento

Score: 73.5 Park Acreage: 5,069 acres Largest Park: American River Parkway at 1,746 acres Most Visited Park: Old Sacramento State Historic Park

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No. 3 Boston (tie)

Score: 72.5 Park Acreage: 4,897 acres Largest Park: Stony Brook Reservation at 567 acres Most Visited Park: Boston Common

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Massive quake hits Iran, a day before Yalda

A massive earthquake measuring 6.5 magnitude on Richter scale hit Hosseinabad village of Fahraj township in Kerman province at 22:12 local time on Monday night, killing at least seven people and injuring hundreds.

The epicenter of the earthquake was traced to the ancient city of Bam, 680 miles southeast of Tehran. The quake was felt in the town of Rigan in neighboring Sistan-Baluchistan province. In a 2003 quake, 26,000 people were killed in the city of Bam.

Javad Kamali, Deputy Governor of Kerman said, “Presently the entire phone lines in the quake-hit region are severed and our only connection channel with there is the wireless network of the military and disciplinary forces there,” reported IRNA.

While Kamali said no reports were received on the human losses of the quake, neighboring town Rigan's governor Mohammad Barzang said the relief teams have pulled out two dead bodies and three injured individuals from under the debris of the quake.”

The quake jolted the country a day before Yalda, the longest night of the year when Iranians celebrate throughout the night with families and friends, usually visiting parental homes.

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No. 6 Portland, Oregon

Score: 69 Park Acreage: 13,864 acres Largest Park: Forest Park at 5,157 acres Most Visited Park: N.A.

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No. 7 Virginia Beach

Score: 68.5 Park Acreage: 33,677 acres Largest Park: False Cape State Park and Natural Area Preserve at 3,572 acres Most Visited Park: First Landing State Park

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No. 8 San Diego

Score: 67.5 Park Acreage: 47,383 acres Largest Park: Mission Trail at 5,840 acres Most Visited Park: Mission Bay Park

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No. 9 Seattle

Score: 66.5 Park Acreage: 5,476 acres Largest Park: Discovery Park at 534 acres Most Visited Park: Green Lake Park

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No. 10 Philadelphia

Score: 66 Park Acreage: 10,886 acres Largest Park: Fairmount Park-Wissahickon Valley at 4,167 acres Most Visited Park: Fairmount Park

How green is your city? The Trust for Public Land, a national land conservation nonprofit founded in 1972, recently analyzed the 40 largest U.S. cities using mapping technology and demographic data to determine how well each metropolis is meeting the need for parkland.

The Trust's ParkScores are based equally on three factors: park access (which measures the percentage of residents living within a 10-minute walk of a park), park size/acreage (which is based on a city's median park size and the percentage of total city area dedicated to parks), and services and investment (which combines the number of playgrounds per 10,000 residents and per capita park spending). The scores were then reviewed separately by local park system leaders to ensure accuracy.

ParkScore was designed to help local communities improve their park systems and identify what areas need new parks the most.

You can't have a great city without a great park system, said Christopher Kay, chief operating officer of The Trust for Public Land. Studies show that parks help children and adults get the exercise they need to stay healthy, generate hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity, and help bring neighbors together. The Trust for Public Land hopes that ParkScore inspires cities to focus on parks, and we're eager to work with municipal leaders and volunteers to help them build the best park systems imaginable.

No city in the inaugural review garnered a perfect score, and Kay said every city could improve.

It's critical to act now, he said. A concerted effort to improve local park systems not only means a better ParkScore, but also a healthier, more beautiful, and more vibrant city. That's something all city leaders should strive for.

TPL's ParkScore website uses advanced GIS (geographic information system) computer mapping technology to created digital maps evaluating the 40 largest U.S. cities' parks.

At the bottom of the list were:

No. 31 Tucson (tie); No. 31 Memphis (tie); No. 33 Oklahoma City; No. 34 Jacksonville; No. 35 San Antonio; No. 36 Indianapolis (tie); No. 36 Mesa, Arizona (tie); No. 38 Louisville; No. 39 Charlotte; No. 40 Fresno.

Other cities offered their residents a wide array of public parks. Press Start for a look at the top 10 cities in the Trust for Public Land survey.