Access to Parks*
The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute Model of Health
Use the model to explore the measures of how long and how well we live and what shapes these trends. Select a measure in the diagram or browse the list of all measures.
Measures marked with an asterisk (*) are not included in summary calculations for Population Health and Well-being or Community Conditions.
About
Percentage of the population living within a half mile of a park. The 2025 Annual Data Release used data from 2024 & 2020 for this measure.
Parks provide physical and mental health benefits and can improve the social, environmental and economic conditions of a community. Parks create spaces for people to gather, exercise or relax, and often provide green space and tree cover.1 Park amenities such as walking paths, sports fields, playgrounds and workout equipment offer opportunities for exercise. Living in a place with more parks one kilometer, or just over half a mile, from home is associated with more leisure time and moderate to vigorous physical activity.2 Physical activity and exposure to green space reduces the risk of cardiovascular and heart disease, diabetes, cancer and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.1,3 Spending time in green space can improve mental well-being and happiness, and reduce stress, anxiety and depression.1,4 Parks create space to gather and connect with community, increasing social cohesion and a sense of belonging.1,4 In urban areas, tree canopies and green spaces in parks can lessen the impact of urban heat islands, reduce stormwater runoff, and improve air quality and water filtration.1 Urban parks also provide quiet spaces for residents and decrease noise pollution.4,5
Parks are not distributed fairly among neighborhoods, cities, counties or states, nor among groups of people according to race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status.1,5 The quality and amenities of parks vary according to the racial and ethnic composition and socioeconomic status of the surrounding communities, with more access to higher quality parks in predominantly white neighborhoods and cities.5,6 Affluent cities are more likely to have the resources to secure competitive grants to build parks than lower income cities.6
The written and unwritten rules of society — including local, state and national budgets and laws — determine the quality of parks and the people who have access to them. However, people can work together to change these rules and influence funding for parks. For example, local funding can be increased with ballot initiatives which give residents the opportunity to vote to direct tax dollars towards park creation and maintenance. Another example is intentional investment in neighborhoods and cities to address harms caused by racism and segregation, harms which include denied access to high quality parks. With these actions we can create communities with equitable access to the health benefits provided by parks, where community members have a say about where parks are built and what amenities they provide.
The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute Model of Health
Use the model to explore the measures of how long and how well we live and what shapes these trends. Select a measure in the diagram or browse the list of all measures.
Measures marked with an asterisk (*) are not included in summary calculations for Population Health and Well-being or Community Conditions.
Data and methods
Search by county, state or ZIP code
Select year
Data Source
ArcGIS Online; US Census TIGER/Line Shapefiles
Multiple data files are combined in ArcGIS Pro to create this measure. The ArcGIS Living Atlas public use USA Parks data, from TomTom North America, Inc. and curated by Esri, provides boundaries of National and State parks and forests, along with County, Regional and Local parks. U.S. Census TIGER/Line Shapefiles are spatial extracts from the Census Bureau's MAF/TIGER database, containing features such as roads, railroads, rivers, as well as legal and statistical geographic areas. The 2020 Census Tabulation Block TIGER/Line Shapefiles contain 2020 census population and housing unit counts at the census block level. Technical documentation and the record layout for the 2020 Census Tabulation Block Shapefiles can be found on the U.S. Census website.
Key Measure Methods
Access to Parks is a percentage
Access to Parks measures the percentage of individuals in a county who live close to a local, state or national park. Individuals are considered to have adequate access to parks if they reside in a census block that is within a half mile of a park.
Some data are suppressed
Counties are assigned a missing value when no park locations have been identified in the USA Parks dataset. In contrast, counties are assigned a 0% when they have a park location identified but the county residents do not live in a census block within a half mile of that location.
Measure limitations
There are limitations in defining access. Even if a census block contains a park, access to that park may be made difficult by entrance location or busy streets. The distance used in this measure approximates a 5-10 minute walk to a park, but this distance may be more or less reasonable based on community walkability and other factors. Furthermore, a straight line (Euclidian) distance of half a mile was used instead of a street network distance, which would more accurately capture a half mile walk to a park along walkable streets.
Proximity is not a complete measure of accessibility. For example, user or entry fees introduce barriers to accessing parks. Also, each park provides different amenities, and some parks are not designed to be accessible for people using mobility aids such as strollers, wheelchairs or walkers.1,6 Finally, there is limited research on access to parks in rural environments and health impacts. These differences in accessibility or amenities may impact the relationship between parks and health benefits.
Numerator
The numerator is the total 2020 population living in census blocks where the border is a half mile or less from a local, state or national park.
Denominator
The denominator is the 2020 resident county population.
Can This Measure Be Used to Track Progress
This measure can be used to track progress. However, we encourage the use of local data sources to track progress. City or county park districts or planning departments may be able to help identify park locations in your community.
Finding More Data
Disaggregation means breaking data down into smaller, meaningful subgroups. Disaggregated data are often broken down by characteristics of people or where they live. Disaggregated data can reveal inequalities that are otherwise hidden. These data can be disaggregated by:
- Age
- Race
- Income
- Subcounty Area
The Trust for Public Land's ParkScore® index is the most comprehensive rating system developed to measure how well the 100 largest U.S. cities are meeting the need for parks. The Trust for Public Land also created the ParkServe ® platform which contains demographic information such as race/ethnicity, age, and income for the urban population that lives within a 10-minute walk from a park and identifies potential new park sites. NatureQuant's NatureScore® allows you to search any address and see a score that captures the amount and quality of health-supporting natural elements in that area.
References
- Cohen M, Burrowes K, Gwam P. The health benefits of parks and their economic impacts. Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute. 2022.
- Schipperijn J, Cerin E, Adams MA, et.al. Access to parks and physical activity: An eight country comparison. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening. 2017;27:253-263.
- Twohig-Bennett C, Jones A. The health benefits of the great outdoors: A systematic review and meta-analysis of greenspace exposure and health outcomes. Environmental Research. 2018;166:628-637.
- Zhang F, Qian H. A comprehensive review of the environmental benefits of urban green spaces. Environmental Research. 2024;252(2):118837.
- Winkler R, Clark J, Locke D, et.al. Unequal access to social, environmental and health amenities in US urban parks. Nature Cities. 2024;1:861-870.
- Rigolon A, Browning M, Jennings V. Inequities in the quality of urban park systems: An environmental justice investigation of cities in the United States. Landscape and Urban Planning. 2018;178:156-169.