Healthy Communities Assessment Tool

Park Quality evaluates how cities are meeting the need for parks based on acreage, facilities and investment, and access. Research shows that there is a positive relationship between better health outcomes and proximity to well-maintained and accessible parks and green spaces. Residents who are spatially proximate to high quality parks report higher physical activity, lower incidence of type 2 diabetes and lower body mass index. Conversely, lack of physical activity is a central risk factor for many diseases. However, park accessibility and quality are not uniform across demographic groups. Low-income neighborhoods, which can potentially benefit the most from parks and green spaces, are less likely to live proximate to quality parks, and when new parks are built near such neighborhoods, they are at increased risk of gentrification. Thus, urban planning around adding and improving parks must be conscious of amplifying the benefits, and balancing potential pitfalls. The Park Quality indicator is derived using methods from “Parkscore®,” a comprehensive rating system developed by the Trust for Public Land, to create a score for parks at the neighborhood level. Data to create the score comes from the U.S. Census, City of Birmingham Capital Budget (FY 2015, ‘16, ‘17) and the parks database, provided by the Freshwater Land Trust.