Access to Parks and Open Space

The Access to Parks and Open Space indicator measures the percentage of a neighborhood’s population within a half mile (10 minute walk) of a park. Evidence suggests that built environments such as sidewalks, parks, trails, and neighborhood safety are associated with increased physical activity, and several studies have noted that high-quality built environments are associated with increased physical activity and lower obesity rates while insufficient or low-quality built environments are linked to inadequate levels of PA and increased obesity rates. Studies also find links between increased time outdoors and decreased attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. Trees and green space in parks also help mitigate negative climate issues by lowering air temperature, improving air quality by removing pollutants, and absorbing and cleaning water run-off from impervious surfaces. Found in the Natural Areas domain, the Access to Parks and Open Space indicator is also relevant to the Economic Health, Social Cohesion, Health Systems and Public Safety, Environmental Hazards, and Neighborhood Characteristics domains. Data for the Access to Parks and Open Space indicator is derived from the City of Birmingham parks database and U.S. Census.

Neighborhoodsort ascending Indicator Value Rank
Zion City 97.3% 44
Wylam 74.4% 74
Woodlawn 79.1% 71
Woodland Park 88.3% 59
West Goldwire 100.0% 1
West End Manor 91.5% 52
West Brownville 100.0% 1
Wahouma 99.1% 36
Tuxedo 100.0% 1
Thomas 99.8% 34
Tarpley City 100.0% 1
Sun Valley 0.0% 95
Spring Lake 60.6% 79
Southside 100.0% 1
South Woodlawn 73.6% 76
South Titusville 89.2% 56
South Pratt 100.0% 1
South East Lake 82.9% 68
Smithfield Estates 50.8% 88
Smithfield 99.0% 38
Sherman Heights 59.0% 80
Sandusky 58.9% 81
Roosevelt 100.0% 1
Roebuck Springs 100.0% 1
Roebuck 84.7% 66
Rising - West Princeton 100.0% 1
Riley 77.7% 72
Redmont Park 100.0% 1
Powderly 88.3% 59
Pine Knoll Vista 100.0% 1
Penfield Park 58.3% 82
Oxmoor 90.8% 54
Overton 56.0% 86
Oakwood Place 87.6% 63
Oak Ridge Park 34.3% 92
Oak Ridge 100.0% 1
Norwood 100.0% 1
North Titusville 74.2% 75
North Pratt 75.5% 73
North East Lake 95.4% 48
North Birmingham 48.3% 89
North Avondale 88.3% 59
Mason City 91.2% 53
Maple Grove 100.0% 1
Liberty Highlands 31.0% 93
Kingston 98.3% 42
Killough Springs 90.3% 55
Jones Valley 87.7% 62
Inglenook 58.2% 83
Industrial Center 100.0% 1
Huffman 56.8% 84
Hooper City 87.5% 64
Hillman Park 100.0% 1
Hillman 100.0% 1
Highland Park 100.0% 1
Harriman Park 98.4% 40
Green Acres 100.0% 1
Graymont 100.0% 1
Grasselli Heights 100.0% 1
Glen Iris 80.3% 70
Germania Park 82.4% 69
Gate City 100.0% 1
Garden Highlands 100.0% 1
Fountain Heights 99.1% 36
Forest Park 99.5% 35
Five Points South 100.0% 1
Fairview 93.8% 49
Fairmont 83.4% 67
Evergreen 72.1% 77
Ensley Highlands 96.3% 45
Ensley 98.8% 39
Enon Ridge 98.4% 40
Echo Highlands 38.8% 91
Eastwood 100.0% 1
East Thomas 95.6% 47
East Lake 86.4% 65
East Brownville 100.0% 1
East Birmingham 100.0% 1
East Avondale 92.5% 51
Druid Hills 96.2% 46
Dolomite 27.1% 94
Crestwood South 56.2% 85
Crestwood North 89.1% 57
Crestline 70.1% 78
Collegeville 89.0% 58
College Hills 100.0% 1
Central Pratt 100.0% 1
Central Park 100.0% 1
Central City 100.0% 1
Bush Hills 54.2% 87
Brummitt Heights 100.0% 1
Brownsville Heights 0.0% 95
Brown Springs 97.5% 43
Bridlewood 0.0% 95
Belview Heights 46.9% 90
Arlington - West End 100.0% 1
Apple Valley 0.0% 95
Airport Highlands 0.0% 95
Acipco-Finley 93.5% 50

Key Citations:
1. Bowler DE, Buyung-Ali LM, Knight TM, Pullin AS. (2010) A systematic review of evidence for the added benefits to health of exposure to natural environments. BMC Public Health. 2010 Aug 4;10:456. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20684754.
2. Grant RH, Heisler GM, Gao W. (2002) Estimation of pedestrian level UV exposure under trees. Photochem Photobiol. 2002 Apr; 75(4):369-76. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12003126
3. Kuo FE, Taylor AF. (2004) A potential natural treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: evidence from a national study. Am J Public Health. 2004 Sep ;94(9):1580-6. Available at: http://www.niu.edu/~carter/courses/526/articles/Kuo_and_Taylor.pdf
4. TPL (2013). Economic and Health Benefits. Trust for Public Land. Accessed April 2013. Available at: Effects of Parks on Health: http://www.tpl.org/research/parks/economic-health-benefits.html.
5. Goldsby TU, George BJ, Yeager VA, Sen BP, Ferdinand A, Sims DM, Manzella B,Cockrell Skinner A, Allison DB, Menachemi N. Urban Park Development and Pediatric Obesity Rates: A Quasi-Experiment Using Electronic Health Record Data. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2016 Apr 8;13(4):411. doi: 10.3390/ijerph13040411.