1. A Walk to a Park: 10 Minutes or Less
Show of hands if you live within a 10 minute walk to a park? If you live within a 10 minute walk to a park, but you wouldn’t necessarily go to that park, you often choose to travel farther to a different one? How many of you don’t know?
Ali Hiple
March 24th, 2018
Massachusetts Land Conservation Conference

2. ParkServe
Website demo

3. How are communities using ParkServe?
Plan for a proposed park
Demographic information on an existing park

4. Nationwide ParkServe Stats
13,931 places across the country
More than 80% of the US population
Over 80% of low income households in the US
Over 90% of people of color in the US
Other data notes:
Esri’s Streetmap, boundary data from US Census, access points are auto-generated, based on US census defined urban areas – ALL urban areas in US (so communities of all sizes are within those urban areas)

5. Massachusetts in ParkServe
234 places total
209 already mapped
25 more to be added in the Spring
4,693,768 MA residents will be mapped
Or 69% of MA total pop

6. 10 Minute Walk – mayoral campaign
Close to 200 mayors nationwide
In Massachusetts:
Boston, Brockton, New Bedford

7. Why are parks important?
Cities continue to grow in population and density
Boston
Parks provide benefits to physical and mental health
Serve as community gathering places
Healthier, more enjoyable cities
Boston 17% growth since 1999
(roughly 15% )
- Fastest in Northeast

8. Why a 10 minute walk? About ½ mile is an easy walk Health
Benefits even if you aren’t using the park!
Access for all
Walkability = livability
Parks can help. Studies show that the more parks there are in a community, the more people exercise. People who live closer to parks exercise more, and people who regularly use parks get more exercise than people who don’t.
Perhaps most surprising? People who live closer to parks report better mental health—even if they don’t actually exercise there.

9. 10 MW surrounding Boston
Boston 98%, Somerville 100%, Cambridge 98%, Brookline 97%
Newton 85%, Belmont 87%

10. Pressures on Mass/Boston
Climate change threats
Flooding
Heat waves
Increasing density

11. Gateway Cities 15% of MA population Park access:
9% - Westfield
100% - Everett
74% - median access
Parks and walkability as key components of making a place livable and desirable
MassINC “While Gateway Cities face stubborn social and economic challenges as a result, they retain many assets with unrealized potential. These include existing infrastructure and strong connections to transportation networks, museums, hospitals, universities and other major institutions, disproportionately young and underutilized workers, and perhaps above all, authentic urban fabric.
Changing social and economic forces open up new opportunities for Gateway Cities to leverage these untapped assets. Demand for walkable neighborhoods is rising and the small entrepreneurial businesses that fuel job creation in today’s economy are increasingly seeking out urban innovative environments. These trends position Gateway Cities to once again serve as engines driving growth in regional economies across the Commonwealth.”

12. Gateway Cities
“While Gateway Cities face stubborn social and economic challenges as a result, they retain many assets with unrealized potential. These include existing infrastructure and strong connections to transportation networks, museums, hospitals, universities and other major institutions, disproportionately young and underutilized workers, and perhaps above all, authentic urban fabric.Changing social and economic forces open up new opportunities for Gateway Cities to leverage these untapped assets. Demand for walkable neighborhoods is rising and the small entrepreneurial businesses that fuel job creation in today’s economy are increasingly seeking out urban innovative environments. These trends position Gateway Cities to once again serve as engines driving growth in regional economies across the Commonwealth.” -- MassINC
Parks and open spaces in Gateway Cities like Worcester, face deeper challenges that make Boston look flush, however. In Fiscal Year 2017, Worcester spent $51 per resident (half of Boston’s spending level.) while only 77% of residents are within a 10-minute walk of a park or open space and enjoy only acres per resident. In Brockton in Fiscal Year 2015, the City spent $14 per resident while only 69% of residents are within a 10-minute walk of a park or open space and enjoy only acres per resident.
-26 of them:
Haverhill – 53%
Methuen – 50%
Lawrence – 92%
Lowell – 91%
Peabody – 56%
Salem – 82%
Pittsfield – n.a.
Holyoke – 72%
Springfield – 94%
Westfield – 9%
Chicopee – 57%
Fitchburg – 70%
Leominster – 29%
Worcester – 74%
Malden – 94%
Everett – 100%
Lynn – 96%
Revere – 93%
Chelsea – 98%
Quincy – 93%
Brockton – 68%
Attleboro – 48%
Taunton – 41%
Fall River – 74%
New Bedford – 77%
Barnstable - 13%

13. Everyone deserves access to great parks

14. Thank you! Alexandra (Ali) Hiple Alexandra.Hiple@tpl.org
Questions?
Comments?
Alexandra (Ali) Hiple
(617)