Charlotte-Mecklenburg parks system rank 90th out of 100 U.S. cities
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Independence Park in Elizabeth was Charlotte's first public park. Photo: Ashley Mahoney/Axios
Mecklenburg County is clapping back at nonprofit the Trust for Public Land's annual park rankings that continually put it among the lowest in the country.
Why it matters: The county's rapid growth has led to increased use in its parks, greenways and recreation centers. Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation is balancing reinvesting in its existing assets with adding new ones.
State of play: Charlotte-Mecklenburg remains 90th out of 100. That's up from 97 in 2018. Charlotte-Mecklenburg made a significant jump from 91st in 2021 to 83rd in 2022, but has since dropped back down.
How it works: TPL's annual report ranks the 100 most populous U.S. cities' park systems relative to one another based on five categories: access, acreage, amenities, equity, and investment, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick writes. Charlotte-Mecklenburg scored 37.1 points out of 100. For individual categories:
- Acreage: 63 out of 100
- Access: 17
- Investment: 32
- Amenities: 30
- Equity: 44
Zoom in: Of Charlotte-Mecklenburg 389 parks, 40% live within a 10-minute walk of a park, per the report. That's up from 386 parks and 39% of residents last year. But the county's road network makes it difficult for pedestrians to access parks.
- The amount of land used for parks and recreation in Mecklenburg County remains 7%. The national median is 15%.
- Charlotte/Mecklenburg invests $130 per capita on parks, which is up from $111 last year, but still below the national average.
The other side: "Cities that typically score well on the ParkScore have small land areas, dense populations and organized street networks," according to the county's rebuttal. "Charlotte-Mecklenburg has large land areas, low-density and the most disorganized street network of the 100 largest cities."
- The report considers all of Mecklenburg County, which includes the towns of Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, Matthews, Mint Hill and Pineville, which have their own primary park and rec departments.
The big picture: Local leaders are in the process of updating Meck Playbook, the master plan for Park and Rec.