Raleigh, Durham public parks fall in national ranking
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Pullen Park in Raleigh. Photo: Visit Raleigh
Raleigh and Durham's public park rankings fell this year among the country's 100 largest cities, according to a new report — despite the cities' investment in green spaces.
Why it matters: Access to the outdoors is linked to better quality of life. Trust for Public Land's annual ParkScore report aims to help leaders advocate for additional park resources and needed improvements.
By the numbers: Raleigh dropped from 53rd last year for its public parks to 56th this year, according to TPL.
- Durham ranked 92nd, down from 89th last year.
Zoom in: The rankings are based on five categories: equity, access, investment, amenities and acreage.
- Raleigh and Durham both fell below average for access, which indicates the percentage of city residents living within a half mile of a park.
- Both cities also fell below average in the equity category, indicating poor "distribution of parks and park space between neighborhoods by race and income."
- Durham fell below average in the acreage and investment categories, too.
Worth noting: The report doesn't take into account all the acreage of Raleigh's greenways, Raleigh's director of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Stephen Bentley tells Axios.
- Also not factored into the report are some school or university parks, HOA amenities and parks in certain subdivisions, Bentley said.
What we're watching: The report noted northeast Raleigh, which is seeing strong population growth, needs more parks.
- "We did a really good job in the early 2000s of buying a lot [of land] … in the northeast and east of the Neuse River," Bentley told Axios last year.
- "So although we don't have the parks built and there's not a good access number there, in 10 and 15 years when we build those parks, then the access score will increase."