St. Petersburg's public parks outrank Tampa's
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St. Petersburg ranks higher among the 100 largest U.S. cities for its public parks than Tampa, per the latest report from the Trust for Public Land (TPL), a pro-parks nonprofit.
Why it matters: Parks confer a wealth of benefits — including, as TPL points out in its latest annual report, significant health boosts.
- Parks offer spaces for physical activity and social gatherings, improve visitors' moods, and provide city dwellers a reprieve from noise, air pollution and the effects of climate change.
How it works: The group rates cities on a variety of metrics, including the percentage of residents who live near a park, the share of city land reserved for parks, parks investment and more; cities are then awarded a "ParkScore."
Zoom in: St. Petersburg is ranked 15 for its parks. It earned 65 out of 100 for access, 48 for acreage, 84 for investment, 72 for amenities and 77 for equity.
- Meanwhile, Tampa scored 46 out of 100 for access, 34 for acreage, 40 for investment, 79 for amenities and 68 for equity. It's ranked 43 overall.
Of note: St. Petersburg residents in neighborhoods of color have access to 42% more park space per person than in white neighborhoods. In Tampa, however, that contrast is less stark.
The big picture: At a national level, parks spending still hasn't recovered to pre-Great Recession levels, Linda Hwang, TPL senior director for strategy and innovation, said. But that's largely driven by the country's biggest cities.
- In St. Pete, total per capita park spending is around $186 per person, which TPL says is above average. In Tampa, it's closer to the average, at around $103 per person.
What they're saying: Cities increasingly view their parks and parks departments through a public health lens, said Howard Frumkin, TPL senior vice president and director of the Land and People Lab.
- "Simply defining parks as part of the public health infrastructure of a community, and then steering some health dollars towards the parks because they're healthy, is a really interesting innovation," he added.