D.C. keeps crown as America's best park system
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Meridian Hill/Malcom X Park, where the fountains just started flowing again after a seven-year dry spell. Photo: Courtesy of Andrew Leyden
The District is home to the best city park system in America — again —according to new rankings from the Trust for Public Land.
Why it matters: At a moment when D.C.'s parks are caught up in political fights and makeover drama, the report is a reminder that the city's green spaces remain some of its biggest assets.
Driving the news: D.C. took home top honors for the sixth year in a row, thanks to its high scores for investment and access, with nearly all residents within a 10-minute walk of a park.
- The nonprofit scores park systems on access, acreage, amenities, equity and investment.
- Irvine, California, came in No. 2, followed by Minneapolis at No. 3.
By the numbers: 99% of D.C. residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park.
- Parks and green spaces make up 21.5% of the city.
- D.C. has 693 parks and green spaces.
- The city spends $449 per capita annually on publicly accessible parks — boosted in part by federal dollars.
Friction point: President Trump has been busy making over D.C., including big changes and repairs at local parks under the "Make DC Safe and Beautiful" task force.
- Some of that work — including the effort to repaint the Reflecting Pool and revamp East Potomac Park and its public golf course — has sparked backlash and ongoing lawsuits.
Yes, but: It's not all turf wars.
- If you haven't heard, D.C.'s hottest club is Meridian Hill/Malcom X Park, where the iconic European-style fountains are flowing again after a seven-year dry spell.
- Federal crews are also sprucing up the lawns ahead of another busy summer.
- Logan Circle, another popular city park, is slated to reopen in mid-June after repairs.
The bottom line: Parks are "places of real joy," Trust for Public Land president Carrie Besnette Hauser tells Axios. She says green spaces create rare opportunities for people from different walks of life to connect.
- "Parks bring us together in a world and a society right now [where] people are so at odds with each other."