By Mark Tausig
The city must allocate 1% of its budget to our parks system. The NYC Department of Parks and Recreation is chronically underfunded and understaffed.
How can parks improve the lives of city residents? A surprisingly large body of research provides answers. Does investing in parks improve residents' lives? Does it cause people to walk more, reduce stress, and improve fitness? Does it improve air quality, thereby reducing the risk of respiratory disease? Are people happier in a visually green environment? Do improved parks improve residents’ sense of community and belongingness? Do green spaces decrease the incidence of crime? Do green spaces increase property values? Or is it all of the above?
“Parks are really good for mental, physical, and environmental health. Parks promote health by serving as an ideal venue for physical activity, helping to reduce obesity and the risk of numerous diseases. Parks with active amenities and staffed programming, such as walking loops or fitness classes, are associated with significant increases in physical activity. Spending time in natural areas, whether walking or reflecting in a garden, is a powerful strategy for improved physical and mental health. A vast body of evidence has been produced documenting the health benefits, ranging from reduced anxiety and depression to improved birth outcomes associated with parks. Parks provide a platform to bolster social connections through both structured group activities and informal encounters. Social connections improve health, as people who are lonely are more likely to get sick and die younger. Parks improve urban environments and help protect residents from the growing threat of climate disasters—heat waves, severe flooding—and other urban health threats such as air, noise, or light pollution. Park equity is health equity. Access to parks and green spaces offers especially strong health benefits for people with low incomes—those most likely to be in poor health.”
—The Power of Parks to Promote Health: A Special Report by Lisa W. Foderaro and Will Klein, Published May 24, 2023. The Trust for Public Land.
Travers Park in Jackson Heights, Queens, is a small, 2-acre park that plays a vital role in the lives of its neighbors. It is intensively used. During the warmer months, there are swings to be swung, bars to be hung, and sprinklers to be run. Basketball and handball games resound. There isn’t much room, but impromptu soccer games can erupt. An ice cream truck is parked at the park margin. Moms and dads and childcare workers occupy the benches to keep an eye on the kids and schmooze. There is a palpable sense of community, and it is clear that the park enhances the quality of life here. Travers Park has the elements of parks that contribute to the overall well-being of New Yorkers. Yet data also show that Queens is under-parked.
“Many New Yorkers still do not have adequate park access, as highlighted by the cluster in Queens, which includes Elmhurst & Jackson Heights and Travers Park.”
–Census ACS Table, NYC Parks, NYC DOHMH
Unequal access to parks in New York City.
“Comparing the amount of park space between neighborhoods by race/ethnicity across the country, parks located in neighborhoods with a majority of residents of color are half the size of parks in predominantly white neighborhoods yet serve five times more people per acre, according to TPL park equity data. In New York, residents in neighborhoods of color* have access to 1% more park space per person than the city’s average neighborhood but 29% less than those in white neighborhoods. Additionally, we compared park space in the city’s average neighborhood with others by specific race and ethnicity. Residents of Asian neighborhoods had 46% less access to parks; Black neighborhoods had 15% less access; Hispanic and Latinx neighborhoods had 41% greater access; American Indian/Alaska Native neighborhoods had 11% less access; Pacific Islander neighborhoods had 18% less access, neighborhoods of multiple races had 20% less access. White neighborhoods had 42% greater access to park space. Comparing the amount of park space between neighborhoods by income across the country, parks serving low-income households are four times smaller yet serve four times more people per acre than parks serving high-income households, according to TPL park equity data. In New York, residents in low-income neighborhoods have access to 25% more park space per person than those in the average New York neighborhood and 19% less than those in high-income neighborhoods.”
*Neighborhoods of color are defined as those in New York with the highest concentrations of people identifying as Black, Hispanic, Indigenous and Native American, Asian American, Pacific Islander, multiple races, or other communities of color.
—2025 The Trust for Public Land
Ninety-nine percent of New York residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park. Thus, in principle, the benefits of nearby parks on city’s physical and mental health are available to all. This fact alone validates the NYLCV recommendation for full and enhanced Parks and Recreation Department funding. However, unequal access to parks and, thus, to their benefits has also been identified, making it imperative that the budget be increased to address inequitable access to this source of physical and mental health resources. Expanding funding while paying attention to equity issues will contribute to the reduction of health disparity.
NYLCV’s policy objectives address protecting our environment, tackling the climate crisis, and safeguarding public health. NYLCV develops policy agendas that lay out specific legislative and budgetary remedies tailored to different levels of government and regions of the state. They serve as practical blueprints to help guide elected officials, policymakers, political candidates, voters, and the general public toward a more sustainable future. Although policy agendas are developed and promoted to improve people’s well-being and health, the ins and outs of the policy advocacy process can obscure this ultimate objective.
In this series, Policy Means People, the policy agenda of the New York League of Conservation Voters will be described in terms of the human outcomes. We aim to trace the links between policy objectives and the lived experiences of people affected by that policy. Policies have in common that the proposed action will result in a beneficial outcome, but the mechanism(s) whereby this can occur are often left unspecified.
Mark Tausig, Ph.D., is a volunteer writer for the New York League of Conservation Voters. He is a retired Professor of Sociology, where he studied health disparities, social networks, work and mental health, international health, and population aging in low—and middle-income countries. His latest book, Population Aging in Societal Context: Evidence from Nepal, will be published by Routledge later this year (2025).