Access to Parks and Open Space

The Access to Parks and Open Space indicator measures the proportion of a neighborhood made up of park space. This indicator does not take in to account park amenities such as playgrounds. Lakes are not considered park space. Information used to calculate this indicator is from the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board and Minneapolis GIS office. More information about parks in Minneapolis is available at Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board Maps. Access to nature through safe, clean parks and open space can improve public health in many ways including increased exercise and physical activity, and decreased fatigue and increased productiveness. Increased time outdoors can decrease attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. Trees and green space in parks also help mitigate negative climate issues by lowering air temperature, improving air quality by removing pollutants, and absorbing and cleaning water run off from impervious surfaces. Access to Parks and Open Space is in the Natual Areas domain.

Neighborhoodsort descending Indicator Value Rank
Armatage 3.9% 54
Audubon Park 4.4% 50
Bancroft 0.0% 84
Beltrami 5.6% 43
Bottineau 6.8% 36
Bryant 4.1% 53
Bryn - Mawr 29.3% 3
Calhoun Area Residents Action Group (CARAG) 1.6% 70
Camden Industrial 22.6% 7
Cedar - Isles - Dean 18.6% 12
Cedar Riverside 24.7% 4
Central 0.8% 78
Cleveland 2.0% 68
Columbia Park 21.2% 9
Como 1.2% 72
Cooper 12.8% 23
Corcoran 1.1% 75
Diamond Lake 8.7% 31
Downtown East 4.9% 46
Downtown West 1.8% 69
East Calhoun (ECCO) 6.0% 41
East Harriet 16.6% 14
East Isles 9.8% 28
East Phillips 3.3% 57
Elliot Park 3.3% 57
Ericsson 41.7% 1
Field 4.6% 49
Folwell 7.5% 35
Fulton 6.3% 39
Hale 16.5% 15
Harrison 14.0% 19
Hawthorne 4.7% 48
Hiawatha 21.3% 8
Holland 0.8% 78
Howe 13.0% 21
Humboldt Industrial Area 3.1% 61
Jordan 1.2% 72
Keewaydin 23.9% 5
Kenny 2.2% 66
Kenwood 34.2% 2
King Field 3.5% 55
Lind - Bohanon 8.8% 30
Linden Hills 10.7% 27
Logan Park 5.1% 45
Longfellow 1.2% 72
Loring Park 9.1% 29
Lowry Hill 16.2% 16
Lowry Hill East 0.7% 81
Lyndale 1.0% 77
Lynnhurst 11.6% 25
Marcy Holmes 2.8% 64
Marshall Terrace 3.0% 62
McKinley 0.8% 78
Mid - City Industrial 0.0% 84
Midtown Phillips 2.7% 65
Minnehaha 6.1% 40
Morris Park 1.1% 75
Near - North 3.0% 62
Nicollet Island - East Bank 18.0% 13
North Loop 3.3% 57
Northeast Park 12.9% 22
Northrop 6.4% 38
Page 21.1% 10
Phillips West 0.0% 84
Powderhorn Park 13.9% 20
Prospect Park - East River Road 8.2% 33
Regina 0.0% 84
Seward 7.7% 34
Sheridan 0.7% 81
Shingle Creek 14.7% 17
St. Anthony East 4.4% 50
St. Anthony West 11.6% 25
Standish 1.5% 71
Steven's Square - Loring Heights 2.2% 66
Sumner - Glenwood (Heritage Park) 3.2% 60
Tangletown 8.4% 32
University of Minnesota 22.7% 6
Ventura Village 3.4% 56
Victory 6.8% 36
Waite Park 4.8% 47
Webber - Camden 5.9% 42
Wenonah 14.5% 18
West Calhoun 5.5% 44
Whittier 4.4% 50
Willard - Hay 12.2% 24
Windom 0.3% 83
Windom Park 19.6% 11

Key Citations: 1. Bowler DE, Buyung-Ali LM, Knight TM, Pullin AS. (2010) A systematic review of evidence for the added benefits to health of exposure to natural environments. BMC Public Health. 2010 Aug 4;10:456. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20684754.

2. Grant RH, Heisler GM, Gao W. (2002) Estimation of pedestrian level UV exposure under trees. Photochem Photobiol. 2002 Apr; 75(4):369-76. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12003126.

3. Kuo FE, Taylor AF. (2004) A potential natural treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: evidence from a national study. Am J Public Health. 2004 Sep ;94(9):1580-6. Available at: http://www.niu.edu/~carter/courses/526/articles/Kuo_and_Taylor.pdf.

4. TPL (2013). Economic and Health Benefits. Trust for Public Land. Accessed April 2013. Available at: Effects of Parks on Health: http://www.tpl.org/research/parks/economic-health-benefits.html.