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.

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

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.