In the greater Los Angeles area of California (for which I include northern Orange County and western San Bernadino County), there are a great number of parks. A park is 5 minutes walk from where...
In the greater Los Angeles area of California (for which I include northern Orange County and western San Bernadino County), there are a great number of parks. A park is 5 minutes walk from where I live and there's another one about 10-15 minutes away. It's probably the best part of living where I do.
That being said, not all of them are built the same. The vast majority of parks around me are really tiny; basically small grass fields with a playground. The one I am closest to is what I'd consider to be mid, in that it is moderate in size and has a small covered picnic area, tennis courts, and a basketball field. The one that's a bit further is just a very tiny triangle of land with a playground in the center. There's another unusual park about 20-30 minutes walk away that is actually a semi-hidden water management thing that is designed to hold water in cases of flooding, but it's actually quite beautiful. Within the town limits there's also a park with a beautiful walking trail that includes views of a brook and climbs up a hill for a nice scenic panorama, and also has some basic exercise equipment installed for the fit-minded. On top of another hill is the park with the community center which has a rather extensive "make plans for it" hiking trail. The best parks tend to be in the suburban areas. Parks exist in the more dense areas of Los Angeles as well, but they don't tend to be very expansive except for some notable exceptions like Griffith or Elysian parks (neither of which I have personally been to).
Parks are an incredible boon to public mental health. Touch grass, people. It's healing.
For Canadians it's a little easier: going to Statistics Canada. Parks And Green Spaces (2021): 91% of Canadians have a park or green space within 10 minutes of home. When further separated by...
For Canadians it's a little easier: going to Statistics Canada.
Parks And Green Spaces (2021): 91% of Canadians have a park or green space within 10 minutes of home. When further separated by Census Metropolitan Area (definition: 100k population) or non CMA, the numbers are 93% vs 84% respectively. Which sound surprising: how come some non metro people have fewer parks within 10 minutes? Maybe some of these folks live next to huge farms stretching for hundreds of acres, and private spaces don't count as green space?
Additional questions: How close should one live to a park? :) is there such a thing as too close, and if so what are some possible down sides? Not all parks and green spaces are made the same: some might be too small, too buggy, too dangerous, too outdated, etc. Stats and maps like this are important for when local groups want to petition for more green spaces and better infrastructure in them.
My house is less than a 20 minute walk to a park, and I live sorta on the outskirts, my friend's house where I stay a lot is across the street from a festival field that has a tot lot, and 15...
My house is less than a 20 minute walk to a park, and I live sorta on the outskirts, my friend's house where I stay a lot is across the street from a festival field that has a tot lot, and 15 minute walk to the biggest park in town
I can say there is never too many parks though, I'd like to see even more and we have a bunch, I never really used them from like 20-34, before I was 20 it was where we would drink and smoke pot, and I picked up metal detecting at 34 and go to a park or a school or other grassy area multiple times a week now
One thing I liked about that ParkScore tool is that it also shows how close you are to things like public trails. I agree that more parks are better, but I also want a nice way to get there
One thing I liked about that ParkScore tool is that it also shows how close you are to things like public trails. I agree that more parks are better, but I also want a nice way to get there
In the greater Los Angeles area of California (for which I include northern Orange County and western San Bernadino County), there are a great number of parks. A park is 5 minutes walk from where I live and there's another one about 10-15 minutes away. It's probably the best part of living where I do.
That being said, not all of them are built the same. The vast majority of parks around me are really tiny; basically small grass fields with a playground. The one I am closest to is what I'd consider to be mid, in that it is moderate in size and has a small covered picnic area, tennis courts, and a basketball field. The one that's a bit further is just a very tiny triangle of land with a playground in the center. There's another unusual park about 20-30 minutes walk away that is actually a semi-hidden water management thing that is designed to hold water in cases of flooding, but it's actually quite beautiful. Within the town limits there's also a park with a beautiful walking trail that includes views of a brook and climbs up a hill for a nice scenic panorama, and also has some basic exercise equipment installed for the fit-minded. On top of another hill is the park with the community center which has a rather extensive "make plans for it" hiking trail. The best parks tend to be in the suburban areas. Parks exist in the more dense areas of Los Angeles as well, but they don't tend to be very expansive except for some notable exceptions like Griffith or Elysian parks (neither of which I have personally been to).
Parks are an incredible boon to public mental health. Touch grass, people. It's healing.
For Canadians it's a little easier: going to Statistics Canada.
Parks And Green Spaces (2021): 91% of Canadians have a park or green space within 10 minutes of home. When further separated by Census Metropolitan Area (definition: 100k population) or non CMA, the numbers are 93% vs 84% respectively. Which sound surprising: how come some non metro people have fewer parks within 10 minutes? Maybe some of these folks live next to huge farms stretching for hundreds of acres, and private spaces don't count as green space?
Additional questions: How close should one live to a park? :) is there such a thing as too close, and if so what are some possible down sides? Not all parks and green spaces are made the same: some might be too small, too buggy, too dangerous, too outdated, etc. Stats and maps like this are important for when local groups want to petition for more green spaces and better infrastructure in them.
My house is less than a 20 minute walk to a park, and I live sorta on the outskirts, my friend's house where I stay a lot is across the street from a festival field that has a tot lot, and 15 minute walk to the biggest park in town
I can say there is never too many parks though, I'd like to see even more and we have a bunch, I never really used them from like 20-34, before I was 20 it was where we would drink and smoke pot, and I picked up metal detecting at 34 and go to a park or a school or other grassy area multiple times a week now
One thing I liked about that ParkScore tool is that it also shows how close you are to things like public trails. I agree that more parks are better, but I also want a nice way to get there