Chicago's parks rating slips in annual ranking
Chicago just missed the top 10 for an annual ranking of parks in the U.S.
Why it matters: Chicago has more than 1,200 parks that serve as free community meeting spots, offer indoor and outdoor space for exercise, and are often a factor in choosing which neighborhood to live in. But they require investment, attention and protection.
Driving the news: We are No. 11 on the Trust for Public Land's 2025 ParkScore index of park systems in the 100 most populous cities in the country, down from No. 10 last year.
The ranking is based on five categories: acreage, access, amenities, investment and equity.
Zoom in: Chicago received high marks for park access with 98% of Chicagoans living within a 10-minute walk to a park.
We also score well for amenities like playgrounds, sports facilities and water features.
Chicago spent more than $220 per person on its park system, compared to the national average of $133.
Yes, but: Washington, D.C., the country's best city park system, spends nearly $400 per capita on parks.
Zoom out: D.C. uses more than 21% of its land for parks compared to Chicago, which uses 9%.
Irvine, California, came in second and Minneapolis ranked third on the ParkScore rankings.
Denver etched Chicago out of the top 10 in this year's rankings.
The intrigue: TPL highlights Chicago in a section about parks as great unifiers, specifically focusing on Douglass Park as a common meeting place for the predominantly Black residents in North Lawndale and largely Latino parkgoers in South Lawndale.
Stunning stats: Among the cities analyzed, $12.2 billion was invested in park and recreation systems in 2024, while 76% of residents now live within a 10-minute walk of a park.
Those are both records since TPL started tracking such figures in 2007 and 2012, respectively.
What's next: Some of the money cities are spending on public parks lately is tied to pandemic-era federal infrastructure funding, which won't last forever.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Effort to improve transportation in Bluefield moving ahead
bluefield – A town hall meeting set for June 12 will give the Bluefield community opportunities to share ideas and ask questions about a road project aimed at making travel smoother and safer from Bluefield State University's entrances to the city's northeast side. City Manager Cecil Marson said Friday the meeting will start at 1:30 p.m. June 12 on the Bluefield State University campus. It will be conducted in the Othello Harris-Jefferson Student Center. Information gleaned from the town hall will help determine how to spend a $1.2 million federal Reconnecting Communities grant. Reconnecting Communities is a program under the U.S. Department of Transportation. 'About two years ago we submitted an application for the Reconnecting Communities Grant,' Marson said. 'It's laser-focused on the northeast end of the city and what that does, it basically takes you from (Route) 52 where the Bluefield State University entryway is and takes you all the way through the northeast end past the Grant Street Bridge down past the Hotel Thelma.' The project's goal is to improve transportation and safety between the university and Hotel Thelma, which is an historic Green Book lodging where Black travelers stayed during the segregation era. 'The whole premise behind this project is to connect that part of the city to the downtown and also rework the road infrastructure and streetscape, really clean up a lot of the stuff that borders Norfolk Southern (railyard) along that main drag of Pulaski Street, Hardy Street all the way up to Rock Street and up to the campus,' Marson said. The city will work on the project in conjunction with the West Virginia Department of Highways. People attending the June 12 town hall will meet with highways officials and engineers working on the plan. Marson said the city wants as much community participation as possible. 'Because we're going to go in there, take all of the suggestions that have gotten us to this point, have some designs and schematics of what these roads could potentially look like and really, this plan grant is to get some of the engineering done and get everything prepped so this fall, we can submit for the implementation funding,' he said. 'And that's where we get the big money and hopefully, God willing, really get some of these projects down and revamp the northeast part of town and get the roads and infrastructure everybody deserves over there, and also help reinforce the college and give them a better entryway.' Darrin Martin, president of Bluefield State University, said the project would make travel to and from the campus safer. Both the Route 52 and Rock Street entrances are difficult to use and hazardous at times. 'Obviously, you think about the entrance way to campus on both sides,' Martin said. 'This is going to make it safer for us and improve the flow of traffic.' Students, faculty and visitors entering campus at Rock Street have to navigate a sharp turn. One goal would be make this curve 'softer,' Martin said. One part of the plan which includes a roundabout at the busy Route 52 entrance would make that entry point safer as well. 'It can get dicey,' he said. 'You can look and all of a sudden a car is on top of you. This should help and make that safer.' In September 2024, the City of Bluefield was awarded a $25,748,152 in federal grants through President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for the Safe Streets and Roads for All program. Marson said that the $1.2 million Reconnecting Communities grant is from a different federal program. 'Like the Safe Streets, all these grants kind of work this way,' Marson said. 'First, you apply for the grant because you have a project. The first portion is the planning, so you'll get a funding amount — that was $1.2 million for us — then you have to resubmit again for implementation. Implementation is where construction comes in and we're not there yet on this grant.' The project is big because it has been a long time since the city's northeast side has seen a major investment, Marson said. 'It's deserving. It needs it,' he said. 'We need to help the college, assist the residents, make it safer over there and clean up.' Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Yahoo
Statue honoring Lancaster's first Black business owner completed
LANCASTER, Ohio (WCMH) — There is a new statue in the city of Lancaster honoring Scipio Smith, the man who became the city's first Black business owner in the 1800s. The statue is along Main Street, not far from where Smith's tinsmith shop was located. The statue shows Smith holding an open shackle with the day he was emancipated inscribed on it. He was enslaved in Virginia before being brought to Ohio. 'That was his way of showing you can't stop me, even this chain didn't hold me down,' said Michael Johnson, a local historian and the marketing director for the Fairfield County Heritage Association. 'You can't get much more of an underdog than being born a slave and losing your leg as a child.' Johnson found a brief entry about Smith in a history book. He said he'd never seen an entry quite like it, so he dug deeper. Eventually he learned about Smith's history as a slave. Four years after Smith was freed, he founded the AME church in town, which is now Allen Chapel. Italian eatery from Columbus couple behind Chapman's, Ginger Rabbit to open Friday 'To know he was right here, to know he was responsible for this church,' said Evan Saunders, Pastor of Allen Chapel. 'You don't even know the lives he's touched but yet here 2025 we realize he's touching a whole community with that so his legacy still continues to live on.' About two years after opening the church, Smith opened a tinsmith shop in Lancaster. That made him the city's first Black business owner, according to Johnson. 'He was pretty quick to act once he got his freedom. He knew what he wanted,' Johnson said. 'Opened door for other Black business owners.' Johnson wrote about Smith's story. But he wanted to do more to honor the local legend. About two years ago he started fundraising for a statue. It's now completed, full of symbols and Smith's story. 'For me I think statues are celebrations, they are people we should be looking up to, the ideals they represent, and Scipio, you can't beat his work ethic, his faith, his tenacity, the ability to overcome unbelievable obstacles. You can't beat that story,' Johnson said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Yahoo
This week in 5 numbers: Workers push back on AI
This story was originally published on HR Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily HR Dive newsletter. U.S. Supreme Court justices lamented the court's decision to dismiss a Black dancer's claim, and moms say their child care benefits don't stack up. Here's a look at those and some of the other numbers making headlines in the HR world. By the numbers 45% The percentage of CEOs who said most of their employees are resistant or even openly hostile to AI, according to a survey by Kyndryl, an enterprise technology services firm. 68% The percentage of moms who say the benefits offered by their employers aren't enough to meet their child care needs. 100+ The number of undocumented workers arrested during an ICE raid on May 29 at a Tallahassee, Florida, construction site, according to an agency news release. 2 The number of Supreme Court justices who opposed the court's decision not to take up a Black dancer's discrimination claim. 79% The percentage of U.S. job seekers who told Express Employment Professionals the 'skills gap' is less about a lack of ability and more about employers' unwillingness to train them. Recommended Reading Class action challenges PetSmart's use of voice recognition tech
