The Perks of Parks

     Parks play a pivotal role in the daily life of many city dwellers. Having parks in a city benefits the city and its inhabitants in nearly all sectors. Some of those being physical and mental health and wellness, economically, and environmentally. Parks also help to create the all important and crucial sense of community and boosts community interaction by facilitating more interpersonal relationships. By creating more public parks and general green space a city can create a happy, more livable environment for all of its inhabitants.

     There are many different kinds of parks that have a whole host of purposes. One of those park divisions would be functional green space. Functional green space would include urban farms, cemeteries, and more. It is a space whose main role it is to solve a problem rather than be fun or relaxing. The next division of parks would be semi natural habitat. Semi natural habitat would include, woodlands, wetlands, and most state and national parks. The main role of these parks would be to preserve and protect nature. The last and main type of park most people think of would be amenity parks. Amenity parks would include spaces like playgrounds, or sports fields. The role of these parks would be to suit the needs of the surrounding area. These parks are the most prevalent parks in urban areas and are what will be focused on in this essay.

      First, one of the most common and obvious uses for parks would be for physical activity and fitness. Many studies show that one’s proximity to parks plays a role in their overall fitness. The International Federation of Parks and Recreation says there is strong evidence to say that parks play a role in lower obesity rates (2013, P. 12). Physical health is very important and is something many Americans struggle with. Poor health can lead to a whole host of problems down the road such as diabetes, and heart disease just to name a couple. Parks can help to keep a cities residence healthy for the long haul.

      Another benefit of parks would be to help to keep people happy. Parks can affect many people’s mental health for the better. The National Recreation and Parks Association says parks can act as a stress reducer for many people, and can contribute to an improved mood and attitude, all while boosting mindfulness and creativity (2017, Wolf). Poor mental health is an issue in many large urban centers. Not only does poor mental health have an effect on you immediate wellbeing it can also affect your physical health later in life by decreasing one’s risk factor for many terrible diseases. Parks not only help cities to be more physically fit but can also help them to be more mentally fit. By doing this its inhabitants can stay happy and healthy for many years to come.

      Next, parks can help a city to stay financially successful. Having parks stimulates business in the surrounding area. The National Recreation and Parks Association says parks have generated nearly 140 billion dollars in economic activity and employed nearly one million people (Terry L. Clower 2015, P. iii). Parks also help to attract tourists, central park reports having over 37 million visitors annually making it the third most visited tourist attraction in the world! (2014, Driver) Clearly Parks play a large role in the economy by drawing people in from all over.

      Another way parks affect a cities economy is by boosting property values. One of the many perks of living near a park is one’s property values are greatly increased. An example of this would be with central park. Property surrounding the park’s area saw an 800 percent increase in value after the park was built in the mid 1800s(Lin 2016. p.18). The same holds true today, some of the most expensive properties in New York are on the streets surrounding the park. Parks not only help business in cities it also boosts property values creating a higher tiered more desirable city.

      Another large benefit of having parks is that they boost community interaction and makes communities overall more hospitable. According to the National Recreation and Parks Association parks and green space promote community connections. They also say being able to see parks contributes to one’s feeling of well being and affects overall neighborhood perception. They go on to say “Greener public housing neighborhoods tend to be safer, with fewer incivilities and less reported crimes” (2017, Wolf). Parks create a feeling of community pride that can lead to safer and more evolved communities.

      Some people against having parks would say the cost to create and maintain parks is more than they are worth. The cost of parks can vary widely but can be summed up by a few key components, Obtaining land, landscaping and building, then maintenance. Though some people say parks are too expensive to start an maintain. I believe that parks act as a good overall investment in a community. Maintenance cost can be mostly covered by community volunteers. These acts volunteering can also serve as a fantastic way of  facilitating interpersonal relationships and community bonds. The costs of a park by a city can be easily be recuperated throughout the life of the park through increased business and property values through taxes. Parks are a necessary asset to any community and are more than worth the investment required to create.

     Another downside of parks people often state is that their net cost to the environment is negative. A New York Times article cites fertilizers as a major cause for this environmental downside saying “They [American Geophysical Union] found that in open lawns, the use of fertilizers, which emit heat-trapping nitrous oxide, offsets 10 to 30 percent of the carbon dioxide captured and stored. And the fuel used in mowing and leaf-blowing releases more carbon dioxide than the lawns soak up.” (Bhanoo, 2010). There are many fixes to the issues stated here. First the fertilizers in question are most prevalent in parks with sports fields. Most urban parks do not contain sports fields. Either way a fix to this would be to simply not to use fertilizer. Parks for centuries did not require the use of fertilizer, even using a natural fertilizer would greatly reduce the nitrous oxide emissions. Next, when mowing a park lawn manual push mowers can be used or electric push mowers so you do not have any carbon dioxide emissions, and rather than leaf blowers rakes can be used to collect leaves and debris. Overall there are many ways to restore a parks positive environmental impact and making parks an overall asset to the environment.

     Not only do parks help the people in a community, parks can also help mother earth to stay happy and healthy. There are many ways in which a park can positively impact the environment. One of the most prevalent air pollutants in our atmosphere is carbon dioxide. The buildup of carbon dioxide over time can cause a whole host of issues, one if the biggest effects is the heating of the earth’s surface. Cities are a major producer in the worlds carbon dioxide problem. Parks can help, at least a little, to combat this major issue facing our planet. Parks act as carbon sinks by drawing in the carbon dioxide to the vegetation rich park (IFPRA 2013 p.34). If we as people can reduce our carbon emissions and some added help from parks we may be able to preserve the wellbeing of our planet for generations to come.

     One last unexpected benefit of urban parks is they can help reduce temperatures during hot summer months. Temperatures in many large cities can get much higher than nature naturally intended. This is in part due to that masses of concrete, asphalt, and all the tall buildings, all of these things absorb and radiate heat making some cities unbearably hot. Parks and green space can help to reduce this effect. By adding more green coverage you are also adding shade and coverage from the sun. Plants also let off evaporated water creating a cooler area around them. The International Federation of Parks and Recreation proves this citing a study showing that temperatures in parks are an average of .94 degrees celsius lower during the day and 1.25 degrees celsius lower during the night than their non green urban counterparts. This can help to contribute to cooling cities and making them more livable.

     In conclusion, parks play a massive role in the daily lives of all people, whether they know it or not. Parks offer numerous benefits making cities more desirable and livable for all people. Parks offer many benefits in all areas of our daily lives in cities. From health to business we all have something to gain from these wonderful green spaces dotting our cities.

 

 

References:

1. Konijnendijk, Cecil C., et al. “Benefits of Urban Parks, A Systematic Review.” IFPRA, Jan. 2013, worldurbanparks.org/images/Newsletters/IfpraBenefitsOfUrbanParks.pdf.
2. Wolf, Kathleen L. “The Health Benefits of Small Parks and Green Spaces.” Parks and Recreation Magazine | NRPA, 3 Apr. 2017,
3. Clower, Terry L., et al. Economic Impact of Local Parks. NRPA, 2015,
4. Tempesta, Tiziano. “Benefits and Costs of Urban Parks: a Review.” Department Land Environment Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padova, Italy, Dec. 2015.
5. Lin, I-Hui. Assessing the Effect of Parks on Surrounding Property Values Using Hedonic Models and Multilevel Models. University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Aug. 2016, dc.uwm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2296&context=etd.
6. MailOnline, Carol Driver for. “The 50 Most-Visited Tourist Attractions in the World Revealed.” Daily Mail Online, Associated Newspapers, 7 Apr. 2014,
7. Bhanoo, Sindya N. “A Drawback to Urban Green Spaces.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Jan. 2010, dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/a-drawback-to-urban-green-spaces/.