Essays from West of 98: A Well-Parked City
Last week, we introduced the idea that our rural communities might need more park areas, not less. I do not suggest that local governments invest limited government funds into new park areas with no direction or purpose. Believe it or not (and contrary to my wife’s occasional concerns), there is a method to my madness!
The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) annually surveys member cities as to park acreage in each city. NRPA reports that its median member city has about 10 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents. This definition of park land generally includes playgrounds, wilderness/natural areas, ballfields, and outdoor recreation areas that we generally consider as part of a local park system.
Our largest nearby city is Abilene and Abilene always struck me as a well-parked city. Parks large and small are scattered throughout the city, from playgrounds to ballfields to creekside natural areas to a beautiful zoo. As a child, various attractions in Abilene were destinations for school field trips, so Abilene’s parks often factored into those trips for picnic lunches or other activities. Depending on which internet statistic is accurate, Abilene has between 1,000 and 1,200 park acres for a population estimated in the range of 125,000. That places Abilene at or slightly below the national median.
What about Stamford? Using some trusty online measurements, Stamford has just over 20 acres of parks for a population of about 3,000. There are some caveats here. The 11+ acres of Harmon Park includes areas that are roughly maintained as a park on both sides of Highway 6, but the portion north of the highway is not necessarily promoted as a park. Washington Park’s 2.7 acres includes adjoining property that has recently been added to the park, but for which development is in the planning stage. And to directly address a topic that I have written about before, the City of Stamford’s maintenance of Washington Park has been historically neglectful. Finally, Wendeborn Park’s acreage includes both the seasonally-available swimming pool and Wendeborn Field, the city-owned, school-managed baseball field that is only publicly available on a limited basis.
That leaves Stamford with just under 7 park acres per 1,000 residents before we factor in approximately 100 acres at College Lake, a historically undeveloped recreational area that has not always been treated as a city park (but which we intend to treat accordingly in the future). Without College Lake, Stamford’s park acreage is substandard. With College Lake, Stamford could be a shining example of a rural community committed to parks and their attendant benefits to quality of life.
What is my point, besides showing off my Google Earth measurement skills? NRPA writes that a measurement of parks-per-1,000 people should be a starting benchmark for discussion and planning. A local community’s needs and resources should drive the conversation from there. It is interesting to compare statistics for some larger American cities. Los Angeles and New York City each boast almost 40,000 acres in parks, per the Trust for Public Land. That’s an impressive 9.5 park acres per 1,000 residents in Los Angeles, but a mere 4.7 acres per 1,000 residents in New York. And yet, the average New Yorker might actually be closer to a park in that densely-packed city than the average resident of sprawling Los Angeles. One of the most inspiring examples is Minneapolis, with 12.4 acres of parks per 1,000 residents. According to TPL, Minneapolis has reserved almost 15% of its area for parkland. 95% of its residents live within a ten-minute walk of a city park! How cool is that?
I have received a lot of great feedback on this series, as much as any series I have ever written. Rural citizens value their parks and place a high priority on park development. Rural leaders should take notice and invest accordingly. Next week, I hope to conclude this series with the following discussion: what kind of parks do we need and where should we build them?
James Decker is the Mayor of Stamford, Texas and the creator of the West of 98 website and podcast. Contact James and subscribe to these essays at westof98.substack.com and subscribe to West of 98 wherever podcasts are found.