Each year, the Trust for Public Land’s ParkScore® index ranks park systems across the 100 largest U.S. cities—measuring access, acreage, investment, amenities, and equity.
In Connecticut, we’ve applied this same methodology to our four largest cities: Bridgeport, Stamford, New Haven, and Hartford. ParkScore is a useful benchmark that tells a much bigger story. Despite helping cities solve some of their most pressing problems, parks too often compete with other priorities for funding and attention. That disconnect is becoming harder to justify.
Across the four Connecticut cities, more than 70 percent of residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park – this is a strong result on park access and shows that our cities have a strong foundation for excellent park systems that can serve community needs.
The broader takeaway from TPL’s ParkScore results this year is clear. At a time when cities are balancing competing priorities and limited resources, parks represent an investment that delivers multiple benefits. New research by TPL shows that for every dollar invested in parks and recreation, there is a $3 return in economic benefits—from reducing healthcare costs to strengthening local economies.
Public sentiment has caught up with this reality, and it’s measurable. According to a national survey commissioned by Trust for Public Land, 79 percent of Americans say parks and public spaces are essential infrastructure, while 88 percent agree it’s important for their community to invest in affordable outdoor recreation such as parks, trails, and open-access schoolyards.
Perhaps more significant, people are using their parks, and these spaces help residents in tangible ways. Among park users, 61 percent say they go to reduce stress or improve their mood, 71 percent to be physically active, and 46 percent to spend time with friends and family. When access improves, behavior follows—people living within 10-minute walk of a park are more than twice as likely to spend 20 minutes in nature most days of the week compared to those who don’t; and, are 35 percent more likely to get the recommended 150 minutes a week of physical activity than those who don’t.
City leaders are responding. Among the cities that reported, 71% said they are investing in parks specifically to reduce costs tied to healthcare or stormwater management. That shift reflects something important: parks are increasingly being recognized for what they are —core infrastructure.
Yet despite COVID-era spikes in spending, park and recreation departments remain woefully underfunded, accounting for less than 3 percent of city budgets (sometimes much less). And a new wave of federal funding cuts is hampering efforts to tackle decades of deferred maintenance and expand their green spaces, even as real estate development continues apace.
From a financial standpoint, that lack of investment is short-sighted. Parks improve health outcomes and reduce long-term healthcare costs. They provide climate resilience by capturing stormwater, reducing floods, and cooling off neighborhoods. They make cities more affordable by offering free access to recreation, fitness, and cultural programming. And they drive economic growth by attracting visitors, retaining local businesses, and increasing property values (and, by extension, local tax revenue).
In short, parks are doing the work of multiple systems—often at a fraction of the cost.
In Connecticut, that’s already visible. On a sunny summer day, visit New Haven’s Edgewood Park or Hartford’s Keney Park, and you’ll see hundreds of parkgoers clamoring for shade, escaping the urban heat island that our built environment imposes. Stamford’s Mill River Park is an economic driver for downtown and a flood control system all in one. And Bridgeport is pursuing a long-term vision to transform its waterfront and its residents’ wellbeing with a 20-mile interconnected series of climate-resilient parks and pathways called the Bridgeport Seawalk.
The job now is to build on that progress. Expanding access so that every resident lives within a 10-minute walk of a park. Prioritizing investment in underserved neighborhoods. Supporting funding measures that ensure parks are maintained and improved over time.
Cities don’t have the luxury of leaving value on the table. If you aren’t investing in the spaces that are bringing communities together and addressing today’s most urgent challenges, you are failing to maximize one of your most powerful assets.
For Connecticut, the path forward is clear: increase investment in city park systems by establishing new, dedicated funding sources for parks. Today, all four Connecticut cities rank in the bottom half of U.S. cities for park investment, reflecting a large gap between what communities need and what current budgets can provide.
Sustained public investment will ensure that parks are not only accessible, but well-maintained, resilient, and equitably distributed. With a three-to-one return, this is a smart financial decision. Now is the time to invest in the spaces that bring people together, improve daily life, and deliver measurable returns for communities across the state.
Because the question isn’t whether cities can afford to invest in parks. It’s whether they can afford not to.
Walker Holmes of New Haven is Connecticut Director of the Trust for Public Land.
