Access To Parks In The United States

Abstract

Having access to places to engage in physical activity may improve physical activity levels in the United States. Access to such infrastructure can be quantified by describing the percentage of U.S. youth and adults with a park near their residence. PURPOSE: To describe the proportion of the U.S. population with access to a local, state, or national park in their state. METHODS: Park access was defined as having an in-state local, state, or national park within one-half mile of one's residence. U.S. local, state, and national park data were derived from the 2007 Geographic Data Technology Database. U.S. Census Bureau year 2000 data were used to determine each state's population. A one-half mile buffer was placed around each park in the database using ArcGIS 9.3.1. U.S. Census Bureau year 2000 block-level data were then area-proportioned into the buffered parks to assess the percentage of each state's population living within one-half mile of a park. RESULTS: Overall, 39.2% of the U.S. population lives within one-half mile of a park located in their state. In the U.S., 61.6% of Asian/Pacific Islanders have access to a park compared with 46.8% of Blacks, 32.8% of Whites, and 27.0% of American Indian/Alaskan Natives. 53.6% of Hispanics also have access to a park within one-half mile of their residence. By age, 37.0% of the U.S. population under age 18 years has park access compared to 41.0% of 18-64 year olds, and 35.0% of those 65 years and older. Park access among District of Columbia (DC) and state residents ranges from 97.1% in DC to 2.7% in Mississippi. Other states with a large proportion of their population with park access include California (69.3%), Illinois (63.7%), and Colorado (60.9%) while other states with small proportions having access are Vermont (3.5%), Arkansas (4.7%) and West Virginia (5.0%). CONCLUSION: Less than 4 out of 10 individuals in the United States have access to a park. Equitable access to parks should be considered when promoting environmental opportunities to increase physical activity. Additional research is needed to examine factors to improve access to parks.