Des Moines Sun

DES MOINES, IOWA — Des Moines Parks and Recreation has moved up among the top 25 park systems in the country according to the Trust for Public Land’s (TPL) 2023 ParkScore.

The ParkScore program evaluates how Des Moines Parks and Recreation scores against the largest 100 cities in the United States in acreage, investment, amenities, access and equity.  In 2023, the City of Des Moines’ ParkScore improved from 60.8 to 62.1 behind the strength of the recently opened EMC Downtown Park and major improvements to Evergreen Park, Tower Park, MacRae Park and Brook Run Park over the last year.

"Our ParkScore is a reflection of the dedication of our team to continual improvement,” Parks and Recreation Director Ben Page said. “Our team is constantly striving to build on its successes and keep raising the bar for our residents and visitors."

Though the City of Des Moines is not among the 100 largest cities in the United States, the ParkScore system specifies that Des Moines’ score would rank 21st in the country, if ranked, higher than cities like Atlanta, San Diego, Kansas City and Omaha.

“This ranking shows that we score very favorably to park systems in cities of all sizes,” Park Planning Administrator Daniel Calvert said. “We’re designing our system creatively and leveraging partnerships to provide our residents with the best possible opportunities to get outside and recreate within the City of Des Moines.”

The City of Des Moines plans to continue pushing forward on equity-focused park system development and programming, as guided by the department’s comprehensive plan, LiveDSM.

Projects equaling millions of dollars of improvements are slated to continue making targeted impacts in areas with the greatest evaluated need and priority for amenities, access, equity and investment across all four City Council wards.

Our Equitable Service Neighborhood Park Programming initiative is also being implemented in five neighborhood parks in 2023 in parks of high equity need and covering all four City Council wards.

ParkScore Criteria:

• Park equity compares per capita park space and 10-minute-walk park access in communities of color vs. white communities and in low-income neighborhoods vs. high income neighborhoods. Park systems score higher if disparities are low or non-existent;
• Park access measures the percentage of residents living within a 10-minute walk of a park;
• Park acreage is based on a city’s median park size and the percentage of city area dedicated to parks;
• Park investment measures park spending per resident; and
• Park amenities assesses the availability of six popular park features: basketball hoops, off-leash dog parks, playgrounds, “splash pads” and other water play structures, recreation and senior centers, and restrooms.

Original source can be found here.