Economic Benefits of Public Parks

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Public spaces have many real and measurable economic benefits. For example, parks can contribute significantly to the land values in a city. In New York, the real estate values around Bryant Park, Central Park, Prospect Park and Riverside Park are the highest in the city. Minneapolis’ prime residential areas are located along the extensive park and trail system surrounding its numerous lakes. California’s Pacific Coast beaches and parks provide the setting for some of the most expensive homes in the country. Several neighborhoods near the Dorothea Dix property has been targeted for redevelopment. A nearby public park would enhance those efforts.

A public park in close proximity could enhance the Farmer’s Market. A park and its surrounding area can be not only a place to understand and relate to nature, but it can also be a place for social and cultural exchange. A park can be alive and teeming with entrepreneurial activities such as markets; physical activities such as children playing or people skating, walking or jogging; for cultural activities, such as art and community events; or for simply socializing with friends
For many years and in many cities throughout the world, parks have played a pivotal role in shaping the success of cities. The first formal “parks,” such as Central Park in New York City, were created in the 19th century, to be passive and beautiful, in contrast to the dense and dirty reality of urban life. However, they were, in the long run, a collection of important destinations and places. The Sailboat Pond in Central Park is a good example of such a “place,” and remains both a destination in the park and a place to enjoy nature. An urban Raleigh Park would increase Raleigh tourism appeal.
Great cities have great downtown parks; note that 335 acres is not large compared to other urban parks.

New York, 843 acres- Central Park
San Francisco, 1,017 acres – Golden Gate Park
San Diego, 1000 acres – Balboa Park
New Orleans. 1500 acres
Pittsburgh, 640 acres plus similar-sized parks in the city
Philadelphia, 8,700 acres
Nashville, TN, 1,125 in town (plus 9,100 acres 9 miles from town)
Austin TX, 16,076 acres in the urban area
Houston, TX, 445 acres downtown plus 20,000 acres urban
Sacramento, CA, 600 acre, William Land Park
Atlanta – Centennial Park
Milwaukee Shoreline
Chicago – Lake Front Parks

Parks provide settings for cultural and social activities to enhance tourism
Often, public places offer free, open forums for people to encounter art, to enjoy performances, and to participate in other cultural activities. From “Shakespeare in the Park” festivals to string quartets at a downtown plaza, good places foster and enhance a city’s cultural life. Providence, Rhode Island’s WaterFire, an award winning fire and music installation, has had an impressive cultural and economic impact, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors to the downtown riverfront on summer and fall evenings. A symbol of the city’s renaissance, WaterFire brings people and events to a central urban area that had been typically deserted after dark. These events also bring a great variety of people together and set the stage for positive social interaction.
Parks help the environment
Great public places also have environmental benefits because they give relief to urban living. Not only do they reduce the need for and dependence on the automobile, but parks and other “green” public spaces, such as waterfronts and wildlife areas, increase people’s appreciation for and stewardship over the natural environment, and also provide habitats for animals – for example, Brooklyn’s Prospect Park is home to more than 200 species of birds. What is more, the trees and other greenery so characteristic of these places filter out pollutants and freshen the air.

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