New research has revealed the cities in the US with the most parkland green space per resident.
The study by Artificial Grass Pros analyzed data on the available parkland space in the country’s most populous 100 cities to establish, per resident, those with the best access to green spaces for residents.
Chesapeake, Virginia, comes in as the top city nationwide for those seeking balance between an array of human interaction, and vast green space for exploration and activity. The Virginia city of over 250,000 has close to 60,000 acres of parkland in its vicinity. This equates to 2,300 acres per 10,000 residents. This is as much as 427% more than the average acreage per 10,000 of the country’s most populous 100 cities, with 27% of its land area constituting of parkland.
In second, Scottsdale, Arizona, boasts approximately 32,000 acres of parkland. Also with 27% of the city constituting of parkland, and a population just smaller than 250,000, Scottsdale sports 1,200 acres per 10,000 residents.
Fremont, California, the third-best city for green space access, is as much as 44% parkland. With a population of around 235,000, the 22,000 acres of parkland equate to 931 acres per 10,000 Fremont residents.
Jacksonville, Florida consists of approximately 465,000 acres, 18% of which is parkland. This 84,000 acres of space is as much as 862 acres per 10,000 Jacksonville residents, the fourth-highest figure nationwide. New Orleans, Louisiana, is the city with the fifth greatest parkland-to-populace ratio with its 25,000 acres making for 637 acres per 10,000.
The Metropolitan area of Honolulu, Hawaii sports a population of around 1 million. With 65,000 acres of parkland equating to 17% of the city’s land area, there are 635 acres per 100,000 Honolulu residents, the sixth greatest figure in the US.
In seventh, the mere 64,000 acres of North Las Vegas, Nevada includes 17,000 acres of park space. With this and the city’s 276,000 population, there are 605 acres for every 100,000 residents. Virginia Beach becomes the second Virginia city to make the top ten cities for green space per capita, in eighth place. 26,000 acres here is equal to 560 per 100,000 capita.
Rounding out the top ten are El Paso, Texas and Santa Clarita, California. The Texas city’s 30,000 acres of parkland comes in as 437 acres per resident, while Santa Clarita’s 10,000 parkland acres, 21% of its entire land area, equates to 420 acres per 100,000 residents.
| Rank | City | Total Parkland (Acres) | City Land Area (Acres) | Parkland Acres Per 10k Capita | Parkland Areas as % of City |
| 1 | Chesapeake, VA | 58,693 | 216,010 | 2,300 | 27 |
| 2 | Scottsdale, AZ | 31,598 | 117,587 | 1,284 | 27 |
| 3 | Fremont, CA | 21,957 | 49,927 | 931 | 44 |
| 4 | Jacksonville, FL | 84,324 | 464,885 | 862 | 18 |
| 5 | New Orleans, LA | 24,737 | 107,591 | 637 | 23 |
| 6 | Honolulu, HI | 64,795 | 377,784 | 635 | 17 |
| 7 | North Las Vegas, NV | 16,705 | 64,896 | 605 | 26 |
| 8 | Virginia Beach, VA | 25,993 | 156,555 | 560 | 17 |
| 9 | El Paso, TX | 30,012 | 162,503 | 437 | 18 |
| 10 | Santa Clarita, CA | 9,723 | 45,282 | 420 | 21 |
Bennett Barrier, CEO of Artificial Grass Pros commented on the findings: “As we tend to think of the most highly populated cities as being densely packed, urban, and lacking in open areas, it’s interesting to see those with the best potential for access to calm space and nature, alongside the bustle of city life.
The relatively newly acknowledged impact of the outdoors on both our physical and mental well-being suggests that these spaces can provide enormous benefits to city dwellers, so it’s certainly interesting to see where these benefits can be reaped the most in America’s most populous place.”
Artificial Grass Pros are artificial turf installers.
