CityHealth, an initiative of the de Beaumont Foundation and Kaiser Permanente, released its annual awards to the nation’s largest cities with gold, silver, bronze, or no medal in different policy areas that can improve people’s access to healthy choices and address critical health disparities in local communities.
This year, 37 cities were awarded with overall medals, including Boston and Denver, which earned gold.
“The link between health and the outdoors has never been more clear. We’re proud that CityHealth is using greenspace as part of their evaluation of cities,” said Sadiya Muqueeth, Director of Community Health for the Land and People Lab at Trust for Public Land. “Providing access to the outdoors in the places people need it the most is a real opportunity that cities have to improve the health of their residents and these insights gives cities the tools to implement policies to bring parks closer to home.”
In 2022, CityHealth expanded the number of cities it works with from the largest 40 to the largest 75, based on population, and updated its policy package to make sure that its work continues to resonate with cities and is aligned with the latest evidence, can promote health and racial equity.
Among this new 12-policy package are greenspace policies that Trust for Public Land (TPL) has been working with CityHealth on for the last two years to refine and assess across 75 of the largest cities. They include park access, park investment, urban tree canopy, and prioritizing underserved communities for equity.
TPL completes an annual ranking of the 100 most populated U.S. cities by comparing five categories – equity, access, investment, amenities, and acreage. The ParkScore® index is widely considered the “gold standard” for park evaluation and to complement the annual ratings list, TPL also released a groundbreaking special report highlighting many creative ways that cities are using parks to resist the effects of climate change and reduce park inequity. The report shares case studies describing how areas like inland Los Angeles are using parks to capture and filter stormwater. It also profiles coastal cities that are leveraging parks to resist rising sea levels.
About Trust for Public Land
Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 3 million acres of public land, created more than 5,000 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, raised $84 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected more than 9 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org.