99.9 Percent Of Evanston Lives Within Walking Distance Of A Park

EVANSTON, IL — It’s no secret that public parks are essential to a community’s health, particularly for kids. They provide a safe place for people to gather, explore and play. They give dogs a place to frolic. They often increase the value of surrounding homes. And they can serve as a home for major festivals and events.

But new data crunched by The Trust for Public Land released last week suggests many Americans — one in three — don’t have access to a quality park within a 10-minute walk of their home.

Not so along much of the North Shore. In Evanston, virtually 100 percent of residents — 77,351 people — live near a park. Only 123 people in Evanston live in so-called “park deserts.”

Here’s a breakdown of Evanston's park statistics:

• Total parks: 93
• Total acreage: 286, equal to 217 football fields.
• Kids in walking distance of parks: 100 percent

As for how Evanston compares to nearby, a healthy 96 percent of Wilmette residents and 95 percent of people in Skokie are within the group's definition of walking distance. About three of four Glenview residents can walk to a park – leaving out 12,499 people, and in Chicago, 98 percent of people can walk to a park as easily but nearly 70,000 people are still left out.

Nationwide, just 54 percent of people in urban areas live near a park, the organization found.

“Today, more than 100 million people in communities across America don’t have a park within a 10-minute walk of home — and that’s 100 million too many,” Diane Regas, president and CEO of the organization, said in a release. “ParkServe will help us address this challenge, so every person in America can experience the countless benefits of having a park close to home.”

The group recently released a mapping tool showing what areas of cities could be best served by more local parks, but with Evanston already at 100 percent coverage, it offers no suggestions.

In Skokie, on the other hand, it recommends give potential park locations to increase aspect. The blue circled numbers indicate the best locations for new park development, ranked by how significant an impact it would have on the neighborhood.

The group says this is the first time in America’s history that every park in each urban municipality has been mapped. Residents can now determine who has and who lacks walkable access to a park, an important tool for city planners.

The tool also allows people to see the percentage of residents who live near a park by income, ethnicity, age and other demographic factors.

“The ParkServe data platform takes the guesswork out of planning where to put a park,” said Breece Robertson, the director of the group’s geographic information system. “It tells mayors and recreation departments, ‘To serve the most people in need, build a park right here.’”

Patch reporter Dan Hampton contributed.