OKC's Park System Ranked Last In Nation

SAN FRANCISCO - Oklahoma City's park system ranks dead last in a survey of the nation's largest cities!

That stunning revelation appears in a survey published recently by the Trust for Public Lands. The survey, Park Score 2021, found that just 38% of Oklahoma City's residents lived within a 10 minute walk of recognized green space, but that number fell to just 11% for those residents deemed low-income. The national average was 55%.

City Mayor David Holt has pledged to adopt long-term, system-wide strategies to make sure every Oklahoma City resident has access to all the benefits parks provide. "I have endorsed the vision that everyone should have a park or open space within a 10-minute walk of home," the Mayor told the national campaign group 10MinuteWalk.

However the ParkSpace 2021 survey suggests the city has a long way to go. The survey awards cities credit under five criteria : access, acreage, amenities, investment, and equity.

The city earned just 5 marks out of 100 for access, 31 out of 100 for acreage, and just 28 marks out of 100 for investment.

Although the survey found Oklahoma City contains 215 parks within its boundaries, they constitute just 2% of the city's total land area compared to 15% for the nation as a whole.

In terms of investment the report found the City spends just two-thirds of the national average on park infrastructure - $65 per person compared to $96 per person in the nation as a whole.

Although the survey found just one third of the city's residents live close by green space, canines and sports enthusiasts fared even worse - just 1.8 basketball hoops for every 10,000 residents, and 0.3 dog parks.

Tulsa's city park structure fared better, the survey finding 60% of residents lived within walking distance of green space, five points above the national average. Tulsa also allocates three times the amount of land space for parks as OKC, 6% to 2%, and allocates a greater share of their budget, spending $86 per capita compared to OKC's $65.

Of cities in neighboring states, Denver ranked 18th on the nation, Kansas City, Missouri, ranked 20th and Dallas came in at 50.

Mayor Holt's office has been approached for comment.

The Trust for Public Land is a national nonprofit that seeks to increase access to green space for all Americans. The Trust's Park Score Index is published each Spring.

This year's results can be viewed in full at tpl.org/parkscore.