Half of Capital Region Residents Live with a Half Mile of a Park
As spring blooms in the Capital Region, new statistics show that half of its residents live within a half mile of a park, according to a Center for Economic Growth (CEG) analysis of new data from County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (CHR&R), a program of the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
Washington Park, Albany
For the first time, last March, the annual CHR&R statistics featured a metric for “access to parks,” which uses ArcGIS Online and U.S. Census TIGER/Line Shapefile data to measure the percentage of the population living within a half mile of a park. In the eight-county Capital Region, 49.9 percent (552,730) of residents live within half a mile of a park.1
Within the Capital Region, the five-county Albany-Schenectady-Troy metropolitan statistical area (MSA) has 124,752 acres of publicly accessible protected areas, according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Public Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US). Protected areas are “dedicated to the preservation of biological diversity and to other natural, recreation, historic, and cultural uses.” Among New York’s 13 metro areas, the Albany-Schenectady-Troy contains the fifth greatest amount of publicly accessible protected areas by acreage. That includes 5,776 acres of publicly accessible protected areas managed by local governments, such as municipal parks, and 14,649 acres managed as state parks, such as Cherry Plain State Park, Grafton Lakes State Park, Thacher State Park, and Saratoga Spa State Park.
At 241,708, acres, the Glens Falls MSA has the second largest publicly accessible protected area footprint, most of which includes conservation lands in the Adirondack Park. At 433,008 acres the Utica-Rome MSA has the largest publicly accessible protected area footprint, because much of Herkimer County is in the Adirondack Park.
At 82.5 percent, Warren County had the state’s fifth highest concentration of residents living within a half mile of a park. According to the Trust for Public Land’s Parkscore Index, the City of Glens Falls, which is flanked by the Adirondack Park, contains seven parks spanning 111 acres. Parks in the city include Crandall Park and Haviland Cove Park.
Albany County had the region’s next highest percentage of residents with park access, at 61.6 percent. According to the Parkscore Index, the City of Albany has 48 parks spanning 2,046 acres. Seventy-seven percent of city residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park. Parks within the city include Washinton Park, and Corning Preserve, and the Albany Pine Bush.
Albany Pine Bush
Schenectady County had the region’s next highest percentage of residents with park access, at 59.1 percent. According to the Parkscore Index, the City of Schenectady has 13 parks covering 675 acres. Sixty-nine percent of city residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park. Major parks in the city include Central Park, Steinmetz Park, and Riverside Park.
Central Park Rose Gardens, Schenectady
Forty-six percent of Saratoga County residents live within a half mile of a park. According to the Parkscore Index, the City of Saratoga Springs has 15 parks, including Saratoga Spa State Park, Congress Park and the Skidmore Northwoods. In the city, 61 percent of residents live within a 10-minuute walk of a park.
Congress Park, Saratoga Springs
NOTES
1 The CHR&R reports “access to parks” as a percentage of the total population at the county level. To calculate access to parks at the MSA level, CEG applied the county percentages to their respective total populations and combined them for metro area totals.
CEG INITIATIVES
To better acquaint visitors to and potential and existing workers of the Capital Region to various attractions throughout its eight counties, CEG launched a talent attraction campaign using the CapNY brand, along with a website – GoCapNY.com – and its associated social media channels. The GoCapNY.com web site features articles on various places to explore, include Arts & Culture venues, Food and Drink establishments, Outdoor and Sports, and Daycations. Find out why the Capital Region is a great place to visit, live and work. See GoCapNY.com today.
