Arizona cities fare poorly in rankings of US park systems

PHOENIX — When it comes to park systems, Arizona residents have a reason to feel green – with envy.

In rankings released this week of park systems in the 100 largest U.S. cities, Arizona had only one entry in the top 50: Scottsdale.

The Trust for Public Land does its city ParkScore index annually based on criteria such as park access, acreage, funding and amenities.

Amenities in the analysis included the number of basketball hoops, dog parks, playgrounds, recreation and senior centers and splash pads per person.

Six Arizona cities were ranked. Here is how they did:

• No. 44 Scottsdale
• No. 56 Phoenix
• No. 63 Chandler
• No. 71 Glendale
• No. 86 Tucson
• No. 96 Mesa

Gilbert is one of the 100 largest U.S. cities but didn’t receive a score because the necessary data was not available.

Mesa was actually second-to-last on the list, ahead of only Charlotte, North Carolina, because Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, Indiana, also didn’t provide data.

Minnesota’s Twin Cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul, ranked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively. The nation’s capital, Washington D.C., was third.

The Trust for Public Land is a nonprofit organization with a mission “to create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come,” according to its website.

Related

Scottsdale Unified approves closure of two schools amid declining enrollmentAndy Biggs shares debate stage with No Labels candidate as Gov Katie Hobbs sits outDave Ramsey says: Bad things happen when you don’t save money!University of Arizona puts all fraternity chapters on ‘activities suspension’ amid investigationsASU hockey trainer reassigned weeks after Matthew Mayich incident, university gives no reasonWATCH: Andy Biggs, third-party candidates debate tonight as Governor Hobbs sits out