Giving Compass' Take:

• Joseph Winters explains how the size and nature of city parks exclude nonwhite communities and low-income households from equal health benefits.

• How does the exclusion of marginalized communities in city planning strategies create this discriminatory impact? How is this impact exaggerated during coronavirus? What can we do to ensure equity in location, construction, and size of city parks?

• Read more about the historic injustices of urban planning and exclusive city parks.

To beat summer heat — and escape indoor environments where COVID-19 is easily transmitted — city parks are a necessary respite. But new data adds to the evidence that not everyone has equal access to restorative green spaces, with large disparities linked to race and income.

A new report from the Trust for Public Land (TPL), a nonprofit focused on protecting parks and nature, revealed that public parks serving nonwhite communities are on average half the size of those serving majority-white populations, and serve five times as many people per acre.

Meanwhile, the pandemic has led cities to scale back the capacity of indoor cooling centers, air conditioned spaces that are open to the public during heat waves. Many businesses remain closed, and unemployment is high.

It’s a problem with life-threatening consequences. According to data from the National Weather Service, heat has caused more deaths over the past 30 years than any other form of extreme weather.

City parks can offer a lifeline. By providing shade and through a process known as evapotranspiration parks can maintain temperatures as much as 17 degrees F cooler than the rest of the urban landscape.

Researchers in the TPL study used satellite data to analyze parks in 14,000 cities and towns across the United States and census data to consider the racial and socioeconomic makeup of communities within a 10-minute walk of each park. The smallest parks were those serving low-income households, which spanned on average 25 acres, compared to the 101 acres for high-income demographics. Based on the researchers’ estimates, the most crowded parks were those serving nonwhite communities.

In the age of COVID-19, that means it’s even more difficult for low-income households and communities of color to practice social distancing while relaxing in their local park.

Read the full article about city parks by Joseph Winters at Grist.