Newark, NJ – June 2, 2021 – Mayor Ras J. Baraka announced today that the Trust for Public Land (TPL) has put Newark at 42nd place on its top 100 ParkScore rankings, citing the City for having parks within a 10-minute walk for more than 90 percent of its residents. The report showed that Newark has jumped 27 municipalities from its rating of 69 in 2020. In the 2019 report, Newark stood at 74 on the list.

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The rankings were part of a new TPL report, “Parks and an Equitable Recovery,” which analyzed the role urban parkland plays in urban equity, health, climate, and the economy. The report noted that Newark’s 88 parks and recreation facilities took up six percent of the city’s land.

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“The Trust for Public Land’s report on American urban parks has shown us two things: how far Newark has come and how far we have to go,” Mayor Baraka said. “With the addition of Nat Turner Park earlier in our administration, our strong recreation programs, and our commitment to improving our green spaces, we have improved our quality of life and sustainability for our residents. We hope that as summer comes, COVID eases, and we launch our seasonal programs, residents and visitors take the time to come to enjoy our parks.”

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The TPL report based its rankings of five characteristics of an effective park system: access, investment, acreage, amenities, and equity. Newark scored 91 out of 100 for access, 14 out of 100 for acreage, 33 out of 100 for investment, 37 out of 100 for amenities, and 93 out of 100 for equity.

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The report noted that 93.7 percent of all Newark residents, regardless of age or income level, live an average of a 10-minute walk from a park, and that residents in neighborhoods of color have access to one percent more park space per person than the city median and 36 percent more than those in white neighborhoods. Six percent of the city’s land is used for parks and recreation.

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The top 12 cities were, in this order: Washington, D.C.; St. Paul, Minneapolis, Arlington, Va., Chicago, San Francisco, Irvine, Calif., Cincinnati, Seattle, Portland, Ore., New York, and Boston.

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See the full ParkScore rankings at: https://www.tpl.org/parkscore‍

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About the Trust for Public Land:

‍The Trust for Public Land was founded in 1972 by a diverse coalition that believed all people need and deserve access to nature and the outdoors, close to home, in the cities and communities where they live, as a matter of health, equity, and justice.

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While many conservation organizations set aside wildlands for biodiversity or habitat restoration, our founders sought to bring the benefits of parks and nature to the places, people, and communities that needed them most.

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- NEWARK -