Greener for All: How Philly is Expanding Equitable Park Access
Author: Shalini Samuel
Philadelphia’s park system includes iconic spaces like Fairmount Park and Pennypack Park. However, urbanization has made the situation worse. With buildings coming up everywhere, the City of Brotherly Love is losing its green space.
Change In Mindset, Worldwide
The world population is becoming more health conscious. Everyone needs better air quality, daily outdoor exercise, and green space for relaxing. Due to the rising demand, Philadelphia wants to provide its urban citizens equal access to green space.
How do we ward off the disparity? Experts have been discussing this for a long. This blog explores the city’s ongoing efforts to create more inclusive, accessible parks.
Importance of Equitable Park Access
Parks and green spaces are essential to urban living. We cannot sit inside closed walls all day and night and expect good health. Walking out, getting fresh air, and interacting with people is essential.
Parks improve physical and mental health. Studies show that access to green spaces reduces stress levels and enhances air quality. In today’s world, this boosts nearby property values.
412 houses, one of Pittsburgh’s top cash home buyers, feel the houses near the park sell quickly and yield more profit. Nowadays, most cash buyers prefer to invest in houses near parks, schools, and greener areas.
What Problems Do We Face Due To Poor Park Access?
However, a lack of equitable park access is rising in urban areas worldwide. Communities with fewer parks often have higher poverty rates and poor health. Urbanization disrupts local biodiversity by removing all green spaces. We have to stop this slow degradation.
Philadelphia’s Green City Initiative
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s efforts to create a more equitable green space in urban areas include:
· PHS Green Equity Initiative: The Green City initiative funds park improvements in underserved neighborhoods. It will help create vibrant, safe spaces for the people of Philadelphia.
· Connecting People to Parks: Green City initiative focuses on improving pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure around parks. It makes it easier for people to access these green spaces.
· Greater Plans: Cleaning vacant plots and greening the surroundings impact the environment. More people should join PHS to make Philadelphia green for future generations.
Challenges and the Road Ahead
Green City initiatives are promising. But there’s still work to be done. Ongoing challenges include
· Funding
· Addressing safety concerns in certain areas.
· Ensure inclusive park programming.
Rebuild Philadelphia
The Rebuild Philadelphia initiative will provide neighborhood parks, recreation centers, and libraries. Soon, every Philadelphian will have access to high-quality, safe, and welcoming public spaces.
The 10-Minute Walk Campaign
10-Minute Walk Campaign states that by 2050, every city resident will have access to public green space. The parks will be within a 10-minute walking distance. Philadelphia is developing new green spaces and improving existing parks to achieve this goal. The plan also focuses on providing good park infrastructure. People will get sidewalks and bike lanes in the park.
Greening Schoolyards and Vacant Lots
Philadelphia is also transforming underutilized spaces into green areas. Schoolyards can serve students and the surrounding people as neighborhood parks. Additionally, vacant lots turn into community gardens and mini-parks. These ideas give us more green space in densely populated areas. Another option some property owners take is to sell the lot instead of converting it into something else.
Results Of Green City Initiative
The recent revival of Hunting Park is a model of what humanity can achieve when it comes together for a purpose. Philadelphia’s plans for equitable park access are improving residents’ well-being. While there are still some challenges to address, the progress made so far is promising. Philadelphia is setting a standard for other cities to follow in urban planning.
Final Thoughts
As a senior content writer at SEO to Real Estate Investors, I connect with many cash home buyers worldwide. I learned that people sell their houses when the surrounding gets too urbanized. More people prefer greener spaces, and property values are increasing in such areas.
Philadelphia’s efforts for equitable park access come at the right time. All Philadelphians will have a greener future as these Green City initiatives continue to grow and evolve. It will increase property values and stop population migration.