December 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 26

EQUITY

Increasing park acreage in areas that face
park deficits and low levels of tree canopy
could lead to significant population-level
increases in life expectancy.

More Parks, Longer Lives
By Elva Yañez

U

rban parks and green spaces protect our health by providing
opportunities for physical activity, time in nature, social connection and respite. During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, they've helped us maintain our sanity when, day after
day, we and our children have been cooped up indoors. Parks also filter
air, remove pollution, buffer noise, cool temperatures, filter stormwater and
replenish groundwater.
But access to parks and green
spaces is starkly unequal across
lines of race and class. Too many
communities go without these
health-promoting resources, facing
greater exposure to pollution and
other environmental hazards and
higher rates of premature death
from chronic illnesses, like heart
disease and type 2 diabetes.

Tracking the Data
To better understand the potential
health impacts of expanding park
acreage in areas that face park
24

Parks & Recreation

deficits and lack trees, Prevention
Institute partnered with the University of California, Los Angeles'
(UCLA's) Department of Environmental Health Sciences and an advisory board of community-based
organizations to study census tractlevel data made available recently
through the U.S. Small-Area Life
Expectancy Estimates Project
(USALEEP). We looked at life expectancy - the number of years a
person can expect to live averaged
across the population.
This new research (tinyurl.com/

| D E C E M B E R 2 02 0 | PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N .O R G

yxta6lu8) is based on data from
the Los Angeles, California, region, but provides insights for park
agencies across the country. In
Los Angeles (L.A.) County, more
than half of residents live in areas
with high or very high park need,
and these areas are concentrated in
low-income communities of color.
The research reveals that:
* Increasing park acreage in areas
that face park deficits and low
levels of tree canopy could lead
to significant population-level increases in life expectancy.
* Targeted investments in park infrastructure would significantly
benefit the health of Latino and
Black community members.
This is especially important in
communities, like South Los Angeles, where the median life expectancy is 77 years, which is well



December 2020 - Parks & Recreation

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