Pittsburgh chosen for park outdoor equity program

Pittsburgh has been selected as one of seven cities to join the Trust for Public Land’s second cohort of its 10-Minute Walk Park Equity Accelerator program.

The TPL chose Pittsburgh based on its commitment to advancing local parks, according to a news release from the nonprofit organization, and by joining the program, the nonprofit’s leaders said Mayor Ed Gainey is working to help close the gap in outdoor equity and access to parks.  

Established with The JPB Foundation’s support in 2017, TPL’s 10-Minute Walk program works with more than 300 mayors and city leaders across 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., to close the park equity gap, the news release stated, so that every resident has access to a quality park or green space within a 10-minute walk of home. The program partners with cities to address their most urgent needs around health, resilience, environmental protection, economic development and community building through parks.

The Park Equity Accelerator brings technical assistance, financial resources, learning and evaluation, and policy planning support to participating cities. Baton Rouge, Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Raleigh and Washington, D.C., are the other cities chosen.

Gainey said in the news release, “This administration is committed to increasing the quality of green and open space in the city of Pittsburgh that also increases residents’ ability to access them. So, we’re excited to continue our partnership with the Trust for Public Land through this Parks Equity Accelerator. The technical expertise offered through this program will further our shared goals.” 

Kathryn Vargas, director of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, did not respond to a request for what parks or greenways are being considered for this partnership.

In its application, Pittsburgh leaders plan to construct urban land conservation models that connect city greenways. The program is an 18-month undertaking slated to begin shortly, according to Owen Franklin, vice president the Great Lakes Region and Pennsylvania state director for TPL.  He said 15 cities competed to join the accelerator program, and each application identified a policy situation to focus on.

“Each city will receive technical expertise and experts to explore the issue the city has selected,” he said. The TPL has not refined the full scope of the projects, and that will be done with the selected cities and funds then allocated.  

Franklin explained, “Pittsburgh’s greenways are an asset to the city, but they could punch at a higher weight class. Greenways with particular improvements could have transportation options [for residents] they don’t have, opportunities for physical fitness, connect with communities and more. The project increases the connectivity to the greenway to a neighborhood access point more competently.”

For example, he said, TPL worked with Scranton in the first cohort, and it started with an audit of its park system and the blocks that surrounded it. From that audit and conversations with the community, leaders found barriers that limited residents’ ability to walk easily to parks and identified programming they wanted in their parks.

The accelerator not only helps the selected cities, Franklin said, but also other cities and their parks across the country will benefit from what is completed. Typically the nonprofit finds that cities are experiencing the same problems with keeping up and improving their parks and greenways. Plus every dollar invested in parks has other benefits, such as public health and public safety. “What we learn from each city is knowledge that can be shared across the country.”