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Gotham Gazette: Good [~'arks Are Good for the Economy
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<br />5'1 think we're going to see the consequences through the park system,"' said ChHstlan DiPalermo, executive
<br />,director of the parks advocacy group New Yorkers for Parks. "We're already strained to take care of our
<br />parks, and you're going to see the care go doiwn.'10
<br />Such cuts could turn out to actually post the city money, Fine parks contribute to the economy by increasing
<br />Iproperty values and, as a result, real estate tax receipts. A 2008 analysis found that the completion of the
<br />Greenwich Villalge section of the Hudson River Park raised real estate prices in the adjacent two blocks by
<br />20 percent.
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<br />in 2003, a study by Ernst & Young and New Yorkers for Parks looked at the results of investment in six city
<br />parks, with supplemental data from 30 additional parks. It found that real estate values were higher on
<br />blocks closest to well- managed and maintained parks, such as Prospect Park.
<br />Parks also attract tourists and residents who come 'to events and activities or who just went to enjoy the
<br />,surroundings, generating economic activity inside and near the park. Central Park attracts more than 25
<br />million visitors ayear, about one fifth of whom come from outside the city, according to "'The Central Park
<br />Effect," which was prepared by the economic analysis firm Appleseed for the Central Park Conservancy.
<br />The study determined that in 2007, spending by visitors and enterprises In the cKys most famous park
<br />directly and Indirectly accounted for $395 million in economic scAlvity. This a&tivtty, as well as Increases In
<br />property values near the park, generated $656 million In revenues for the city In 2007.
<br />"Measuring the Economic Value of a City Park System," released In April by the Center for City Park
<br />Excellence at The Trust for Public Land, analyzed seven ways that city parks 'provide economic benefits.
<br />property values, tourism, direct use,, ',health, community cohesion,, clean water and clean air. Starting with
<br />conservative assumptions of park use and other variables, researchers calculated dollar values for each of
<br />these benefits in a different city.
<br />In San Diego,, for example, the study determined that, with slightly less than 5 percent of tourists coming to
<br />the city especially to visit the parks, park-dierived tourist spending in 2007 totaled $114 million. That
<br />generated $8.6 million in direct sales and other tax revenue as well as a collective Increase of $40 million in
<br />residents' wea Ith .
<br />By offering free or inexpensive recreation, parks also save residents money. In Boston, for example, the
<br />study determined that the economic value of direct park use was $354 million.
<br />The health benefits of exercise in parks offer further savings. The study calculated $19.9 million In medical
<br />savings realized by residents Iin Sacramento because of active recreation in parks.
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<br />According to the report, "numerous studies nave that the MOM' WUU5 UT human relavionships a
<br />neighborhood has, the stronger, safer and more successful It Is." Well -used parks offer many ways for
<br />neighbors to get to know each other, and effarts to create, save, or care for parks create further community
<br />cohesiveness. This "social capital" can reduce a city's costs for policing, fire protection and criminal Justice,
<br />Because the economic value of social capital can't be measured directly, the report cited as a proxy the
<br />amount of time and money residents contributed to friends' "". groups and other park-oriented organizations
<br />and agencies.
<br />Parks also provide quantifiable environmental benefits: Trees and vegetation absorb runoff and reduce
<br />costs for treating slormwater; they also absorb air pollutants, Using Philadelphia as an example, the study
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<br />found that 'the city's park systel,m saved $5.9 million In 2007 In stormwater Management costs. In 210051, the
<br />4,839 acres of tree corer In 7,9919 acres of Washington, D.C. Iparkland produced savings of $1.13 million in
<br />air pollutant removal.
<br />Investment Required
<br />To capture the economic benefits of parks, however, a city must invest in their upkeep. IParks help the
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