55 Environment Although the tragedy of the commons may help explain some negative results of modern life—unsustainable development, air pollution, carbon emissions, depleted water supply—TPL uses data to show how parks and public lands not only mitigate these harmful outcomes but also create shared, positive outcomes. TPL used conservation economics in its 2023 report to prove that public parks—an often underfunded public good—provide a myriad of benefits that have monetary value. To publish The Economic Benefits of Parks in New York City, a team of economists, specialists, and research partners used GIS technology to measure the fiscal impacts of city, state, and federal parks within New York City. The report explains how parks lower health-care costs for people who exercise there, provide natural air and water filtration, increase property values, and promote tourism while serving as a place for people to connect with nature. The report—the first of its kind to study the city’s integrated park system—reveals that policymakers have extraordinary financial incentive to increase funding for the creation, protection, and maintenance of public parks, because parks provide an economic engine for the city. Choosing the Right Tool TPL is a national nonprofit that works with communities to create parks and protect land. For more than 10 years, TPL’s ParkScore index has used information about access, amenities, investment, acreage, equity, and a GIS model to rank how well the 100 largest US cities are meeting the need for parks. Currently, 99 percent of New York City’s nearly 8.5 million residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park. ParkScore measures accessibility, but TPL needed a way to measure the intangible benefits that come from park proximity. An understanding that the economy, social systems, and the natural environment are intertwined prompted team members to ask the following: How can the public health advantages be quantified? How can the benefits of the natural environment be valuated? There’s a growing global interest to put a value on ecosystem services—the many life-sustaining benefits we receive from nature—but nobody had made these calculations across New York City’s urban park system. We wanted to make sure people understand that, in addition to having a nice place to play and a break from the urban experience that a park offers, there are other indirect benefits in relation to air quality, stormwater management, and wildlife habitat. We wanted to prove that we can make the most of limited funding and meet multiple needs with parks, because they’re a big part of what makes a community healthy. —Mitch Hannon, GIS program director at TPL The project was no small task. New York City maintains more than 48,000 acres of parkland across the city’s five boroughs, making parks a valuable public asset and a critical part of the city’s infrastructure. New York State also maintains important recreational assets such as Shirley Chisholm State Park; the National Park Service oversees iconic places such as Liberty Island and Grant’s Tomb; and there are many multjurisdictional parks such as Governors Island and Hudson River Park. “Valuing ecosystem services and outdoor recreation is a challenge because the information can be so dispersed,” said Jennifer Clinton, TPL senior parks and conservation economist. To analyze and appraise such a vast resource, Clinton, Hannon, and their partners looked to geospatial tools, such as ArcGIS Business Analyst, which provided location-driven market insights. Business Analyst contains data on consumer behavior, leisure, and business activities in a geographic context, which helped the team estimate how recreation spending contributes to the local economy. “On a local level, Business Analyst is an obvious tool because of its ability to analyze market potential,” Clinton said. “It gave us a way to figure out how residents were spending their money, how often they’re participating in certain activities, and the estimates of spending in different
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjA2NTE0Mw==