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As the climate crisis worsens, cities turn to parks
Cities across the U.S. are seeing worse floods and hotter summers, but experts believe urban parks can help residents cope.
City parks have long been a place for urban residents surrounded by the gray of asphalt and concrete to get a small dose of green. As cities increasingly feel the impacts of rising seas and temperatures, city planners are rethinking the roles of urban parks.
“There’s been a quiet and profound move to use parks to help cities adapt to the realities of climate change,” says Diane Regas, CEO of The Trust for Public Land, an organization that works to create neighborhood and national parks.
Each year the trust publishes their ParkScore Index, which ranks the top 100 largest U.S. cities by parks. The 2019 rankings will be released on Wednesday; Minneapolis won the highest ranking in 2018.
