(Undated) -- Des Moines' park system ranks 25th in the nation. The ranking from Trust for Public Land scores a city's park system based on access, investment, acreage, amenities, and equity.
Des Moines ranks ahead of places like Atlanta, Austin, San Diego, and Tampa.
Trust for Public Land is working with cities across the country to increase the amount of Americans who live within a 10 minute walk of a park. 72% of Des Moines residents meet that goal, up nearly 20% compared to the median of the 14,000 cities evaluated in the study.
According to the evaluation, Des Moines uses 14% of its land for 174 parks, tallying more than 4,000 acres of land. With the city's park system, Public Land says Des Moines is in the top 29% of the nation in the amenities available at its parks.
The ranking finds Des Moines needs to improve in how equitably available its parks are. Compared to the median, Hispanic and Latinx neighborhoods are 17% less likely to be nearby a park space, whereas a White neighborhood is 178% more likely to be close to a park.
Equity is where Des Moines received its lowest score, a 40 out of 100. How Des Moines lands in each individual category can be found here.
For the second consecutive year, Trust for Public Land lists Washington D.C. as the best big city park system in the country.