MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT) -- Middle Tennessee is blessed with some great parks -- federal, state, county and city -- but in spite of that parkland in the state’s biggest cities did not fare well in a new national ranking.
WMOT reporting partner Wallethub.com compared recreational opportunities in 100 of the country’s biggest cities. Nashville ranked 65, while Memphis came in at number 92.
Jill Gonzalez says the study considered 35 different criteria, including the number of residents with walkable park access, and…
“We also looked at designed parkland areas, the park playgrounds per capita, and parkland as a percentage of the city area, as well as jus the acres per capita there. So just breaking down how much parkland there is and the quality of it is more of what held those two cities behind.”
Gonzalez notes that parks are a significant taxpayer investment. She says America’s parklands are worth an estimated $340 billion and government at all levels spent approximately $609 billion on parks and recreation last year.
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