Ranking the American Cities with the Most Parkland Per Household

While we often talk about the places that are park poor, Builder Online has done the data crunching to find out which cities are park rich.

1 minute read

October 18, 2015, 9:00 AM PDT

By jwilliams @jwillia22


Audubon Park, New Orleans

InSapphoWeTrust / Flickr

When we talk about great communities, we often think about places that have an abundance of outdoor space available nearby. Builder’s Dian Zhang has compiled data from The Trust for Public Land and the 2014 American Community Survey to identify "America’s top 10 cities with the most public park acreage per 1,000 households."

In order to get an accurate read on the park situation, the rankings exclude low-density cities and look at individual cities, not metro areas. Further, the parks, whether city, county, metro or federal, must be within the boundaries of the city. Given these restrictions, the rankings found that the majority of park rich communities are in the southwest, led by El Paso, Albuquerque, and Phoenix. Surprisingly, the only city east of the Mississippi to make the list is New Orleans, Louisiana.

The full list is available on Builder's web site.

Saturday, October 17, 2015 in Builder

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Concrete Brutalism building with slanted walls and light visible through an atrium.

What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities

How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.

February 28, 2025 - Justin Hollander

Complete Street

‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge

Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.

February 27, 2025 - Streetsblog USA

Skating rink under freeway in Bentway park in Toronto, Canada.

Montreal’s Gorilla Park Repurposes Defunct Railway Track

The park is part of a global movement to build public spaces that connect neighbors and work with local elements to serve as key parts of a city’s green infrastructure.

February 24, 2025 - The Globe and Mail

General Store and Post Office in Saint Michael North Dakota on the Spirit Lake Reservation.

Spirit Lake Nation Reclaims 680 Acres After Century-Long Effort

After decades of advocacy, the Spirit Lake Nation successfully reclaimed 680 acres of its original treaty land from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, marking a significant step toward healing and future development.

32 minutes ago - ICT

People walking down Bourbon Street in New Orleans at night.

Bourbon Street Could Be a Model for Pedestrian Spaces

The conversation around pedestrianizing public streets isn’t new — think Times Square. Could one of America’s oldest streets lead the way in a revival of the pedestrian mall?

1 hour ago - Streetsblog USA

Rush hour traffic jam of cars, buses, taxis and trucks on the Williamsburg Bridge in Brooklyn, New York City with the colorful glow of sunlight in the background.

Multiple Lawsuits Aim to Save NYC Congestion Pricing

Environmental and transit advocacy groups, along with the MTA, are suing USDOT over its recent crusade to end the cordon pricing program.

2 hours ago - Sierra Club

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.