Do quality parks attract more users? A study of park quality, features, and usership following citywide park renovations in low-income urban areas.

Authors

Houlin Hong, Ann Dunlap, Katarzyna E Wyka, Rachel L Thompson, Thomas Rouyard, Lorna E Thorpe, Kelly R Evenson, Terry T-K Huang

Published in

Urban forestry & urban greening. Volume 124. Epub Jul 23, 2026.

Abstract

Neighborhood parks are linked to enhanced health and well-being, but there have been few large-scale interventions to improve park quality in low-income urban communities. The Community Parks Initiative (CPI) is an ongoing $500 million renovation program to enhance parks in underserved neighborhoods in New York City. In this quasi-experimental study, we had three aims: (1) to compare multiple dimensions of post-renovation park quality between 33 intervention vs. 21 socio-demographically matched control parks, (2) among intervention parks, to compare park quality in parks with increased usership and those without, and (3) to identify specific park features associated with changes in intervention park usership before and after the CPI intervention. We constructed a novel park quality index to assess park quality using the Community Park Audit Tool (CPAT), and park usership was measured using the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC). Post renovation, intervention parks showed significantly higher park quality index than controls, particularly for non-child-centric activity spaces, infrastructure, safety, and aesthetics. Among intervention parks, open/green space and aesthetic quality component scores were significantly higher in parks with increased usership. Specific features, including lighting and landscaping, were more frequently observed in parks with increased usership. Improving the quality of urban neighborhood parks may play an important role in promoting equitable access to parks and increased park engagement in underserved urban communities.

PMID:
42948734
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 28 Oct 2026.

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