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The 10-Minute Walk, also known as the 10-Minute Walk to a Park, is a parks-advocacy movement led by
ParkServe
- an open, comprehensive database of park information for 14,000 cities across the U.S. Parks in the United States
The 10-Minute Walk, also known as the 10-Minute Walk to a Park, is a parks-advocacy movement led by The Trust for Public Land
The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has compl ...
to ensure that everyone in the United States lives within a ten-minute walk to a high-quality park or green space.
History and adoption
More than 300 mayors of large and small cities across the United States have committed to the goal, including the mayors of the four largest cities in the U.S.:New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, and Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
. Urban parks are increasingly seen by those in municipal government as a solution to many inner-city challenges. This initiative seeks to provide physical and mental health
Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...
benefits, opportunities for physical activity, proximity to nature, neighborhood and community revitalization, and environmental benefits for citizens through the creation of urban parks. Health studies demonstrate that an increase in exercise, including walking alone, may foster longevity in older adults.
The effort was adopted as a resolution at the 85th annual United States Conference of Mayors
The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) is the official non-partisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. The cities are each represented by their mayors or other chief elected officials. The organization was founded ...
(USCM) convention in 2017 as a goal for cities to increase parks and green space as a civic responsibility. The concept has been supported by several community-based nonprofit organizations: the National Recreation and Park Association
The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) is a not-for-profit organization focused on utilizing parks and recreation to build strong, vibrant and resilient communities. They invest in and champion the work of professionals in the field ...
(NRPA), the Urban Land Institute
The Urban Land Institute, or ULI, is a global nonprofit research and education organization with regional offices in Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, and London. ULI aims to help its members and their partners build more equitable, sustainable, heal ...
(ULI), and Fields in Trust in the UK. A ten-minute walk is considered to be , which is the distance the National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
(NPS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the National public health institutes, national public health agency of the United States. It is a Federal agencies of the United States, United States federal agency under the United S ...
(CDC) uses when they link park access and public health.
The first city in the U.S. to achieve a 10-Minute Walk to a park for every resident was San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
.
See also
* Park conservancy * Walking distance measure * 15-minute cityReferences
{{reflistExternal links
ParkServe
- an open, comprehensive database of park information for 14,000 cities across the U.S. Parks in the United States