Here’s How Alpharetta, Milton Ranks For Park Systems In 2020

ALPHARETTA/MILTON, GA — Atlanta is home to the 40th best park system out of the 100 largest cities in the United States, according to a new ranking released Wednesday by The Trust for Public Land. But cities around metro Atlanta also have plenty of parks to offer.

The nonprofit organization released the rankings as state and federal leaders continue to reopen parks and green spaces across the country amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Here’s what the authors found for Alpharetta and Milton, which have a total of 168 parks in Alpharetta, and 32 parks in Milton.

• Residents who live within a 10-minute walk of a park (national average is 55 percent):
  • Alpharetta: 55 percent
  • Milton: 22 percent
• City land that is used for parks and recreation (national median is 15 percent):
  • Alpharetta: 5 percent
  • Milton: 1 percent

The Trust for Public Land reported overall progress for parks in its 2020 rankings but warned that the U.S. park system has reached a crucial period, as coronavirus-related budget cuts could cause lasting damage moving forward.

“Residents deeply value parks, but continued inequity and the risk of future budget cuts threaten severe damage to the park systems that make many cities so livable,” said Diane Regas, president and CEO of The Trust for Public Land, in a news release.

In the 2020 rankings, Minneapolis, Minnesota, reclaimed the honor of the nation’s best park system from Washington, D.C.

The full methodology for the 2020 report is available on the nonprofit’s website.

Here are the top 10 U.S. cities for park systems and their scores:

1. Minneapolis, Minnesota: 85.3
2. Washington, D.C.: 83.3
3. Saint Paul, Minnesota: 82.5
4. Arlington, Virginia: 81.5
5. Cincinnati, Ohio: 80.6
6. Portland, Oregon: 79.8
7. Irvine, California: 79.6
8. San Francisco, California: 78.9
9. Boston, Massachusetts: 76.5
10. Chicago, Illinois: 76.0