Here’s How Andover Ranks For Park Systems In 2020

ANDOVER, MA—The Trust for Public Land released its park system rankings as state and federal leaders continue to reopen parks and green spaces across the country amid the coronavirus pandemic. Nearby Boston reached the Top Ten for the first time since 2016, landing in ninth place and pushing rival New York into 11th position.

While Andover did not make the Top 100, here’s what the authors found for our town, which has a total of five parks.

• Percent of Andover residents who live within a 10-minute walk of a park: 67 (national average is 55 percent)
• Percent of Andover’s land that is used for parks and recreation: 5 (national median is 15 percent)

According to the nonprofit organization, the red and tan colors represent where parks are needed the most in Andover. The No. 1 and No. 2 represent suggested locations for a new park.

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