Earlier this year, the Trust for Public Land released its annual ParkScore Index, ranking park systems for the 100 most populous cities in the United States. And as has been the case in years past, the City of Los Angeles round itself near the bottom of the list, coming in with a disappointing 90th place finish. A new proposal from City Councilmember Heather Hutt looks to take a small step towards improving the city's rankings in future iterations of the list.

In a motion introduced on June 6, Hutt proposes the construction of a new public park at Stocker Plaza - a sparsely landscaped median at the intersection of Stocker Place, Garthwaite Avenue, 8th Avenue, and 42nd Street in Leimert Park. Her motion, which has been referred to the Council's Arts, Parks, Libraries, and Community Enrichment Committee for review, would call upon city staff to report on the feasibility of vacating portions of the public right-of-way surrounding the plaza to create the proposed green space.

In calling for additional green space, Hutt points out that Los Angeles has suffered a precipitous fall in the ParkScore rankings over the past five years - the city's park system was at the middle of the pack in 2021, finishing 49th. Hutt points to poor performance in terms of overall investment in the city's parks, as well as a lack of amenities, as key shortcomings.

The ParkScore rankings considers multiple factors, including overall acreage of green space, investment, equity, access, and amenities. Los Angeles, which has a reputation for being park poor, in fact comes in above the national average in terms of the total amount of land area dedicated to park space, with 13.4 percent of its city area reserved for parks and recreation compared to the national median of 9.3 percent. However, it falls short of national medians in terms of accessibility, with fewer than 62 percent of residents living with a 10-minute walk of a park, and just $111 invested in parks per resident. 

For comparison, other Southern California jurisdictions that came in higher on the list include Irvine, which ranked 2nd in the nation, spends $681 on parks per residents, and reserves 26.5 percent of its land area as green space. Long Beach, which reserves just 7.1 percent of its land area as park space, still managed a 56th place finish due to having nearly 82 percent of residents living within a 10-minute walk of a park and spending $158 per resident.

Despite its poor performance, Los Angeles has continued to invest in some large-scale parks - largely along the Los Angeles River corridor. More than 12 acres of new green space is currently under construction below the Sixth Street Viaduct in Downtown and Boyle Heights, and a wetlands area is now under construction at the Bowtie Parcel in Glassell Park.

Follow us on social media: 

Twitter / Facebook / LinkedIn / Threads / Instagram / Bluesky