Health Funding for Parks and Greenspace
An Innovative Community Investment Strategy
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13775206 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Bryce Puesta Takenaka (0000-0001-7115-2093, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA), Hareen Seerha (Seattle Children’s Hospital, WA, USA), Howard Frumkin (0000-0001-7079-3534, Trust for Public Land, Seattle, WA, USA), Pooja S Tandon (0000-0001-7180-838X, Trust for Public Land, Seattle, WA, USA, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 62 |
| Pages | 469580251404376-469580251404376 |
| Publication date | 2025-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | INQUIRY The Journal of Health Care Organization Provision and Financing (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0046-9580 • E-ISSN: 1945-7243 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/00469580251404376 |
| PMID | 41399161 |
| OpenAlex | W4417354795 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 39 |
Parks and greenspaces provide well-documented benefits for physical, mental, and social health. Nonprofit hospitals, required to conduct Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNAs) and invest in social determinants of health, could therefore advance health and health equity by supporting park access and quality. We reviewed CHNAs from 51 large nonprofit hospitals in U.S. cities ranking in the lower half of the 2024 Trust for Public Land ParkScore Index. We analyzed how parks and greenspaces were addressed in CHNAs and conducted interviews and focus groups with 29 representatives from hospitals, park agencies, and community organizations. Mental health, access to care, and chronic disease were the most frequently identified community priorities in CHNAs. Although 56.9% of CHNAs included data on greenspaces and 54.9% identified parks as a community need, many CHNAs gave limited attention to parks - largely due to limited familiarity, capacity constraints, and competing priorities rather than opposition. Qualitative findings revealed 4 key themes: (1) CHNAs often included community input but lacked resources and coordination to address built environment needs; (2) parks were widely recognized as vital to mental health and social connection but constrained by inequitable access, safety concerns, and underinvestment; (3) existing collaborations between hospitals, parks, and community groups demonstrated promise yet faced capacity barriers; and (4) historical and ongoing structural racism shaped inequities in park access and investment. Our findings reveal an under tapped opportunity for hospitals to integrate parks and greenspaces into CHNAs, strengthen partnerships with park agencies, and direct community benefit investments toward parks to improve community health outcomes. Doing so could help align hospital community benefit spending with upstream drivers of health. We conclude with recommendations for hospitals, park agencies, and community organizations to collaborate in advancing park equity and health equity
Community development · Community health · Equity (law · Focus group · Health equity · Mental health · Public health · Social determinants of health · Climate Change and Health Impacts · Urban Green Space and Health · Urban Transport and Accessibility
A complex landscape of inequity in access to urban parks
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The health benefits of the great outdoors
Analytical approaches to testing pathways linking greenspace to health
Nature Contact and Human Health
Urban natural environments as nature-based solutions for improved public health – A systematic review of reviews
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Resilience and Equity in a Time of Crises
The Geography of Recreational Open Space
Park green spaces, public health and social inequalities
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Parks and People
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |