A survey of park access, acreage and spending per capita, and other factors ranks Jersey City 36th among the nation's 100 most populous cities, while Newark ranked 75th
NEWARK -- Looking for parks? You may want to bypass the state's largest city in favor of the second largest, according to the results of a survey released Thursday.
In the national comparison of parkland, Jersey City places 36th among the nation's 100 most populous cities, according to the non-profit Trust for Public Land, which promotes and funds open space. Newark tied for 75th with El Paso.
Parks, said Abby Martin, a researcher for Trust for Public Land, are important because they improve everyone's quality of life.
"There's research showing that children perform better in school when they have more access to nature," Martin said.
"And we, of course, know the importance of exercise and active living, from children playing in a play ground to seniors getting their exercise. And there's even a mental health benefit in terms of community cohesion. Community members can meet each other and interact."
In the key category of what percentage of a city's land area is occupied by parks, Jersey City's 18 percent share triples Newark's 6 percent figure, according to the survey, which takes into account municipal, county and state parks.
Jersey City benefits in that category and others from the presence of Liberty State Park, a waterfront expanse of more than 1,200 acres, or nearly two square miles, in a 14.8-square-mile city.
In terms of amenities in their parks, Jersey City also leads by a wide margin, scoring 12 out of 20 possible points verses Newark's four out of 20 in terms of the number of basketball hoops, dog runs, playgrounds and recreation centers, according to the survey.
But there are other areas where the two cities are comparable.
"Both have pretty high access," said Martin. "In Jersey City, 91 percent of residents are within a half mile of a park, and in Newark it's also 91 percent."
The national average is 68 percent, and Martin attributed the two cities' relatively high degree of park access to historical factors, including streets layouts centered around neighborhood parks.
"The Trust for Public Land is working to put every American within a 10-minute walk of a park," Martin said of the agency based in Washington, D.C.
Their annual park spending per capita was also similar, with Newark actually having the higher figure, at $36, versus $29 for Jersey City. Still, park spending in both cities was less than half the national average of $82 per person per year, the survey found.
The full survey is posted on the Trust for Public Land's website.
Martin said there is not a park-sector formula for calculating the return on investment in public swing sets, fountains and lawns. But she said the availability, supply and quality of park space has an impact on various aspects of individuals' lives and the public good.
For example, Martin said, parks contribute to property values, which drive local tax revenues. They also help cleanse the air of automobile and industrial emissions that are especially common in urban areas. Unpaved parkland also absorbs storm water, which guards against sewage overflows and untreated discharges. And there are other benefits.
With 2015 estimated populations of 281,944 for Newark and 264,290 for Jersey City, the Essex and Hudson County seats are the only New Jersey cities among the nation's 100 most populous.
New York City, America's most populous at an estimated 8,550,405 in 2015, ranked 7th overall on the park survey. Minneapolis, St. Paul and Washington, D.C., tied for first, while Fort Wayne, Ind., was the least park-friendly city among the nation's top 100.
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said his administration was "honored" to be ranked among the nation's more park-friendly cities, calling the city's parks, "some of our most treasured assets."
"Parks greatly enhance the quality of life in urban areas, which is why we have invested more than $6 million in parks renovations citywide and why we are excited to open next month our newest municipal park, the 17.5-acre Berry Lane in heart of Bergen-Lafayette," Fulop said in a statement.
The Trust for Public Land does more than just rankings. The organization, which is funded by private contributions, spent $30 million on parks in the United States, much of that in conjunction with local, state and federal money, said Anthony Cucchi, the Trust's New Jersey state director.
The organization has been particularly active in Newark, where over the past 20 years it has contributed $40 million to land acquisition and construction of 13 parks and school playgrounds, where financing also came from state Green Acres funds and federal grants, as well as corporate contributions from the Prudential Foundation and other sources, said Cucchi.
A Newark spokeswoman declined to comment on the survey.
Despite its below-average ranking, Newark has made strides in recent years to increase and enhance its parkland, most notably with the creation of a dedicated tax to fund a municipal open space trust fund, now universal among the state's 21 counties but still uncommon for municipalities, Cucchi said.
Cucchi pointed out that the open space tax would pay off a $25 million bond issue now being considered by the City Council to expand Riverfront Park along the Passaic River. Riverfront is perhaps the city's best known municipal park, as opposed to Branch Brook and Weequahic Parks, which are both part of the Essex County Park System, the first county park system in the country.
Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.