The Trust for Public Land uses dog parks as one of the six amenities to rate parks as nearly 40% of American households own a dog
When we think of parks we tend to think of people but since nearly 70% of the population owns pets, we should probably think of dog parks and our canine friends as well.
In fact, that's what the Trust for Public Land did when they created their popular ParkScore feature.
ParkScore is a metric that determines how well a city provides adequate parkland for their residents.
The Trust ranks cities according to a number of criteria. The metrics include total park acreage, amount of funds invested in parks and recreation, park amenities and access.
The staff created a point system and awards points based on that criteria to determine the Top 100 Cities. The research is a good way for citizens and public officials to gauge how well their government is doing in regard to parks and recreation for local residents. And where they can make improvements.
In regard to park amenities, the Trust uses some interesting criteria as a means of measurement.
The six criteria: Playgrounds, Recreation Programs, Senior Centers, Restrooms, Basketball Hoops, Splashpads or Spraygrounds (sprinklers and fountains for kids to play in) and Dog Parks. The criteria measures the number of these amenities based on per capita for the size of the population. For example, dog parks are rated based on number per 100,000 residents.
There could be other criteria we imagine. Such as number of park benches, picnic tables, charcoal grills, water fountains, public pools, trails, concession stands, etc. But, it could be cumbersome to include too many items. Therefore, if you had to pick six, those six amenities are certainly very important.
Dog parks justified by massive number of dog owners
What's very interesting is how the Trust includes Dog Parks as one of the major amenities they measure.
Twenty years ago that might not have been the case. But the number of dog parks in the US has exploded in the past two decades.
Makes sense. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, about 37% of households in the US own a dog. (For cats, the percentage is just slightly lower - 30%).
One out of three households has a dog. That's an incredible number of dogs - about 70 million. (There are now more households with dogs than children).
As you can imagine, those dogs need to get outside. Dogs were made to run, jump and fetch.
According to petMD, the average dog should spend between 30 to 120 minutes every day on an activity.
Obviously, certain breeds need more exercise than others.
As the saying goes, "A tired dog is a happy dog."
Exercise keeps a dog's muscles toned, their minds engaged and the weight off. Also, a dog that does not get exercise outside, might turn to destructive behavior indoors. And one more hidden benefit - taking an anxious pup out of the house for exercise also gets the owner out of the house and enjoying the many physical and mental benefits of parks.
Dog park equipment creates a playground for canines
More dog parks are now adding dog park equipment so pups can have their own playground
Another trend that more and more parks and recreation departments are adopting is adding dog park equipment.
As we said, dogs love to run and jump. Running around in circles can get old.
But when dog park equipment is added, there are more activities for dogs. Some of those activities could include dog ramps, crawl tunnels, hoop jumps, weave posts, and hurdles.
Fun, fun, fun and a bunch of tired out dogs. In addition, dog park equipment provides an opportunity for owners to engage in training with their pets.
Dogs love the attention and the activity. Owners love to see happy dogs. It's a win-win for all.
Here's a list from the Trust for the cities with the highest score for Dog Parks per 100,000 Residents (all received the top score - 40 points - for dog parks per 100,000 residents).
- Albuquerque
- Anchorage
- Arlington, VA
- Bakersfield
- Boise
- Chesapeake
- Fremont
- Henderson
- Jersey City
- Las Vegas
- Lexington
- Long Beach
- Madison
- Norfolk
- Oakland
- Pittsburgh
- Portland
- Sacramento
- Seattle
- Petersburg
- Tampa
- San Francisco
For the other factors that determine the ParkScore, here's how it is broken down:
Acreage - points for median park size and points for park acres as a percentage of total property in city limits.
Access - points for the percent of residents living within a walkable half-mile, ten-minute walk to a public park.
Investment - based on city funds spent per resident.
In 2018, the ParkScore cities in the top 10 positions were:
- Minneapolis
- Paul, MN
- Washington, DC
- Arlington, VA
- San Francisco, CA
- Portland, OR
- Cincinnati, OH
- Chicago, IL
- New York, NY
- Irvine, CA.
According to the organization's website, the Trust for Public Land's "mission is to create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come."
In the past year, the Trust completed more than 200 conservation projects, raised $400 million in state and local conservation funds, designed and developed 33 parks and assisted communities with "green" visions for future conservation.
Helping communities add more park acreage, conducting research and advocating for parks is something we all can appreciate. As for promoting the addition of dog parks, we know who is wagging their tails over that idea.
Note: The Park and Facilities Catalog is national supplier of park furnishings since 2001. The company provides a large selection of park benches, picnic tables, trash receptacles, bike racks and dog playground equipment to thousands of parks across the country. We have a large array of dog park equipment including dog park kits with a complete set of canine-specific agility products that are paw-friendly and stain resistant.