Because the COVID-19 pandemic has quashed so many travel plans, parks have become more important than ever, for people to walk, exercise, or just hang out (socially distancing, of course). If you’re a city dweller, you’re lucky if your hometown has a high ParkScore, a rating system developed by the Trust for Public Land that analyzes how many residents of a city have a park within a 10-minute walk of home. The index factors in investments in parks, acreage, and amenities to come up with each rating. The research also shows that, regrettably, 100 million Americans don’t have green space within 10 minutes of home in cities and surrounding metropolitan areas.

The Trust’s criteria, it must be noted, do not just count public parkland but also privately owned parks that are managed for “full public use.” Given the squeeze on the public purse, parks owned and/or operated by private companies or organizations seem to be filling a growing need, with obvious benefits though potential drawbacks. In the August 2020 of RECORD, we explore several such recently completed public—yet private—landscapes. In Seattle, Expedia developed a 2.6-acre waterfront beach, adjacent to its headquarters and connecting to a public trail, with walking and bike paths. The company owns the property, yet its investment in remediating the former brown site is an environmental benefit to all, and the park is kept open to the public 24/7. Similarly, CityPlace and CityPlace Park, a large residential and commercial real-estate development north of Houston, has incorporated essential flood-control systems (paid for by the county government) into a series of cultivated landscapes—from nature preserves to man-made ponds to urban-style plazas. All are open to the public beyond its residents and tenants.