New Spatial ‘ParkIndex’ Enables Researchers, Planners and Citizens to Evaluate Potential Park Use

Faculty Fellow Aaron Hipp and co-authors have developed ParkIndex, a standardized metric of park access and exposure for evaluating potential park use in a variety of geographic settings. Published in Preventative Medicine, the new empirically-derived spatial index can be used by researchers, physicians, and professionals in public health, parks and recreation, and urban design fields for:

1. scenario planning to encourage greater population-level park access and use
2. facilitating examination of park access within an area over time
3. comparison of park access between two neighborhoods or cities of similar geographic extent or population characteristics
4. connecting the healthcare system with publicly available resources for physical activity.

Full citation and link to the online article are below:

• Kaczynski, A.T., Schipperjin, J., Hipp, J.A., Besenyi, G.M., Wilhelm-Stanis, S.A., Hughey, S.M., and Wilcox, S. (2016). ParkIndex: Development of a standardized metric of park access for research and planning. Preventative Medicine. 87: 110-114.