Around the country this week, the 100 most populous cities are diving into the results of the annual ParkScore index from Trust for Public Land, which measures how well park systems in the country’s largest population centers are meetings their residents’ needs for parks based on five key categories: equity, access, investment, amenities and acreage.

As part of that eagerly anticipated release, Trust for Public Land also released research in a companion report that reveals how parks are a proven tool for bringing people together in an increasingly divided world.

That report is also the foundation for a call by Trust for Public Land for a key change to the federal funding mechanism for parks and open space in historically disadvantaged communities, which, if successful, will have a direct positive benefit for Maine.

“The Power of Parks to Strengthen Community” report highlights the country’s increasing division in every major area – politics, economics, race, ethnicity and ideology – as well as how our cities reflect that unfortunate reality, with three-quarters of major cities becoming more segregated in 2019 than they were in 1990.

The report also highlights specific outcomes of that division, like how half of American adults report feeling lonely, and how that reality stems from numerous factors including the increased isolation that began during COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

Fortunately, there is a wealth of encouraging news in Trust for Public Land’s report, as communities of all sizes have a key tool already in place that can help offset these significant challenges: public parks.

TPL’s analysis shows that residents in cities with the highest rankings were more socially connected and engaged with their neighbors than residents of cities with less robust park systems, and that people of different socioeconomic groups were significantly more likely to socialize with each other. Residents of cities in the top quarter of the index are 60% more likely to have volunteered in the past year than residents of lower-ranking cities.

By design, the ParkScore index focuses on the largest 100 cities in the country, but for smaller cities and towns, a related tool of Trust for Public Land – ParkServe – is a valuable resource for seeing how many Lewiston, Bangor or Saco residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park, as well as where park need areas overlap with extreme heat, schools, air pollution levels and other useful information.

Unfortunately, the federal government currently applies a high population threshold when funding parks through the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership fund. This population cutoff creates a significant and unnecessary obstacle for smaller cities seeking to tap into funding proven to improve communities. To qualify for that funding at the moment, cities must be larger than 30,000 residents, which means only Portland, Lewiston and Bangor are eligible in Maine.

To open the door for smaller cities to access public funding, Trust for Public Land is actively advocating for the Outdoors for All Act, which is currently on the floor in the U.S. Senate and would lower the threshold to 25,000 residents for cities seeking park funding through the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership. It would also allow neighboring cities or towns individually under 25,000 residents to join together to apply. That change would immediately open the door for many communities in Maine and northern New England to have a chance at accessing these funds.

We encourage you to educate yourself on the Outdoors for All Act, the ParkScore rankings and the “The Power of Parks to Strengthen Community” report, and to support the investments in public spaces that directly benefit our Maine communities.