The Trust for Public Land Applauds Mayor Garcetti’s Executive Directive on Park Equity

Earlier this week, Mayor Eric Garcetti signed an executive directive emphasizing achieving park equity across the city. The ED directs specific actions on addressing access to park space, including establishing a Park Access and Equity working group, directing funds to further investment in equitable access and amenities, and prioritizing job placement initiatives for students, seniors, and others through programs like LA Rise. 

“It’s no secret that the City of Los Angeles has an inequitable distribution of parks and access to open space, and we’ve seen the health impacts this has on residents, so we’re excited to see Mayor Garcetti take strong, direct actions to address these issues,” said Guillermo Rodriguez, California State Director for The Trust for Public Land. “By focusing on closing the park equity gap, Angelenos will not only have more close-to-home opportunities for outdoor recreation, but more green space will further mitigate climate impacts like extreme heat and flooding as well as increase economic benefits in the form of job creation and tourism.” 

“The Trust for Public Land has been working with the Los Angeles community to address park access issues through initiatives like our Green Schoolyards program, and we’re looking forward to working with the mayor’s office in any way we can to help advance these goals,” Rodriguez added.  

According to data from The Trust for Public Land (TPL), Los Angeles residents in neighborhoods of color have access to 66% less park space compared with those in white neighborhoods and residents in low-income neighborhoods have access to 70% less park space compared with those in high-income neighborhoods. More than 1.5 million people—including over a third of the city’s children, people of color, and residents of low-income households—live outside of a 10-minute walk of a quality park. 

Since 2012, TPL has completed seven park equity projects across the City of L.A. increasing park access for over 85,000 residents, including two Green Alley networks. Currently TPL is working on three additional park equity projects (renovations at David M. Gonzales Park, El Sereno Arroyo Playground Phase 2, Reseda River Loop Phase 2) and two new green alley networks (Central Jefferson & Quincy Jones Green Alley Networks in South Los Angeles). Together these projects represent an $18M investment in park equity and once completed they will increase close to home (within a ½ mile or 10-minute walk) park and open space access for 65,000 residents. 

Working with the Los Angeles Living Schoolyards Coalition, TPL has set a goal of greening twenty-eight school sites by 2028, an initiative referred to as “28×28” to transform treeless and asphalt covered schoolyards into vibrant green natural spaces and opened to the public during non-school hours.  Once completed, the 28 transformed schoolyards will serve 260,000 community members that currently do not have a park or an open space within a 10-minute walk from home. 

About The Trust for Public Land  

The Trust for Public Land creates parks and protects land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come. Millions of people live within a 10-minute walk of a Trust for Public Land park, garden, or natural area, and millions more visit these sites every year. To support The Trust for Public Land and share why nature matters to you, visit www.tpl.org.