ArticleAmerican journal of preventive medicine2016
The First National Study of Neighborhood Parks: Implications for Physical Activity.
Article in American journal of preventive medicine, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 73 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
73 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of park-based interventions on health-related outcomes: A systematic review.Preventive medicine · 2021Pooled it
- Green Space and Health Equity: A Systematic Review on the Potential of Green Space to Reduce Health Disparities.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Associations of park visits, physical activity and health outcomes among churchgoing Latino adults in low-income urban communities.Journal of behavioral medicine · 2026Trial
- Youth Empowered Self-Care: a direct-to-participant intervention to promote mental well-being.BMC public health · 2026Trial
- The Park RX RCT: Impact on Physical Activity Among Youth.American journal of preventive medicine · 2026Trial
- The Association of Knowledge, Attitudes and Access with Park Use before and after a Park-Prescription Intervention for Low-Income Families in the U.S.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Trial
- The mediating role of perceived crime in gender and built environment associations with park use and park-based physical activity among park users in high poverty neighborhoods.Preventive medicine · 2019Trial
- Promoting physical activity in high-poverty neighborhood parks: A cluster randomized controlled trial.Social science & medicine (1982) · 2017Trial
- Long-term impacts of co-designed sustainable park improvements on physical activity and other wellbeing behaviours: a 7-year natural experimental study in a deprived urban area.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2026Article
- Statewide Assessment of Public Park Accessibility and Usability and Playground Safety.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Investigating the Role of the Environment on Physical Activity Interventions (the InSPACE Project): Protocol for a Pooled Secondary Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Playgrounds for Health Equity: A Mixed Methods Study in Urban Central Texas.Journal of healthy eating and active living · 2026Article
- Evaluating the reach and equity of public spaces in Mexico City using mobility data: the case of the Utopías in Iztapalapa.Frontiers in big data · 2026Article
- Contributions of park-based activities to overall physical activity among adults living near recently renovated parks in low-income New York City neighborhoods: variations by race/ethnicity and sex.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2025Article
- Park Acreage and Physical Activity Among Adolescents Living in Green Cities: Conceptualizing Urban Park Oases and Centering Equity.Environmental justice (Print) · 2025Article
- Associations of Park Use with Physical Activity in Renovated Parks Serving Low-Income Communities in New York City: Insights from the Community Parks Initiative.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2025Article
- Per Capita Spending on Parks and Associations with Cardiovascular Disease and Other Health Outcomes.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2025Article
- Park use patterns and park satisfaction before and after citywide park renovations in low-income New York City neighborhoods.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Use of Accelerometry and Global Positioning System (GPS) to Describe Children's Park-Based Physical Activity Among Racial and Ethnic Minority Youth.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2025Article
- Understanding factors influencing the use of specialized outdoor fitness equipment among older adults in Australia.Health promotion international · 2024Article
13 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionAn extensive infrastructure of neighborhood parks supports leisure time physical activity in most U.S. cities; yet, most Americans do not meet national guidelines for physical activity. Neighborhood parks have never been assessed nationally to identify their role in physical activity.
methodsUsing a stratified multistage sampling strategy, a representative sample of 174 neighborhood parks in 25 major cities (population >100,000) across the U.S. was selected. Park use, park-based physical activity, and park conditions were observed during a typical week using systematic direct observation during spring/summer of 2014. Park administrators were interviewed to assess policies and practices. Data were analyzed in 2014-2015 using repeated-measure negative binomial regressions to estimate weekly park use and park-based physical activity.
resultsNationwide, the average neighborhood park of 8.8 acres averaged 20 users/hour or an estimated 1,533 person hours of weekly use. Walking loops and gymnasia each generated 221 hours/week of moderate to vigorous physical activity. Seniors represented 4% of park users, but 20% of the general population. Parks were used less in low-income than in high-income neighborhoods, largely explained by fewer supervised activities and marketing/outreach efforts. Programming and marketing were associated with 37% and 63% more hours of moderate to vigorous physical activity/week in parks, respectively.
conclusionsThe findings establish national benchmarks for park use, which can guide future park investments and management practices to improve population health. Offering more programming, using marketing tools like banners and posters, and installing facilities like walking loops, may help currently underutilized parks increase population physical activity.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.