The 10-Minute Walk,[1] also known as the 10-Minute Walk to a Park, is a parks-advocacy movement led by The Trust for Public Land to ensure that everyone in the United States lives within a ten-minute walk to a high-quality park or green space.[2][3][4][5]

Washington Square Park, New York City

History and adoption

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More than 300 mayors of large and small cities across the United States have committed to the goal, including the mayors of the four largest cities in the U.S.: New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston.[1] Urban parks are increasingly seen by those in municipal government as a solution to many inner-city challenges.[6] This initiative seeks to provide physical and mental health benefits, opportunities for physical activity, proximity to nature, neighborhood and community revitalization, and environmental benefits for citizens through the creation of urban parks.[7][8][9] Health studies demonstrate that an increase in exercise, including walking alone, may foster longevity in older adults.[10][11]

The effort was adopted as a resolution at the 85th annual United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) convention in 2017 as a goal for cities to increase parks and green space as a civic responsibility.[12] The concept has been supported by several community-based nonprofit organizations: the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA),[13] the Urban Land Institute (ULI),[14] and Fields in Trust in the UK.[15] A ten-minute walk is considered to be one-half-mile (0.80 km), which is the distance the National Park Service (NPS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) uses when they link park access and public health.[16] The first city in the U.S. to achieve a 10-Minute Walk to a park for every resident was San Francisco.[17][18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "10 Minute Walk". www.10minutewalk.org. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  2. ^ Mahamud, Faiza (October 10, 2017). "Minneapolis, St. Paul mayors join national push for parks within 10-minute walk". Star Tribune. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  3. ^ Asperin, Alexa Mae (October 10, 2017). "National '10-minute walk' campaign to launch in Colorado Springs". FOX21News.com. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  4. ^ "10 Minute Walk". The Trust for Public Land. Archived from the original on October 16, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  5. ^ "Public encouraged to take 10-minute walk to parks, trails on 10-10 - Queen Creek Independent". Queen Creek Independent. October 8, 2017. Archived from the original on October 15, 2017. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  6. ^ "Urban Parks and the 10-Minute Challenge". www.governing.com. October 26, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  7. ^ Han, Bing; Cohen, Deborah; McKenzie, Thomas L. (2013). "Quantifying the contribution of neighborhood parks to physical activity". Preventive Medicine. 57 (5): 483–487. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2013.06.021. PMC 3800218. PMID 23827723.
  8. ^ White, Mathew P.; Alcock, Ian; Wheeler, Benedict W.; Depledge, Michael H. (April 23, 2013). "Would You Be Happier Living in a Greener Urban Area? A Fixed-Effects Analysis of Panel Data". Psychological Science. 24 (6): 920–928. doi:10.1177/0956797612464659. PMID 23613211. S2CID 28335868.
  9. ^ McCormack, Gavin R.; Rock, Melanie; Toohey, Ann M.; Hignell, Danica (2010). "Characteristics of urban parks associated with park use and physical activity: A review of qualitative research". Health & Place. 16 (4): 712–726. doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2010.03.003. hdl:1880/115554. PMID 20356780.
  10. ^ Lapook, Jon (October 19, 2017). "Walking for 10 minutes daily reduces risk of early death, study says". CBS News. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  11. ^ Patel, Alpa V.; Hildebrand, Janet S.; Leach, Corinne R.; Campbell, Peter T.; Doyle, Colleen; Shuval, Kerem; Wang, Ying; Gapstur, Susan M. (January 2018). "Walking in Relation to Mortality in a Large Prospective Cohort of Older U.S. Adults". American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 54 (1): 10–19. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2017.08.019. PMID 29056372.
  12. ^ "85th Annual Meeting: June 23-26, 2017 in Miami Beach - usmayors.org". legacy.usmayors.org. Archived from the original on January 29, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  13. ^ "10 Minute Walk". National Recreation and Park Association. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  14. ^ "Nation's Mayors Launch Groundbreaking 10-Minute Walk to a Park Campaign". ULI Americas. October 10, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  15. ^ "The ten-minute walk and why it's important". Fields in Trust. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  16. ^ Merriam, D.; Bality, A.; Stein, J.; Boehmer, T. (2017). "Improving Public Health through Public Parks and Trails: Eight Common Measures. Summary report. US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and US Department of the Interior, National Park Service". npgallery.nps.gov. Archived from the original on October 7, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  17. ^ "San Francisco Becomes First City in Nation Where All Residents Live Within a 10-Minute Walk to a Park | Office of the Mayor". sfmayor.org. May 16, 2017. Archived from the original on June 18, 2017. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  18. ^ Johnson, Lizzie (May 16, 2017). "SF 1st city in nation with a park 10-minute walk from every home". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
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  • ParkServe - an open, comprehensive database of park information for 14,000 cities across the U.S.