Trail map for Fort Tryon Park

Providing neighborhood access to clean, safe and engaging park spaces is a strategy being adopted by many communities to promote physical activity.  We just published a systematic review of the literature assessing the link between park access and physical activity. After screening 10,949 abstracts that met the search criteria of 1) published between January 1990 and June 2013; 2) US-based with a sample size greater than 100 individuals; 3) included built environment measures related to parks or trails; and 4) included objectively measured physical activity as an outcome, 20 research studies were identified for review.

Five articles reported a significant positive association between parks and physical activity. Nine studies found no association, and six studies had mixed findings.  Studies that used study subject’s self-reported (vs. independently-measured) measures of neighborhood park environment characteristics and smaller (vs. larger) neighborhood definitions were more likely to find positive associations. We recommend strategies for further research, employing standardized reporting and innovative study designs to better understand the relationship of parks and physical activity.