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The lagoon at Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx. (Daniel Avila\/NYC Parks)<\/p>\nA new report from Center for an Urban Future urges the city to do more to raise awareness about, and increase access to, its \u201cwild\u201d spaces\u2014what researchers say could improve residents\u2019 mental and physical health.<\/p>\n
The lagoon at Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx. (Daniel Avila\/NYC Parks)<\/p>\n
When the Natural Areas Conservancy booked a videographer to film footage of hiking trails in Manhattan\u2019s Inwood Hill Park, the new hire told the organization\u2019s then-Deputy Director Elizabeth Jaeger that it would be an easy gig for him: he lived right nearby. <\/p>\n
\u201cI said, \u2018That\u2019s great, you must love coming to this park,’\u201d she told researchers at the Center for an Urban Future, who interviewed Jaeger and staff at other nature-focused city nonprofits to get a better sense of how New Yorkers use and relate to green spaces. <\/p>\n
But despite his proximity, the man said he didn\u2019t frequent the Upper Manhattan park, which houses some 153 acres of natural areas, including one of the city\u2019s last remaining old-growth forests. \u201cHe told me he had never been there,\u201d Jaeger said, telling researchers that this wasn\u2019t uncommon. \u201cIn almost every workshop we do, we hear the same thing.\u201d <\/p>\n
In addition to its sprawling network of traditional parks, playgrounds and ball fields, New York City manages 12,000 acres of \u201cwild\u201d spaces\u2014forested hiking trails in places like Inwood Hill Park and Staten Island\u2019s Greenbelt, wetlands and salt marshes in Jamaica and Pelham Bay, and hundreds of miles of shorelines. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut millions of New Yorkers don\u2019t know they exist, have never been, and aren\u2019t benefiting from that time in nature,\u201d according to Eli Dvorkin, editorial and policy director\u00a0at the Center for an Urban Future. <\/p>\n
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Putnam Trail in the Bronx. (Adi Talwar\/City Limits)<\/p>\n
The group published a report Thursday<\/a> that explores this disconnect, and urges the city to do more to raise awareness about\u2014and increase access to\u2014these areas, citing the mental health benefits of time spent in nature. It includes a number policy suggestions, like more school field trips to expose youth early to the great outdoors, and creating \u201cNature and Culture Hubs\u201d at public library branches to get the word out about the city\u2019s overlooked wilderness. <\/p>\n \u201cAt a time when New Yorkers are more stressed and screen bound and isolated from one another\u2026our research suggests that one of the most effective antidotes is hiding in plain sight\u2014spending more time in these wild places that that we\u2019re lucky to to have right here in New York City,\u201d Dvorkin told City Limits. <\/p>\n The problem, the report says, comes down to awareness and proximity. Few New Yorkers\u2014just 4.5 percent of residents\u2014took advantage of the city\u2019s nature-based programming in 2024, researchers found. \u201cWe heard so many times, some variation of, \u2018I didn\u2019t even know that existed,’\u201d Dvorkin said. \u00a0<\/p>\n And while some 84 percent of the city\u2019s population lives within walking distance of a park, fewer than half of residents are within a 10-minute walk of a natural area, according to the report. It recommends the city pilot monthly \u201cNature Days\u201d\u2014designated weekends that offer a bevy of public outdoor programs, like guided hikes, bird watching or kayak tours\u2014partnering with the MTA to provide shuttle buses and expanded transit service to get people there.<\/p>\n \u201cThat would introduce thousands of people to places that, hopefully, they\u2019ll return to for years to come,\u201d Dvorkin said. <\/p>\n But the disconnect runs deeper than transit accessibility, the report notes. It can be especially pronounced for residents in lower-income communities and communities of color, for whom\u00a0\u201cspending time in nature can feel like a largely inaccessible luxury,\u201d due to work, caregiving and other responsibilities. Some Black and brown New Yorkers, in particular, feel unsafe or unwelcome in outdoor spaces, advocates told researchers.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFor decades, [outdoor recreation] has been a predominantly white field,\u201d Jasmine Guadalupe, founder of The Hood Hikers<\/a>, which leads guided nature tours for New Yorkers of color, told CUF.\u00a0\u201cInner-city people might say, \u2018You are going hiking? That\u2019s for white people.’\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n To tackle this, the report recommends the city beef up the role of its Urban Park Rangers<\/a> in natural areas, \u201cto spend more time building public confidence, guiding visitors, leading programs, and supporting safe use of wild places.\u201d <\/p>\n It also calls for more opportunities that expose city dwellers to the outdoors as children and young adults: requiring schools to provide every student with at least one \u201cnature-based experience\u201d per year through field trips and other initiatives, and connecting teens who take part in the city\u2019s Summer Youth Employment Program<\/a> with jobs maintaining forest trails or taking care of trees.<\/p>\n \u201cThose attitudes form early,\u201d Dvorkin said. \u201cThat ends up being a major deciding factor in terms of who grows up in New York City feeling comfortable in those places.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, those kind of investments take resources, and New York City\u2019s parks are known for getting a smaller slice of the budget pie compared to other major U.S. cities<\/a>. Natural areas get an even smaller portion: just 2 percent of the Department of Parks and Recreation\u2019s operating budget goes to these areas, despite that they account for roughly a third of the city\u2019s parkland, the report found. <\/p>\n \u201cFor years, the capital and expense dollars committed to the city\u2019s natural areas have not kept up with maintenance needs or rising demand, even as these spaces face mounting pressures from climate change and increased usage,\u201d the CUF report reads. <\/p>\n It suggests the city explore more \u201cpublic-private partnerships, philanthropic support, and state tourism and environmental funding streams\u201d to help fill the gaps. <\/p>\n Dvorkin said he\u2019s been \u201cencouraged\u201d by the Mamdani administration\u2019s embrace of outdoor recreation<\/a> in its affordability agenda. This summer, as part of City Hall\u2019s World Cup promotions, the city hosted overnight pickup soccer games<\/a> and turned streets near dozens of city schools into student play areas. <\/a><\/p>\n And while Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s first budget failed to allocate 1 percent of overall city spending to parks\u2014something advocates have called for for years\u2014the final deal did include \u201csome important investments in the city\u2019s natural areas; baselining some key staff roles, making some investments in in forestry,\u201d Dvorkin said.<\/p>\n \u201cIn recent years, we\u2019ve been going arguably the wrong direction when it comes to investment in our park system and in natural areas as well,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m seeing some important signs right now that that the city is starting to turn that around.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n You can read the full report here<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u00a0To reach the editor, contact [email\u00a0protected]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\nKayakers along the Bronx River. (Adi Talwar\/City Limits)<\/p>\n