Mayor Judy Paul Joins Groundbreaking Coalition of 134 Mayors to Launch 10-Minute Walk to a Park Campaign
At 10:10 a.m. on October 10, Town of Davie Mayor Judy Paul joined the Trust for Public Land, National Recreation and Park Association, and Urban Land Institute in launching an historic “10-minute walk” parks advocacy campaign, establishing the ambitious goal that all Americans, and all residents of Davie should live within a 10-minute walk (or half-mile) of a high-quality park or green space.
“The Town of Davie has almost 2,000 acres set aside for active and passive parks and are proud of our accomplishments. We applaud the Mayor’s Coalition and continue to expand new parks so that all the residents across our 37 square miles can walk or bike to a park close to their homes,” said Mayor Judy Paul.
This bipartisan group includes mayors from all across the country and represents cities large and small, including America’s four largest cities (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston) and diverse communities across California. The U.S. Conference of Mayors, which represents more than 1,000 U.S. mayors, also unanimously passed a resolution at the 85th Annual Meeting urging all mayors to actively pursue the 10-minute walk to a park goal.
Studies show that high-quality parks provide a wide range of benefits to urban residents and cities themselves. These include physical and mental health benefits, by providing opportunities to be physically active and to interact with nature; economic benefits by boosting business and helping to revitalize neighborhoods; community-building benefits by providing opportunities for neighbors to interact with each other and work together to improve their surroundings; and environmental benefits by cleaning and cooling the air, improving climate resilience, and providing opportunities for environmental education.
Partnering with cities to advance the 10-minute vision
The campaign marks the start of a multi-year partnership with cities and mayors across the country. Beginning in 2018, the campaign—led by The Trust for Public Land in partnership with the National Recreation and Park Association, and Urban Land Institute—will be working with select cities across the country on measurable policies and strategies to advance the 10-minute walk vision.
Reaching 100 percent served in cities nationwide will require major advances in park finance and construction; zoning changes to encourage park development; embedding this goal into city parks master plans; the expansion of “joint use” agreements that open school playgrounds, tracks, and gyms for public use after hours and on weekends; and other innovations.
For more information, please visit 10minutewalk.org.
