San Antonio parks are large but few and far between, according to new study

Although downtown San Antonio is home to the River Walk, one of the most visited public parks in the nation, residents of the city’s outer loops have long endured a lack of green space.

That reality helps explain why San Antonio came in at No. 57 in the Trust for Public Land’s ParkScore Index, which ranks the 100 largest U.S. cities by their amount of public green space. The annual report was released Wednesday.

Although 57 is the highest ranking the Alamo City has received in the Trust for Public Land’s index, it’s on the fourth-greenest Texas city behind Plano, Austin and Dallas, which came in at No. 16, No. 41, and No. 43, respectively.

The Alamo City’s lackluster rating comes even though San Antonio parks are, on average, nearly double the size of those in other cities. San Antonio also reserves 10.1% of its land for public parks, which is slightly above the national average of 9.8%, according to the study.

The problem San Antonio faces is that the majority of its public green spaces —  Brackenridge Park, the River Walk and San Pedro Springs among them — are primarily located in or near downtown.

As a result, only 51% of San Antonio residents live within a 10-minute walk of public green space, well below the national average of 76%.

The city is making an effort to designate new green space, including the opening of Phil Hardberger Park in 2010 and, most recently, the 200-acre Classen-Steubing Ranch Park, which opened last week. Even so, most of the city’s new park projects are located on the North Side, leaving other parts of the city in the dust.

Washington, D.C, took the index’s top spot, while the suburban jungle of Gilbert, Arizona, came in at No. 100.

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This article appears in May 17-30, 2023.