Table 1. Comparison of Parks Data Obtained From Municipal/County Sources with Data Obtained from Commercial Sources in 3 Locations: North Carolina, Maryland, and New York, 2009–2012.
| Park Details | North Carolinaa, n = 383b
|
Marylandc, n = 436b
|
New Yorkd, n = 892b
|
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Municipal/ Countye | Commercialf | Municipal/ Countye | Commercialf | Municipal/ Countye | Commercialf | |
| Number of parks | ||||||
| Number of parks, total | 323 | 261 | 316 | 246 | 812 | 251 |
| Parks in both data sourcesg | 204 | 201 | 129 | 126 | 172 | 171 |
| Parks in municipal/county data but not in commercial data | 119 | NA | 187 | NA | 640 | NA |
| Parks in commercial data but not in municipal/county datah | NA | 60 | NA | 120 | NA | 80 |
| Park area (sq mi) | ||||||
| Park area, total | 43.0 | 32.5 | 67.9 | 120.7 | 31.8 | 24.7 |
| Park area spatially overlaidi | 22.7 | 22.7 | 46.1 | 46.1 | 18.3 | 18.3 |
| Park area in municipal/county data but not in commercial data | 20.3 | NA | 21.8 | NA | 13.5 | NA |
| Park area in commercial data but not in municipal/county data | NA | 9.9 | NA | 74.6 | NA | 6.3 |
| Percentage of study area in parks | 2.3 | 1.8 | 5.0 | 8.9 | 12.3 | 9.5 |
Abbreviation: NA, not applicable.
North Carolina study area comprised Davidson, Davie, Guilford, Forsyth, Randolph, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry, and Yadkin Counties (1,837 sq mi).
Total number of parks derived from combining verified municipal/county and commercial data.
Maryland study area comprised 79 zip code areas in Anne Arundel, Carroll, Harford, Howard, and Baltimore counties and Baltimore city (1,351 sq mi).
New York study area comprised 183 zip code areas in Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens boroughs and Westchester County (260 sq mi).
Data from municipal/county government sources collected from 2009 through 2012.
Data from Esri (Esri, Redlands, California), 2010.
Parks that were identified in both data sources.
Includes 28 parks in North Carolina, 55 in Maryland, and 30 in New York that did not meet our definition of a park, which was defined as public place set aside for physical activity and enjoyment. This definition did not include cemeteries, mobile home parks, historic sites, professional stadiums, country clubs, zoos, private parks, private facilities (such as stand-alone baseball or tennis facilities), and stand-alone recreation centers.
The exact area where parks from municipal/county data were overlaid with parks from the commercial data.