There is compelling evidence indicating that physical inactivity elevates the risk of chronic health conditions and leads to a shortened life expectancy [1,2]. Globally, more than a quarter of the adult population, totaling 1.4 billion adults, engages in insufficient physical activity [3]. Levels of inactivity are twice as prevalent in high-income countries compared to their low-income counterparts [3]. The decline in physical activity is attributable to sedentary behaviors during leisure time and employment, along with increased use of passive transportation modes [3]. In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that only 24.2% of U.S. adults adhered to the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans [4]. The prevalence of low levels of physical activity is a worldwide concern, prompting current public health initiatives to prioritize interventions, including those leveraging the built environment, to increase physical activity [5].

In New York City (NYC), physical inactivity exacerbates health inequities, disproportionately affecting certain demographic groups [6,7]. This includes Black and Latino adults, older adults, individuals with lower educational attainment, and those residing at or near the poverty line [6,7]. These groups are less likely to meet established physical activity guidelines compared to other segments of the population [6]. This underscores a concerning trend where health disparities are intertwined with patterns of physical inactivity, necessitating targeted interventions to address these disparities and promote equitable health outcomes.

Urban parks, as integral components of the community landscape, have demonstrated positive effects on various health outcomes [8–11]. Revitalized urban parks have the potential to increase physical activity, ranging from casual walking to more vigorous activities [12]. However, the existing body of evidence concerning the connection between parks and physical activity remains inconclusive. Numerous reviews have yielded varied results, encompassing both positive and negative outcomes, as well as instances where no discernible effect was observed [13–15]. Differences in park quality both across and within studies may be one contributing factor to the mixed findings, as studies have shown that the public health benefits of parks are closely tied to the perceived safety and quality of parks [16,17].

Low-income minority communities face significant barriers in access to safe, quality parks [18,19]. In NYC, home to over 2,000 parks, high-poverty neighborhoods have access to 21% less park space compared to high-income neighborhoods, and majority non-White neighborhoods have access to 33% less park space compared to majority White neighborhoods [20]. Racial/ethnic minorities have also reported more barriers to using community parks compared to Whites, including safety concerns and inadequate or poorly-maintained facilities [21]. Parks perceived as poor quality or unsafe may not be supportive environments for physical activity behaviors, which may be one reason why previous studies have not shown a high prevalence of park-related physical activity among minority communities [22,23]. Nevertheless, there is a gap in the research regarding how high-quality parks with amenities that promote physical activity could enhance opportunities for exercise in low-income urban minority communities.

In NYC, the equity-based Community Parks Initiative (CPI) was launched in 2014, which led to the redesign and renovation of 67 neighborhood parks in low-income (≥20% of population below poverty line), densely populated (≥110 people per acre), and rapidly growing communities (≥25% growth from 2000 to 2010) [24]. In addition, eligible parks must not have received more than $250,000 in capital funding in the prior 2 decades. Park redesign as a component of CPI included: making parks friendly to all age groups (e.g., more adult fitness equipment or space in playgrounds); making parks more accessible by lowering fencing and improving seating and shading; improving aesthetics and lighting; and increasing greening to support resiliency [24] (Figure 1). Renovated parks re-opened between 2017 and 2022 and we previously showed that CPI led to greater park use among adults [25]. As such, CPI presented a unique opportunity to examine the association between park use and physical activity in the context of high-quality parks, effectively controlling for meaningful differences in park quality between study parks, in previously underserved communities. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the association between park use frequency and physical activity level among NYC adults in low-income, predominantly Latino and Black communities following city-sponsored park redesign and renovation as part of the CPI.

This study follows the STROBE guidelines for reporting cross-sectional observational studies [26].

In the context of recently renovated urban parks serving low-income communities in NYC, we found that greater frequency of renovated park use was positively associated with higher self-reported physical activity. Given that past studies have shown mixed results, in part due to variations in park quality across studies, this paper is a unique contribution to the literature and adds to our understanding of the role of neighborhood parks in health and wellbeing when park quality is high.

Renovated parks offer spaces that can promote both increased park use and increased physical activity by providing high-quality amenities that support active behaviors and enhancing safety and accessibility. The eight recently revitalized urban parks included in our study experienced substantial infrastructure improvements as a part of CPI, including enhanced accessibility, expanded shaded areas and greenspaces, and improved lighting and aesthetics. As a part of CPI, study parks also added or improved amenities that encourage physical activity, such as walking tracks, ball courts, fitness equipment, and multipurpose fields. Moreover, previous studies have found that park renovations can increase park safety perceptions in some communities, which may be another reason why renovated parks may foster more park-related physical activity [8].

The CDC has found that low-income adults in the US have lower compliance with physical activity guidelines compared to those with higher income (above 200% of the federal poverty level) [4]. Environmental barriers, such as limited access to quality parks and recreational facilities pose significant hurdles to physical activity in low-income areas [18]. Safety concerns, encompassing issues like crime and traffic, further impede participation in exercise within these communities [19]. In light of these barriers, our findings showing a strong positive association between renovated park use and physical activity among low-income NYC residents making less than $25,000 in annual household income provides further evidence for the potential positive impact of quality neighborhood parks situated within low-income communities. Our findings suggest that further investment in the renovation and redesign of neighborhood parks may be particularly impactful on the health and well-being of neighborhood residents in the lowest income category.

Among the racial/ethnic groups considered in this analysis, we found the association between renovated park use frequency and physical activity to be the strongest among Latinos and non-Latino Whites. This finding is consistent with two other studies examining racial/ethnic variation in park-related physical activity. Derose et al. found that Spanish-speaking Latinos in Los Angeles were equally as likely as Whites to report using a park for exercise (although English-speaking Latinos were less likely to do so) [23]. Spanish-speaking Latinos in the study were also the most likely racial/ethnic group to report walking to get to a park [23]. In a national sample of US adults, Carlson et al. found that non-Hispanic Blacks were less likely to report active park use (e.g., walking, playing sports, biking) compared to Latinos and non-Latino Whites, who were equally likely to report active park use [21].

Studies have shown Latino park users perceive parks as spaces for socialization and leisure with family and friends, providing spaces for large families without large backyards to get together outside [43]. Spending time outdoors is seen by some Latino cultures as an important component of leisure life for immigrants outside their home country (for example, as a substitute for Mexican plazas, integral components of social life and community in Mexico) [43]. Latinos frequently report visiting parks in groups of three or more people [44,45], engaging in a variety of activities at parks, including passive leisure, barbecuing/picnicking, socializing, walking, and playing group sports like soccer (although Latina women report participating in less physically active behaviors in parks than Latino men) [46]. In our sample, Latinos reported higher park use frequency than any other racial/ethnic group. A higher prevalence of frequent park use, combined with the variety of activities Latinos tend to engage in at parks, might be one explanation why we have observed a stronger association between park use and physical activity among Latinos in our sample compared to other groups, although further research is needed to clarify the mechanisms by which renovated urban parks might promote physical activity among Latino communities specifically.

We found no significant association between renovated park use frequency and physical activity level among non-Latino Black and other/multiracial groups. In our sample, Black and other/multiracial adults visited study parks less frequently than Latino adults. At the same time, Black and other/multiracial adults in our sample also reported low rates of engaging in high levels of physical activity (35% and 21%, respectively), which may be one explanation why no significant positive association between renovated park use and physical activity was observed for these groups. Our physical activity findings are in line with data on Blacks in the general US population, which suggest that only 29.7% of non-Latino Black men and 16.5% of non-Latino Black women met the national physical activity guidelines in 2020, compared to 30.5% of their White male and 24.3% of their White female counterparts [4]. Among Asians (a large component of the other/multiracial category), 30.2% of Asian-American men and only 16.7% of Asian-American women met the national guidelines for physical activity in 2020 [4].

We also found no significant association between renovated park use frequency and physical activity level among older (>50y) adults. Adults >50y in our sample visited study parks less frequently and reported lower physical activity levels overall compared to younger (≤50y) adults, suggesting that NYC residents over 50y are possibly engaging in less park-related physical activity than their younger counterparts. This finding is in line with other studies that have shown that aging adults tend to visit community parks less than their younger counterparts [38,47]. Studies have also shown that older adults visiting community parks tend to participate in more sedentary behaviors during park visits compared to younger adults [38,47].

Park renovations alone may not be enough to engage all populations in participation in physical activity at neighborhood parks [9,25]. Shores and West propose that a combination of infrastructure improvements and social support is essential to promote physical activity among Black park visitors [48]. Similar to Latinos, Black and Asian park visitors also tend to report visiting parks in large family groups more frequently than White park visitors [44,45], so group exercise activities may be another possible means of promoting park-related physical activity among racial minority groups [23]. Cohen et al. have argued for the necessity of social programming or special incentives to encourage park use and physical activity among those over 50y [47].

The equity-driven CPI provides an example of a successful citywide built environment policy initiative whereby park redesign and renovation have demonstrated tangible impacts on the health of disadvantaged urban communities. CPI is an ongoing initiative, whereby NYC Parks reports the completion of targeted physical improvements in 110 priority parks and playgrounds serving underserved neighborhoods to-date (including fully redesigned and renovated parks like the ones in this study and others that received partial updates), with plans to expand the project to incorporate further physical improvements, as well as enhanced public programming, across dozens more sites across the city [24]. Similar initiatives may be undertaken in other cities with a history of disinvestment in neighborhoods of color as a means of promoting health equity through access to high quality health-promoting park space. These steps can ensure that more communities benefit from improved park quality and access, thereby supporting broader public health goals.

In this study, we demonstrated a significant positive association between frequent use of renovated urban parks and increased physical activity among adults in low-income, predominantly Latino and Black communities in New York City. We observed stronger positive associations between frequent renovated park use and high physical activity among younger adults, those with the lowest income, and Latino residents. Older adults, and individuals with Black and other/multiracial identities, did not exhibit an association between park use and physical activity, suggesting the potential need for tailored programming and social support to engage these populations in physical activity at neighborhood parks.

Renovations under the CPI have made parks more appealing and accessible, benefiting low-income communities of color by providing not only spaces for physical exercise but also for social and cultural activities. Our findings emphasize the significance of quality park spaces in enhancing community health and addressing physical activity-related health disparities. This study supports further investment in park improvements to promote physical well-being across diverse urban populations.

Supplemental File Online Resource 1.docx

Supplemental tables to manuscript. This file contains additional items referenced in the manuscript but not included in the main text:

Online Resource 1.1 [Table] Unweighted characteristics of survey respondents stratified by frequency of CPI-renovated park use

Online Resource 1.2 [Table] Estimates from log-binomial regression models measuring associations between renovated park use frequency and physical activity level: Model A = unadjusted log-binomial model, Model B = log-binomial model adjusted for sex, age, race/ethnicity, annual household income, education, use of other neighborhood parks, and study site, Model C = log-binomial model with interactions between age*study park use, annual household income*study park use, and race/ethnicity*study park use, also adjusted for sex, education, use of other neighborhood parks, and study site