Good parks are worth paying for

Minneapolitans enjoy a section of bike and walking path on the east side of Lake Harriet. Photo by Eric Harris Bernstein/Minnesota Reformer.

If you’ve walked around Minneapolis in the past few weeks, you probably noticed the trees. The eye-popping oranges, yellows, and reds might have conjured fond fall memories, caused you to consider life’s cyclical nature, or simply marvel at nature’s beauty. 

All good reflections, but let me add one: Next time you breathe in the crisp fall air under the brilliant foliage, pause and consider your tax dollars at work.

Minneapolis is home to a whopping 600,000 publicly managed trees, including 200,000 on the boulevards lining our streets and twice as many populating the parks, lakes and river fronts around the city. All of these are ensconced within one of the most extensive municipal park systems in the country, with 7,059 acres of city parkland and water spread across 185 properties.

This is a legacy centuries in the making. Created in 1883, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board was one of the first of its kind, with substantial power to tax and spend on the public’s behalf. Civic leaders used this authority to reshape the city for the betterment of all. Lands were purchased and improved for public use; lakes were dredged to be more functional and appealing; waterfronts were reserved for walking paths; and policymakers as far back the 1910s fought to guarantee a park and playground within six blocks of every child in the city. 

Parks and green space redefined Minneapolis as a city offering a high quality of life for everyone. From physical health to economic strength to the creation of a desirable urban environment, we can’t overstate the value we get in return for the dollars we spend on our parks. 

Trees reduce air pollution and thus incidence of asthma and even cancer. And by encouraging more walking, tree-lined streets promote good health. Research has also found mental health benefits of urban green space, including a decreased likelihood of anxiety or emotional distress, and increased social connection.

The business upside is substantial as well: The National Recreation and Park Association estimates that local parks generate over 21,000 jobs and $4 billion of economic activity statewide, which would amount to hundreds of millions in Minneapolis alone. Public trees have been shown to produce between $2 and $7 of value for every $1 of investment, and the park board has estimated that trees save Minneapolis property owners an average of $100 per year thanks to lowered home cooling and stormwater management costs. 

You could take some of these precise estimates with a grain of salt, but the overarching idea would be difficult to deny: It’s impossible to imagine Minneapolis without its parks, and these parks are the result of active and collective stewardship of our shared resources. 

I reflected on this over the summer when park workers of Laborers International Unions of North America Local 363 went on strike for the first time in their 104 year history. I followed along with the negotiations and was struck by the relatively modest gap holding things up: MPRB and Local 363 were never more than $2.1 million apart on the additional cost of the three-year contract — less than 1% of the park board’s $100 million general fund budget. This frustrated union representatives who felt their case for higher wages rested on strong evidence of pay gaps between MPRB and park jobs in neighboring cities. 

I could appreciate the park board’s desire to control costs, but their negotiating position stood in stark contrast to the city’s handling of the Minneapolis police contract. The park board is its own entity with its own tax and spending authority separate from city government, but the juxtaposition is still worth noting. 

The police contract raised pay by more than 20% over 3 years and established a starting salary of over $90,000, which is double the parks raise and $30,000 higher to start. At a public cost of an additional $14.7 million over two years, the police deal was 4-times more expensive and it came a lot easier. 

MPD’s brief negotiation process with City Council stood in stark contrast to MPRB, which held out for weeks over concerns that Local 363’s demands would necessitate a property tax increase between 1.5 and 2%. That would equate to about $50 per year on my slightly below-median-value house in South Minneapolis, which seems like an eminently reasonable price to pay for continued access to a nation-leading park system and the 11 saplings growing on my block alone. But more to the point, I find it curious that the additional taxpayer burden was brushed aside when it was time to pay the police.

I fear the explanation for this double standard is that we regard parks as a luxury. This is a mistake. As we look to create a safer and more prosperous city, we can’t lose sight of the intentionally built environment that has long been key to its success.

Bipartisan research has found that developing natural amenities offers the most consistent improvement in local economies, especially in the Midwest. So while there are many factors contributing to Minnesota’s standout economic strength, the friendly, people-centered development of its core city is an important one. 

Continuing this active stewardship will not get less important as we encounter and work to confront the contemporary challenges of a changing society.

Recently, for example, the Met Council has focused attention on racial inequities in our urban tree canopy. Areas like north Minneapolis have as little as one-third as many trees as other parts of the city, which has been shown to contribute to worse social outcomes, including higher crime and lower property values. Increased investment in parks, with a special focus on underserved areas and youth programming, are not just a way of making life more pleasant, but could help heal some of the metro’s startling racial disparities.

The important reminder here is that we get enormous long-term value for our investments in public spaces — the trees planted decades past, the walkways so embedded in our mental map of the city that we take them for granted — and that this work will never be finished. Just ask any one of Local 363’s 200 custodians, arborists and cement workers.

During the strike, I spoke with Dana Hendrickson, a second generation, 25-year veteran arborist for MPRB, who shared in compelling detail the intensive work he and his coworkers perform throughout the year to maintain our urban forest.

In addition to maintaining and ensuring adequate diversity with our city canopy, MPRB arborists help manage private trees as well, inspecting for problems and helping to protect against the spread of Dutch Elm disease and invasive species like the emerald ash borer. It’s a big job, and with a workforce of just 75 people it is no small feat — the average MPRB arborist is responsible for about 8,000 city trees.

Their beauty is no accident — healthy, safe, mature trees are the result of careful pruning and consistent monitoring. It is the work of decades, and a beautiful metaphor for a great many collective investments that we make to steward a society that we will one day pass to future generations. 

That is worth the investment.