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Calcimator

Park Acreage Standard Calculator

Determine required parkland acreage from population and NRPA standards, with breakdowns by park type and gap analysis.

Inputs

acres/1,000 pop
acres

Results

Required Park Acreage

250 acres

≈ 51 city blocks

Deficit / Surplus

170 acres

≈ 34 city blocks

Current Level of Service3.2 ac/1,000
LOS RatingSignificantly below standard (<50%)
Mini Parks Needed25 acres
Neighborhood Parks75 acres
Community Parks100 acres
Regional Parks50 acres
Regional Count1
Service Area3.2
How to Use This Calculator
  1. Enter Service Population, Acreage Standard, and Existing Park Acreage.
  2. Set Mini/Pocket Parks, Neighborhood Parks, and Community Parks.
  3. Adjust Regional Parks as needed.
  4. Review Required Park Acreage (acres) and Deficit / Surplus (acres).
  5. Use Current Level of Service (ac/1,000) and LOS Rating to inform your decision.

How the result changes with Service Population

Service PopulationRequired Park AcreageDeficit / Surplus
100,9001,009 acres929 acres
350,6503,506.5 acres3,426.5 acres
650,3506,503.5 acres6,423.5 acres
900,1009,001 acres8,921 acres

What each input means

Service Population
Total population served by the park system.
Acreage Standard
Adopted parkland standard. NRPA median is ~10 acres per 1,000 people. Range: 6-20.
Existing Park Acreage
Current total park and open space acreage in the system.
Mini/Pocket Parks
Percentage of total parkland allocated to mini/pocket parks (<1 acre each).
Neighborhood Parks
Percentage allocated to neighborhood parks (5-10 acres each, 0.5-mi service radius).
Community Parks
Percentage allocated to community parks (25-50 acres, 1-2 mi service radius).
Regional Parks
Percentage allocated to regional parks and open space (50+ acres).

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

  1. Identify Input Parameters
    4 parameters
    Service Population = 25000, Acreage Standard = 10, Existing Park Acreage = 80, Mini/Pocket Parks = 10 = 7 input(s) provided
  2. Calculate Required Park Acreage
    Required Park Acreage
    250 = 250
  3. Calculate Deficit / Surplus
    Deficit / Surplus
    170 = 170
  4. Calculate Current Level of Service
    Current Level of Service
    3.2 = 3.2
  5. Calculate LOS Rating
    Significantly below standard (<50%) = Significantly below standard (<50%)

Engine last updated . Checked against 2 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators.

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