City of Parks (Minneapolis, Austin, Adrian: 2013, crime, neighborhoods)

[Texamichiforniasota]

Minneapolis ranked the top park system:

Group rates Minneapolis as top U.S. city park system

[Kayekaye]

While this is true, I always found growing up in Minneapolis that the parks were not a safe place for kids without parents. The bullies are always there looking for kids to pick on. So be prepared.

[Texamichiforniasota]

Originally Posted by Kayekaye

While this is true, I always found growing up in Minneapolis that the parks were not a safe place for kids without parents. The bullies are always there looking for kids to pick on. So be prepared.

I think that's a pretty blanket statement. There might be some parks/neighborhoods where this is an issue, but I haven't heard about many bullying incidents in Minneapolis parks. I don't know when/where you grew up in Minneapolis, but cities as a whole have gotten a lot safer over the last 30 years.

Has anyone else heard of this being a problem?

[Ghengis]

Originally Posted by Texamichiforniasota

I think that's a pretty blanket statement. There might be some parks/neighborhoods where this is an issue, but I haven't heard about many bullying incidents in Minneapolis parks. I don't know when/where you grew up in Minneapolis, but cities as a whole have gotten a lot safer over the last 30 years.

Has anyone else heard of this being a problem?

well once I almost got hit by a frisbee so yes, Minneapolis parks are quite dangerous

[1stpontiac]

I like this part:

"What's interesting is on our Top 10 list, a number are older cities where they thought ahead and set aside land to build parks," says Adrian Benepe, senior vice president and director of city park development for the San Francisco-based Trust for Public Land.

I have noticed this in Minneapolis as well as other cities that I have visited. I'll look around a park or greenspace and think, "someone was really thinking ahead when they set aside this enormously valuable tract of land to be a public space". Every time I run or bike on a lakefront path, I'm grateful for the people who set aside a little space for the path.

[Chain of Lakes]

Originally Posted by Kayekaye

While this is true, I always found growing up in Minneapolis that the parks were not a safe place for kids without parents. The bullies are always there looking for kids to pick on. So be prepared.

Really? The bullies are always there?

I've lived in the city for 20 years....the last 5 right across from a park. My kids play there and have never had one single issue. Plus, they walk down to the lake and go fishing all the time and never have they told me of any trouble.....none.

Usually, they are greeted by neighbors and people we know.


I feel sad for you. You and your kids are missing out on some great things like the chain of lakes, the riverfront, the sculpture garden, Minnehaha parkway, Minnehaha falls, sea salt, tin fish, Lake Harriet bandshell, the rose garden, Theodore Wirth park......etc.

[Beenhere4ever]

I agree it is overdrawn. I got slugged by a drunk at Powderhorn. But almost all my total minutes in the Minneapolis system have been peaceful and safe. A cop got attacked along Minnehaha Creek when lured by a 911 call into an ambush. But that was pretty focused and intentional.

[Chain of Lakes]

yep....and with millions of visits each year to Minneapolis parks, your statistical chance of being a victim of a crime is almost zero.

Most of the (small number of) issues are due to car break-ins, not violence.

[Mplsite]

I'm surprised this isn't a more well-known feature of the city. I mean, really, the Chain of Lakes alone is easily a top contender for an inner city park, but I never heard of it until moving here which is a shame. Central Park is nationally well-known, but would anyone really want Central Park instead? Unlike water amenities bordering cities on the coast or along the Great Lakes the Chain of Lakes is large when totaled together but uniquely integrates into the urban fabric all around it. I've looked for other "urban lakes" in popular cities on Google Maps, but nothing seems to match so I can easily see why we're #1 in yet another quality of life category.

[Campeador]

Originally Posted by Mplsite

I'm surprised this isn't a more well-known feature of the city. I mean, really, the Chain of Lakes alone is easily a top contender for an inner city park, but I never heard of it until moving here which is a shame. Central Park is nationally well-known, but would anyone really want Central Park instead? Unlike water amenities bordering cities on the coast or along the Great Lakes the Chain of Lakes is large when totaled together but uniquely integrates into the urban fabric all around it. I've looked for other "urban lakes" in popular cities on Google Maps, but nothing seems to match so I can easily see why we're #1 in yet another quality of life category.

I completely agree with this. I posted the link to this list in the TX forum, noting that TX cities are ranked rather poorly. Folks here in TX found it hard to believe, since Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and Fort Worth all have decent park systems. Having spent a significant amount of time in the Twin Cities and several TX cities, it isn't so much that TX parks are terrible, they just pale in comparison to what Minneapolis offers.

One of the factors used to create the rankings was the percentage of the population w/in a 1/2 mile of a park. I think this is a point that really makes MPLS great; anywhere you may live or find yourself w/in the city you're close to a park. As a cyclist, this also makes for great flow. You can string together various trail systems easily and visit very different parks from the Mississippi River, Minnehaha Falls, the chain of lakes, the sculpture garden, Wirth Park, etc.