Page 76 - KCMO Parks Master Plan 2032

COMMUNITY
COMMUNITY

geographic area. Des Moines features the largest
BENCHMARKING park system in the neighboring state of Iowa.
And Overland Park, while also much smaller in
population provides the study with a neighboring
system serving the second largest city in the KC
ANALYSIS metropolitan area.

It is easy to draw conclusions from these
data samples to attempt to formulate
Benchmarking analysis is an exercise often recommendations based thereupon. This
employed in park master planning because it analysis must be viewed with a measure of
offers a quick way to compare peer agencies caution. The benchmarking tool is used to
through a set of established park metrics. For spot outliers in the Parks and Recreation
this study, the consultant team worked closely system. Every department has its own staffing,
with KCMO department staff to select 5 peer operational, and financial complexities. While
cities with some common, and some unique, these charts and graphs do not provide all of that
parallels to Kansas City. The consultant team back story, they still give us one more guidepost, in
collected comparable data for each of these 6 addition to the many others in this study, to use in
cities including both demographic and park and evaluating this department.
recreation statistics.
Parks and Trails
Baltimore compares very well to Kansas City in
terms of demographics like population, median As is depicted in the charts on the next page,
age, and income. It also provides a historic east Kansas City has one of the largest systems
coast city. While slightly small in population, within this peer group of cities. Its total acreage
Cincinnati is anther major league city located in of parkland of 10,500 is second only to Dallas
the Midwest at the heart of a large metropolitan with 20,812 acres. Keep in mind, Dallas is a
area spanning two states. It also traces its much larger city in land area and population.
foundational roots to a master plan by the noted When these park acreages are normalized by
landscape architect George Kessler. Dallas is population, the comparisons change. Within
clearly a much larger city in terms of population, this group, Kansas City actually offers up the
but, like Kansas City, also manages a park system most park acreage per 1,000 residents at 20.62
that serves a diverse population across a large

Figure 5.7: Kansas City, MO Figure 5.8: Baltimore, MD Figure 5.9: Cincinnati, OH
Population 509,297 Population 569,931 Population 309,513

70 KANSAS CITY PARKS MASTER PLAN