Nature, 10 Minutes Away
Protecting What Matters, Part 4: A 10-Minute Walk/Drive to Nature
The Trust for Public Land has a simple but powerful vision: everyone should have access to a quality park within a 10-minute walk of home.
Why 10 minutes? It's roughly a half-mile, a distance research suggests many people are willing to walk to reach a nearby destination. Yet more than 100 million Americans, including 28 million children, still lack a park that close to home.
But what does "close to home" mean in Greenville County?
A 10-minute walk makes perfect sense in Greenville, Greer, Mauldin, Simpsonville, Travelers Rest, and Fountain Inn, where neighborhoods are denser and sidewalks, greenways and neighborhood parks can connect thousands of people to nature.
Here, the goal could be:
Home
A 10-minute walk
A park, trail or greenspace
But Greenville County doesn't stop at the city limits. In rural communities, where homes may be separated by acres rather than blocks, expecting every family to walk a half mile to a park isn't realistic. The principle, however, still works. We simply need to adapt the measure.
Urban: A 10-Minute Walk
Neighborhood parks
Greenways
Trails
Community schoolyards
Small natural areas
Rural: A 10-Minute Drive
Regional County Parks
River access
Trails
Natural areas
Historic sites
The goal isn't to put the same kind of park everywhere. The goal is to put meaningful access to nature within reach of everyone.
And we don't always have to build a new park. Trust for Public Land recognizes trails, natural areas and publicly accessible schoolyards among the places that can provide close-to-home recreation. Opening school grounds after hours, connecting neighborhoods with greenways and creatively transforming existing public land can dramatically expand access.
One County. Two Approaches. One Goal.
In our cities: establish a park or trail within a 10-minute walk.
In our rural communities: create a park, trail, river access or protected natural area within a short drive.
Because whether you live in downtown Greenville or on a country road in northern or southern Greenville County ... Nature shouldn't be something you have to plan a trip to visit. It should be part of everyday life.
That's what equitable access to the outdoors can mean for Greenville County.
