Valuing Parks and Open Spaces in Metro Parks Tacoma
Metro Parks oversees nearly 3,000 acres of park and open space in Pierce County, making up the majority of park land in Tacoma. Earth Economics was honored to provide a complete assessment of park, by capturing the natural capital of the park ecosystems in economic terms. By identifying and valuing ecosystem services and assets rarely captured in traditional economic accounting. Some of the ecosystem goods and services captured included:
Flood protection,
Buffering against climate instability,
recreation, waste treatment,
pollination, and
maintaining critical habitat.
These services represent real economic contribution to the local economy and community.
Our Analysis
Earth Economics was able to assign a dollar value to the ecosystem benefits provided by Metro Parks natural capital, and the natural capital associated with these parks and open spaces – resulting in the ability to provide health and education benefits that the areas provide to local community members and a broad spectrum of visitors. Meaning,
State and local parks frequently struggle for stewardship and expansion funding to serve growing populations.
Part of the reason for this gap is that only a fraction of parks’ economic value is included in decision-making.
By capturing the value of park ecosystems in economic terms we helped to make the City of Tacoma a healthier, safer, more beautiful and prosperous place to live
Results
By assigning value to the ecosystem services provided by the natural capital present in Metro Parks. Tacoma, we were able to conclude that the park ecosystems provide between $3.6 million and $13 million in benefits to the regional economy every year. The social capital, education, and health benefits that Metro Parks Tacoma provides are worth over $18 million annually.
EE created a report critical to justifying the largest parks bond measure per capita in U.S. history.
Voters passed a $198 million measure to improve recreation facilities and parks in the City of Tacoma by a 2-1 margin.
Since passage in 2014, the City of Tacoma has experienced rapid revitalization and improvements in neighborhoods across the city. (Source: MetroParks - 2014 Zoo Bond)
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