Open spaces are essential resources for public health and the environment: they provide places for recreation, cultural enrichment, learning, exercise, and relaxation, as well as crucial support for wildlife and habitat, clean air and water, and local economies.

 

The global Covid-19 pandemic underscored the critical importance of open space for human health and well-being as people flocked to parks and trails. However, many people — especially those from low-income and marginalized communities — were not able to easily access and enjoy the state’s abundant open spaces.

 

In response, OSI and the New York Outdoor Recreation Coalition (NYORC) partnered to create Open Spaces for All: a new, statewide plan that aims to make millions of acres of parks and open spaces more welcoming and accessible for New Yorkers and out-of-state visitors alike.

 

The report establishes a vision for change, to support strategic priorities for improving and enhancing policies, programs, and initiatives; and to empower creative partnerships to encourage and engage a growing and increasingly diverse constituency of open space users.