How did this special place get overlooked? And for so long?
Nearly 1,000 acres of stunning rocky bluffs right across from the snow-dusted Rocky Mountains. Endless land and opportunity for one of the most gorgeous parks in America.
It seemed like a dream. But Greeley, Colorado, has long had its public lands underutilized. Only 5 percent of Greeley’s city lands are used for parks, leaving many low-income and diverse neighborhoods outside of a 10-minute walk from a park.
Shur View will be enjoyed for generations to come by a community who needs it. But sadly, parks like Shur View are the exception, not the rule. One hundred million Americans—including 28 million children—don’t have a park to call their own just 10 minutes from home. That means fewer opportunities to improve mental health and well-being through time spent in a safe, peaceful outdoor space. And many existing parks lack the wide, green spaces that best combat harsh climate effects.
But the longer we wait to build parks and create public lands in these underserved communities, the less likely they are to get the access to nature they so desperately need. And the more we will see what happens when access to the outdoors is closed for over a third of our nation: higher rates of anxiety, depression, obesity, and overall negative health outcomes.
