Columbus' parks are getting better, per national ranking

Columbus' parks system just keeps getting better, per the latest public parks index from the nonprofit Trust for Public Land.

The big picture: The city's ranking among large cities jumped 10 slots this year, moving from the 56th to 46th best in the country .

Why it matters: New research by the nonprofit shows cities with higher scores have residents who are on average more socially connected with their neighbors, more likely to volunteer and more likely to form friendships across socioeconomic groups.

Zoom in: Columbus' ranking saw the greatest improvement in the access category, which measures the percentage of residents living within a 10-minute walk of a park.

• The city also scored high for investment as well as equity, which measures distribution of parks among neighborhoods of varying socioeconomic backgrounds.

What we're watching: The Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks system is in the process of building two major new parks , both expected to open by the end of the year.

• Great Southern Metro Park is a 50-acre strip of land between a quarry and shopping center off of South High Street that will include water recreation and new trail connections to downtown.
• Bank Run Metro Park is on the site of the YMCA's former Hoover Y Park and is envisioned primarily as a private event site and cross-country course.

Zoom out: While we're looking better this year on a national scale, Columbus still doesn't compare particularly well to its Ohio peers, all of which were once again ranked higher this year.

• Cleveland came in 31st, Toledo was 27th and Cincinnati came in eighth.

Go deeper via the Trust for Public Land