Big cities greener than ever

摘要

In 2005, the 60 largest U.S. cities spent a record $4.3 billion in maintaining and growing their parks systems. However, green-space advocates maintain more funding is needed to improve urban quality of life.The statistics come out of an eight-year study by the nonprofit The Trust for Public Land (TPL). The highest-ever spending is especially significant considering the budget crunch most public works agencies are facing, coupled with the tendency of both the public and elected officials to view parks and recreation as a luxury that takes a back seat to other, more essential infrastructure.