As of 2018, Arizona's population had almost doubled since 1990. Over this period, cities and counties have expanded the acreage of parks and open spaces that are available for outdoor recreation. Though urban parks have been expanded, natural open spaces, including federal lands managed by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, are finite and are required by law to adequately balance human use with maintaining viable natural habitat for wild plants and animals.
"Amount of Open Space" is measured by the number of acres of open space, including parks, preserves and federal public lands. "Acres of Open Space per Capita" is the number of acres divided by the latest population estimates of subject geographies. These metrics do not include State Trust lands, which are not available for public use without a permit.
Acres of Park Land and Acres of Park Land per Capita are updated when data are available for the following localities:
- State
- Certain counties
- Certain cities
