Big cities added 5,375 new acres of parkland in 2007, but population growth is outstripping their efforts, according to a new study from the San Francisco-based Trust for Public Land (TPL). The additional acreage brought the total amount of public urban green space to more than 1.3 million acres, more than Yosemite, Rocky Mountain, Mesa Verde and Shenandoah National Parks combined.

TPI's annual report, produced by its Center for City Park Excellence (CCPE), found that, factoring in growth, the amount of parkland in the nation's 60 largest cities declined last year from 18.88 acres per 1,000 residents to 18.72 acres. "Acreage and spending [on parks] in bellwether places like New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Phoenix and San Francisco increased, while the quality of many city parks is improving," CCPE Director Peter Harnik said in a statement. "But, as a whole, we're still losing ground."

The results of the study and more CCPE statistics are available at www.TPL.org/cityparkfacts.