What does research say about splash pad equity and access?

Multiple peer-reviewed studies — including work in the Journal of Urban Health, Landscape and Urban Planning, and the American Journal of Preventive Medicine — document a consistent disparity: lower-income neighborhoods and neighborhoods with higher proportions of Black, Hispanic, or Indigenous residents have fewer splash pads per child than wealthier or whiter neighborhoods. Researchers call this the 'cool-amenity gap.' It compounds public-health risk because the same neighborhoods often have more pavement, less tree canopy, and higher urban heat-island temperatures. Trust for Public Land's ParkScore now publishes splash pad and water-feature equity overlays that rank cities. In response, cities including Philadelphia, Atlanta, Phoenix, and Chicago have committed to siting new splash pads explicitly in lower-equity-score neighborhoods. Researchers stress that access alone is not enough — programming, transportation, language access, and operating-hours equity also matter.