Open space/parks/recreation is ranked #1 among factors used by small businesses in choosing a new business location (Economic Benefits of Open Space Index, Trust for Public Land)

Tourism is the second highest revenue in the state of Pennsylvania.

In November 1999, 240 measures on local ballots concerned land conservation, parks and smarter growth; of these measures, 72% were approved by voters (Economic Benefits of Open Space Index, Trust for Public Land)

Pennsylvania is second in the country in the loss of land to development. PA is 2nd only to Texas. If you consider population into the equation, PA is first because Texas is gaining population while PA is losing ("The Costs of Sprawl in Pennsylvania", 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania).

Pennsylvania has lost an area of farmland larger than the combined size of Connecticut and Rhode Island (Thomas Hylton, Save Our Land, Save Our Towns: RB Books (Harrisburg), 1995).

In the vicinity of Philadelphia's 1,300 acre Pennypack Park, property values correlate significantly with proximity to the park. In 1974, the park accounted for 33 percent of the value of a plot of land (when the land was located 40 feet away from the park), nine percent when located 1,000 feet away, and 4.2 percent at a distance of 2,500 feet. (Hammer, Coughlin and Horn, 1974). (Economic Impacts of Protecting Rivers, Trails and Greenway Corridors: A Resource Book. Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance, National Park Service, 1995.)