Population Health

September 23, 2025

Summer 2025 Applied Research Fellows study accessibility for King County Parks

The summer 2025 fellows pictured after their final presentationThe 2025 University of Washington Population Health Initiative Applied Research Fellowship program recently concluded its research on park accessibility in urban unincorporated areas of King County. The team’s findings offered valuable insights for King County Parks and the King County Department of Natural Resources to inform future resource allocation and project planning. Now in its sixth year, the fellowship is a collaboration between the Population Health Initiative, UW Center for Studies in Demography & Ecology (CSDE) and King County.

Training for this year’s team was led by Jessica Godwin, a CSDE research scientist. The five student fellows in the cohort were a mix of graduate and undergraduate students:

  • Xinyuan Hao (MS student, Environmental Health Sciences);
  • Mark Nepf (PhD student, Evans School and CSDE Trainee);
  • Annie Xu (PhD student, Psychology);
  • Sarah Desai (Senior, Anthropology, Environmental Studies); and,
  • Nupur Gorkar (Senior, Human Centered Design & Engineering).

Access to and availability of parks are essential components of population health. However, not all communities have equal access to these spaces. With this challenge in mind, the fellows set out to examine spatial access across all King County parks, integrate new spatial access measures, emphasize access for youth and individuals with disabilities, and evaluate accessibility at a park focused on sports activities.

The cohort’s spatial analyses drew on data from King County GIS Open Data, OpenStreetMap, the U.S. Census Bureau, King County school locations, and Walkability scores. To accurately assess accessibility, the team employed isochrone mapping—a method that accounts for walking speed and existing street and walkway infrastructure. Their spatial cluster analysis, conducted at the Census block group level, identified clusters of low park access in urban areas of southwest King County.

To complement their data-driven approach, the team conducted an on-the-ground assessment of Dick Thurnau Memorial Park in White Center. This included evaluating park facilities, signage and general accessibility, as well as conducting informal interviews with park users. Interview topics included overall park experience, transit options, inclusivity, comfort and safety and suggestions or complaints.

Key insights from the 10-week program included:

  • A decline in park accessibility moving east and south across King County.
  • Persistent low-access clusters in southwest King County.
  • While downtown and central Seattle have relatively high accessibility to urban parks, these areas have lower youth populations and lower rates of individuals with disabilities.

Looking ahead to the future of Dick Thurnau Memorial Park, the cohort proposed both immediate and long-term recommendations. These included repairing broken play equipment, updating signage to be accessible and multilingual, diversifying youth activities and enhancing digital access to park information.

Launched in 2019, the Applied Research Fellowship program equips students with skills in data analysis, critical thinking and team science to address complex population health challenges and prepare them to become future leaders in the field. The application period for the summer 2026 Applied Research Fellowship program will open in winter quarter 2026. Learn more about this fellowship program by visiting its web page.