The latest Insights Insider of the year explores protected land in Worcester County. In partnership with Greater Worcester Community Foundation and using data from Worcester County Insights and MassGIS, we analyzed publicly accessible land, open space, and how the amount of protected land has changed over time.
Although Massachusetts is the third most densely populated state in the United States, it has a significant amount of protected green space for its more than seven million residents: more than a quarter of its total acreage is considered “protected land.”
The same applies to Worcester County—more than a quarter of its total acreage (nearly 270,000 acres) is protected. Of that, more than half is fully publicly accessible, according to the Massachusetts GIS Protected and Recreational Open Space data set.