Research & Publications
The Sydney Parks Group has undertaken a range of research projects aimed at improving knowledge about park users and identifying issues for park managers.
The research program includes the following:
Major Research Program
The Sydney Parks Group has decided to conduct a program of quantitative research into the economic, social and environmental benefits of urban parks.
In order to ascertain the scope and nature of this program, the group funded a scoping study (undertaken by SGS Economics) to develop a framework to guide a quantitative economic research program over the next 3-5 years.
The final report was submitted to the Sydney Parks Group in late 2006.
Further updates on this research will be made available at a later date.
Standardised Park Visitors Survey
The Sydney Parks Group has developed a standard core set of questions for use in all park visitor surveys.
This questionnaire is available online to both members and non-members and we encourage all Parks to adopt this standard survey questions in order to achieve industry-comparable data.
Click here to learn more about this survey.
Triennial Sydneysiders’ Use of Parks and Gardens
The Sydney Parks Group has undertaken regular community surveys of park usage in the Sydney metropolitan area, conducted in 1998, 2001 (by Environmetrics) and 2004 and 2007 (by Taverner Research).
With every survey, valuable trend data is emerging. A summary document of results from each of the 2004 and 2007 surveys is available to download here: survey2004_summary.pdf (PDF, 107kb)survey2007 webarticle
Social Benefits of Public Open Space
A review of the social benefits associated with the provision and management of parks and gardens, 2001, conducted by Elery Hamilton-Smith.
A full published report is available from the Centennial Park Shop.
Value of Public Open Space for Community Service Provision
Commissioned in 2001, this study relates to the provision of public open space and the benefits it provides for community services. These benefits are assessed in terms of the costs avoided by using public open space instead of alternative venues for delivering government programs.
The brochure provides a summary of the study conducted for this research project and is available free of charge.
In addition a free summary brochure is available to download here: pos_summary_brochure.pdf (PDF, 175kb).
This summary document was also published in: Australasian Parks and Leisure, Vol. 5, No. 3, Sept., 2002, pp. 11-13.
Tourism in Urban Parks
This research project aims to identify the role of urban parks in the tourism industry and in the minds of tourists coming to Sydney.
The project is a joint sponsorship, with the Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism, of a PhD scholarship.
Cultural Diversity in Social Valuing of Parks
The Sydney Parks Group provided seed funding for a study of ethnic groups’ perception and use of parks and gardens.
The researchers, primarily from the University of Technology, Sydney received a three year grant from the Australian Research Council.
Read a recent article in The Sydney Morning Herald on the project’s progress here: smh-article.pdf (PDF, 133kb).
Future Research
As cities such as Sydney continue to grow, the value of parks as recreation and leisure spaces will become increasingly important.
The role of bodies such as the Sydney Parks Group will also become more important in determining how these parks are managed for the future needs of the community.