2024 Canadian City Parks Report: Bridging the Gap

Today Park People launches the sixth Canadian City Parks Report–and the final iteration of this report in its current form: Bridging the Gap: How the park sector can meet today’s complex challenges through partnerships and collaboration.

Last year, we dove deep into the minds of park managers across the country, interviewing over 44 senior parks staff across 30 municipalities about the trends and challenges in the industry. One of the key insights from that process was a need to find collaboration sweet spots to achieve our many collective parks goals. 

This year’s report expands on that insight by showcasing collaborative examples from across the country and through collecting data from 35 Canadian municipalities, over 2,500 residents of Canadian cities, as well as interviews with park staff and professionals.

Key Insights

Through that process we found six key insights related to collaborations and partnerships:

• Park budgets are not keeping pace with need.
  • Years of insufficient parks operations budgets are challenging city parks departments and coinciding with a slip in resident satisfaction.
  • 78% of cities said insufficient budgets meant inadequate staffing levels, while 75% said it meant delays in park projects or planning.
• Residents feel disempowered, but want to engage.
  • While residents want to get more involved in parks, city parks departments struggle with limited resources to provide opportunities for long-term engagement. 
  • 83% of cities said that with limited resources it can be difficult to conduct ongoing, proactive community engagement beyond standard consultation on park projects.
• Mental and physical health benefits are key, but lack proactive programs.
  • Mental and physical health are the top benefits of park use for residents, presenting a big opportunity for cities to further these impacts with specific programs. 
  • 95% and 93% of residents believe parks play a positive role in their physical and mental health, respectively.
• Departmental structures can promote collaboration–or disconnection.
  • A minority of cities structure their parks departments with operations and design together, potentially leading to gaps between what gets built and how it gets maintained.
  • Nearly ⅓ of cities said their organizational structure makes it difficult for parks staff to collaborate with other divisions/departments. 
• Partnerships are critical, but cities need policies and structures.
  • City parks departments recognize the benefit of partnerships, but struggle with the policies and procedures to navigate them with ease. 
  • 61% of cities said a barrier to partnerships with nonprofits was an inability to meet municipal standards.
• Growing park issues require more training and collaborations.
  • There are big issues facing parks and residents want to see cities act, but to do so park staff need more training and collaborations with other city departments.
  • 92% of cities agreed that in recent years parks departments are facing increased pressure to address issues beyond “traditional” parks issues.

In this report you’ll find:

• A roundup and analysis of the latest park data showcasing trends and challenges  from our surveys of over 2,500 Canadian residents and 35 municipalities across Canada–our most ever surveyed.
• A library of nine case studies from across the country featuring inspiring projects that provide tangible recommendations for how to spur action in your own city. 
• A listing of 35 City Profiles with the latest data from parkland provision goals, to parks amenities, to budgets.

Launch Webinar

For those eager to dive deeper into the report’s contents, join us for the report launch webinar featuring a lively discussion on the report’s key findings and future directions for city parks.  This hour-long webinar will take place on Wednesday, November 27th, at 3:00 PM ET.