As Dave Harvey retires from his co-leadership position at Park People, he reflects on the incredible journey since founding the organization in 2011.
Each year, we support inspiring older adults in Metro Vancouver to reconnect with nature by leading events in their local parks—sparking belonging, joy, and wellness in their communities.
Discover how Arts in the Parks is transforming Toronto’s green spaces into vibrant hubs of creativity—and how Park People helps make it all possible.
How colonialism plays out in park practices and how we can work together to embed reconciliation and decolonization.
Discover ways to help you host events in your local parks during extreme heat events.
Each year, Park People Summits bring together our growing network of urban park changemakers to connect, reflect, and explore what’s possible for more inclusive, community-powered parks in our cities.
By donating to Park People, you’ll support vibrant parks for everyone.
This case study is part of the 2023 Canadian City Parks Report, showcasing Inspiring projects, people, and policies from across Canada that offer tangible solutions to the most pressing challenges facing city parks.
The Vancouver Park Board is now four years into their 25-year parks and recreation master plan, VanPlay. With a focus on equity, population growth, and evolving demographics, this strategy sets the stage for investments in green spaces and ensures the city keeps up with emerging needs.
While the city now boasts more parks than it did 25 years ago, rapid densification has resulted in a one-third decrease in park space per person. To tackle this challenge, the master plan offers a toolkit for efficient decision-making, accommodating diverse needs and user groups.
What sets this strategy apart is its integration of equity principles, including examinations of intersectionality, privilege, and oppression. At the heart of VanPlay is the goal of rectifying historical inequities in park access and quality across different neighbourhoods. VanPlay positions the City of Vancouver as a leader in this area.
VanPlay employs geospatial data to identify underserved areas that require increased park investments. These areas, known as Initiative Zones, are identified through an analysis of three key factors: park access gaps, demand for low barrier recreation, and tree canopy coverage. With the option to layer additional factors over time, such as income, community engagement, capital investments, and demographic data, the Park Board can gain a deeper understanding of nuanced needs and can effectively target key policy areas.
A significant priority of VanPlay is its water strategy. Vancouver, a city renowned for its connection to the waterfront and beaches, has unfortunately buried 91% of its urban streams. VanPlay enhances biodiversity and rainfall management by revitalizing these streams and bringing them back to the surface. This initiative simultaneously creates more natural spaces in the city, provides new amenities for residents, and helps manage rainwater during storms. It is a significant win for biodiversity and climate resilience.
When it comes to public space, streets play a crucial role. In Vancouver, streets occupy 32% of the city’s land area, compared to 11% for parks. Recognizing this untapped potential, VanPlay encourages the transformation of streets into public spaces. Collaborating with Planning and Engineering, the master plan suggests the creation of parklets, street closures, laneway activations, and more to meet the growing demand for public space.
Connectivity is another key focus of VanPlay. Vancouver already boasts the world’s longest continuous waterfront trail, the iconic 28 km seawall. Building on this success, VanPlay aims to expand the city’s network of bike lanes and pedestrian pathways. The master plan also introduces “network enhancers,” such as bike repair stations, wayfinding signage, lighting, and seating. These elements not only improve connectivity but also enhance safety, utility, and overall enjoyment between destinations.
Further Reading:
As cities struggle to find and pay for new park space to meet growth needs, some argue that a shift towards focusing on quality is part of the solution.
Having enough park space is critical, but the quality of park space can greatly determine its use. Quality can be about the amenities present (or missing), but it can also be about whether a space feels welcoming or safe to people.
“We have to realize that we are transitioning to a state in which securing parkland through development will incrementally become more challenging, effectively leading to a reduction in parkland per capita over time in the absence of alternative parkland acquisition tools,” said one park manager in an Ontario municipality, citing changes to provincial legislation in Ontario that affect the amount of parkland cities receive through development.
“Which means we need to look at quality and use of space rather than quantity much more effectively.”
Park Manager
This park manager noted their city is already seeing a reduction of parkland area in development applications—in some medium to high density new growth areas, the city is seeing up to a 60% reduction in the ability of securing future parks. The reduction is much more acute in high density neighbourhoods where more and more people are required to share fewer public spaces.
While quick to point out that this change is detrimental, this manager also sees a potential positive in pushing cities to look more closely at existing assets and how best to use them.
So, what does a focus on quality look like?
It might look like ensuring park spaces have amenities that a nearby community needs and that those amenities are in good repair. It might also lie in understanding the socio-cultural dimensions of a park and whether the facilities, programming, and overall design are relevant for surrounding communities.
These seem like basic measures, and yet just 43% of cities said they measure park quality at all. Even fewer collect socio-demographic data on park use to understand whether the park is meeting diverse community needs. At the same time, 100% of cities reported aging infrastructure and asset management as a challenge.
For one park manager, part of the answer lies in rethinking the intensity of use of parkland and ensuring that we’re maximizing the potential of land and amenities.
For example, the manager noted that one of the challenges that growing cities are facing is designing for large format sports facilities like soccer and baseball, which are land intensive while limited to a single use. If cities are going to need more of these facilities to meet demand, the question is then how to increase the intensity of use in existing assets for longer periods of time, rather than simply thinking about where to build new ones, this person said.
One idea might be looking at seasonal doming of sports fields so they can be used all-year regardless of weather conditions. Other cities, like North Vancouver, are turning disused infrastructure into amenities that meet current demands, like transforming an old swimming pool into a skatepark. Other cities have split uses between warmer and colder months, allowing for once single-use facilities, like tennis courts, to be used for other purposes, like off-leash dog areas in the winter months.
All show the potential of rethinking existing spaces to ensure they’re performing well and meeting current community needs.
Parks are vibrant spaces where we can connect to nature, ecology, and sustainability—right within Canada’s urban centres.
Parks are also delicate ecosystems. As visitors, we all have a role to play in protecting plants and wildlife and ensuring that we leave no waste behind.
We’ve prepared this planning guide to help you plan a fabulous zero-waste event that leaves your park just as healthy as you found it.
Each community has different opportunities and challenges when it comes to reducing its waste at park events. For example, some parks may have fewer garbage cans and recycling facilities for people to use, while others may have residents who feel more comfortable using single-serve packaging when at public events.
Before you start planning your event, ask yourself:
Once you’ve determined what information or resources your community might need to support your zero-waste goal, it’s time to make a plan!
The exact details of your zero-waste plan will be different depending on your community’s needs, but the following checklist provides a handy template for you to start with.
To go the extra mile, combine your zero-waste event with engaging and informative waste education activities. For example, at Park People’s end-of-season potluck celebration, we invited participants to decide whether common household waste items should be put into the garbage, recycling, or food waste bins.You might choose to host eco-friendly workshops on topics like upcycling, gardening, or composting demonstrations, or incorporate nature-focused activities like guided walks or clean-ups.Your goal is to show how fun, easy, and accessible zero-waste activities can be!
It takes a village to make a park look beautiful! While picking up garbage might not seem like an appealing activity at first, people enjoy cleanups because they get to see the tangible results of their efforts and feel more connected to their local park.As our Earth Day webinar made clear, cleanup events are a great way to inspire a collective love and commitment to your park among your neighbours—one that can have lasting effects on your community and on the environment.Here’s a 5-step plan to make your park clean-up a great community event.
Your municipality is an incredible resource for your park group to engage in your cleanup activities, and on an ongoing basis. They can help you plan and promote your event and access resources that you may need to get started.Begin by contacting your park supervisor about your plans to organize a cleanup, especially if this is your first park event. Your park supervisor can tell you what permits you might need, explain waste disposal protocols, and possibly connect you with other park enthusiasts who can join in the cleanup effort.Many municipalities also host city-wide cleanup days that new community park groups can join. Taking part in coordinated cleanup day will allow your group to access many resources that may not otherwise be available to you, like garbage bags and gloves. Plus, the city’s promotional reach will help you reach new people. Ask your park supervisor about any upcoming city-wide cleanup days.
It’s not just cities who help coordinate cleanups. For example, The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup is a conservation partnership by Ocean Wise and WWF-Canada. They offer support to anyone who’d like to coordinate a shoreline cleanup (if your park connects to water in any way—a creek, stream, marsh, or even storm drains—this includes you!).Do some research to see what other organizations, networks, or events might be relevant to your park, and who might want to partner up with you on your event. Your neighbourhood is likely full of non-profit groups, community organizations and individuals, all of whom could lend a hand to your clean up and bring new communities of interest to your park events. For example, you could approach a local bike co-op to offer tune-ups for cyclists at your event, or invite an environmental organization to help educate people on the steps they can take to reduce their waste footprint.Finally, consider approaching a local business to sponsor your event by offering small rewards like reusable water bottles, gift cards, or other prizes for participants.
Start your event plan with a walk through of the park space: how accessible is the environment? Are there paved paths for people to walk on, or mostly uneven terrain? Are there washrooms or water fountains open for participants to use? Approximately how much garbage is there currently, and how many volunteers might it take to clean it thoroughly? Take notes during your walkthrough and talk through your findings with your team. What information is important to pass along to your participants?Next, you may wish to use an online tool, such as Evenbrite or Google Forms, to promote your event, manage volunteers, collect RSVPs, and provide pre-event instructions such as weather updates, accessibility information, and guidance on suitable event attire (long pants and closed-toes shoes are best!). When you’re ready to launch, use social media, local bulletin boards, email newsletters, and word-of-mouth to promote your event. Ask your neighbors about their recommendations for good places to promote the event, such as any local Facebook groups. You may also want to invite journalists from a community newspaper or local bloggers/social media influencers to cover the event.
Finally, it’s time to prepare your supplies. You’ll want to consider offering:
Set up a check-in station before your event begins to welcome volunteers, distribute supplies, and provide safety briefings on what to do if they come across hazardous materials. Make sure you also use this welcome opportunity to collect information from the people who arrive: have them sign up for your park groups newsletter and chat with them about how they use the park and their vision for their shared space.Depending on how many participants you have and how large your park is, it’s best to divide volunteers into small groups assigned to specific areas during the cleanup. If possible, ensure that each group has a representative from your park group to offer support and answer questions as you clean. When you’re finished with your cleanup, separate recyclables, compostables, and landfill waste at the end of the cleanup.Finally, remember to make it fun throughout! Play music, organize a scavenger hunt, or create challenges like “Who can collect the most candy wrappers/pop cans/red-coloured items/whatever!”
When the cleanup is finished, it’s time to celebrate all that you’ve achieved! Take a group photo of your volunteers, and count the weight of the trash collected or the size of the areas cleaned to motivate your participants and promote future events.In the days following your event, be sure to email your volunteers, partners, sponsors, and the City to thank them for their participation, ask for their input to improve future events, and remind them to stay in touch with your park group—especially if they want to help you organize the next cleanup!
Our city and our ravines were shaped by past extreme weather events. Looking ahead, our ravines can help us be more climate-resilient. But first, we need to protect them.
In this webinar, David MacLeod, Senior Environmental Specialist with the City of Toronto, and Carbon Conversations TO explore how these natural spaces can mitigate climate impacts and the steps we must take to protect them.
The webinar is held in English; French subtitles are available.
Explore the relationship between public space, race, and systems of oppression in the public realm.
This webinar was inspired by urbanist and placemaker Jay Pitter.
It is held in English; French subtitles are available.
Gil (Guillermo) Penalosa is passionate about creating cities for all people; vibrant cities and healthy communities for everyone regardless of…
Tamika L. Butler is a national expert and speaker on issues related to building environment, equity, anti-racism, diversity and inclusion,…
Proudly Franco-Albertan, Chúk’s passion lies in the interactions between culture, health and the environment. Outside of this work with Future…
Zahra is a public interest designer and strategist focused on shifting power to people who are typically underrepresented in institutions…
Park People is excited to launch the 2024 Canadian City Parks Report, our sixth annual edition highlighting the most significant trends, issues, and practices shaping Canada’s city parks.
Watch our special launch webinar to explore our findings:
The webinar features an engaging discussion on the future of city parks, with guest speakers from the City of Victoria and Greenspace Alliance. They share opportunities and challenges in their work around collaborations and partnerships, across city departments, communities, non-profits, and more.
Adri Stark is specialized in research and policy at Park People, and co-author of the annual Canadian City Parks Report.…
Joy is the Manager of Research and Partnerships at Park People and facilitates national research and network engagement that supports…
Julia is the Food Systems Coordinator for the City of Victoria. She comes to the role after over 15 years…
Nicole DesRoches, born in Ottawa and living in Chelsea Québec, part of the National Capital Region, therefore living within the…
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.
Through that process we found six key insights related to collaborations and partnerships:
In this report you’ll find:
How does the City of Victoria’s Get Growing Victoria program take a food justice approach to provide gardening supplies to communities at risk of food insecurity, including those experiencing houselessness, Indigenous and racialized communities, seniors, and youth.
How Toronto is transforming future park spaces into temporary public areas through partnerships, letting residents enjoy them now while planning for long-term park development.
How partnerships across city departments and with local community groups helped the City of Charlottetown recover from Hurricane Fiona’s devastating winds.
How Mississauga is expanding parkland in a growing neighborhood to meet future demand through a cooperative, long-term property purchase plan.
How a temporary plaza in Montreal’s Parc Marcelin-Wilson was created to offer a gathering space for youth, with design improvements informed by Metalude’s insights through direct observations and youth engagement.
How an agreement between the Tsleil-Waututh Nation and Metro Vancouver Regional Parks provides a path for shared cultural planning.
How can municipalities move from awareness to action? A conversation with Jay Pitter about Black people’s experiences in parks and public spaces.
How Waterfront Toronto is raising the bar on inclusivity through their Waterfront Accessibility Design Guidelines.
How Nature Canada is building a web of partners at all scales to help Canada achieve its biodiversity conservation goals.
Park People launches the fifth annual Canadian City Parks Report: Surfacing Solutions: How Addressing Conflict and Reframing Challenges as Opportunities Can Create More Equitable and Sustainable Parks.
Over the past five years of the Canadian City Parks Report, our goal has always been to tell a story—the story of where city parks are going and where they need to go.
This year, we took an even deeper approach to gathering these stories. We sat down for interviews with 44 senior parks staff across 30 municipalities, who generously shared with us the challenges they are facing, the projects and people inspiring them, and their vision for the future of city parks.
In the report, we weave together the themes we heard from those conversations with the data we gathered from our surveys of 35 municipalities and over 2000 residents of Canadian cities.
Dive into the pdf to read about our key insights on trends and challenges in city parks:
Discover Vancouver’s ambitious parks and recreation master plan, using innovative mapping to guide equity-led parkland investment.
Brampton leads the way with its Eco Park Strategy, a citywide initiative focused on naturalization projects that preserve and enhance natural and cultural heritage.
How the City of North Vancouver is working to better engage equity-deserving groups in its longstanding Park Stewards program, including people who are underhoused, newcomers, and at-risk youth.
The Montreal’s Darlington Ecological Corridor bridges urban and natural spaces while addressing both ecological restoration and social needs through meaningful partnerships.
A look into the logistics of collaborative governance in a large urban park with Meewasin Valley Authority in Saskatoon.
Learn more about the District of Saanich’s collaborative approach to tackling conflict over off-leash dog parks.
How cities are navigating the benefits and challenges of privately owned public spaces (POPS) through creative policies and guidelines on design, stewardship, and public programming.
Restoring the Don River’s natural flow, Toronto’s renaturalization project enhances biodiversity, mitigates flooding, and reconnects the city with its waterways.
Public washrooms are a park necessity.. Discover Edmonton’s approach to creating safe, inclusive public washrooms.
Bill 23: A conversation with Michelle Dobbie, Manager Park and Natural Heritage Planning, City of Richmond Hill.
Happy reading!
This case study is part of the 2024 Canadian City Parks Report, showcasing Inspiring projects, people, and policies from across Canada that offer tangible solutions to the most pressing challenges facing city parks.
Designing for inclusivity and accessibility is top of mind for many municipalities. From our surveys, 78% of municipalities indicated that universal accessible design is a high priority in their work. And while many municipalities look to provincial accessibility guidelines to meet basic standards, our 2022 public survey revealed that 10% of city residents say that insufficient accessibility features discourage them from visiting and enjoying city parks. This suggests that parks are still not working for everyone.
Waterfront Toronto, a tri-government agency, noticed gaps in existing provincial and municipal accessibility guidelines when designing new public spaces, specifically spaces around water. Some of these gaps include standards around the design of boat launches, boardwalks, beaches and water entry points.
Waterfront Toronto knew that in order to create truly accessible public spaces they needed to learn from, listen to and involve the people who understand accessibility challenges and opportunities the best – people living with disabilities.
Waterfront Toronto assembled an advisory committee made up of individuals with professional and technical expertise, most of whom are people living with disabilities, to guide the development of their new design guidelines. The guidelines aim to go above and beyond existing requirements and ensure waterfront settings can be enjoyed by all. Notable requirements include standards that all beaches must have accessible pathways into the water and boat launches for adapted canoes and kayaks must be provided.
The process of including community members with lived experience in an advisory committee is not a novel engagement practice. But what really sets this work apart is that the guidelines incorporated a permanent mechanism to include those with lived experience in all future projects.
The advisory committee emphasized the guiding principle of “nothing about us without us”, and the idea that no single voice speaks for the entire disability community. The committee members also highlighted the importance of implementation.
One of the ways Waterfront Toronto addressed this was to create a permanent accessibility committee that reviews all future public realm projects and will advise on future updates to the guidelines. This follow-on committee, known as the Accessibility Advisory Committee, is made up of individuals with professional expertise, advocates and caregivers, most of whom identify as a person with a disability, who receive an honorarium for their time. When composing the committee, Waterfront Toronto sought people with a range of disabilities and experiences to try and represent the diversity of accessibility needs.
For any new parks or public space projects, the Accessibility Advisory Committee is engaged at least twice in the process. The committee provides feedback within the early stages of the design phase to flag any accessibility concerns and again once the construction is complete, with additional opportunities for input as needed. This “roll through” of complete projects identifies any potential areas for improvement. This feedback will be implemented as amendments to the guidelines and applied to future projects, but Waterfront Toronto has also committed to accommodating the feedback at the site when a retrofit or repair is needed.
The guidelines set out a new standard for inclusively designed public spaces by filling gaps and going above and beyond current requirements, and proactively seeking out those with lived experience to guide projects on a long-term basis.
Enhancing accessibility to blue spaces ensures that everyone has access to the restorative power of nature. And while the implementation of the new guidelines ensures that people with disabilities can participate in these public spaces, accessibly designed spaces are good for everyone.
“We know that to create a vibrant waterfront that belongs to everyone, we must have a strong commitment to accessibility in everything we make and do. With the support of the Accessibility Advisory Committee we are making accessibility another area of true design excellence.”
Pina Mallozzi, Senior Vice President, Design at Waterfront Toronto
Further Reading