Park People has launched their second annual Canadian City Parks Report and the results of their just-released survey on how COVID has impacted park use in Canada. In the report, you’ll find key data from 27 Canadian cities. You can also explore the report through its five themes — nature, growth, collaboration, activation, and inclusion — where you’ll find indicators and statistics as well as stories that showcase challenges, opportunities, and leading practices in Canada’s city parks.
Work on this report started in October 2019 and while the emerging impacts of COVID-19 were incorporated, much was still in flux at the time of this report’s final writing. Highlights from the report include:
- Nearly two-thirds of cities reported protecting biodiversity and enhancing natural areas as a top challenge, while only 1 in 5 reported having a citywide biodiversity strategy in place.
- Nature experiences are in demand as 70% of cities reported increasing demand for park naturalization projects and 56% of cities reported increasing demand for volunteer stewardship opportunities.
- The top three challenges identified by cities were keeping pace with growth, ageing infrastructure, and insufficient operating budgets, yet only 63% of cities reported park system master plans that address growth needs.
- Despite public health recommendations that unhoused people living outdoors should be allowed to remain in place, we found that only 16% of cities paused encampment clearances in parks during COVID-19. We also found that 41% of Canadians would like to see better integration of services for people experiencing homelessness in parks.
For a full set of key findings, read the Executive Summary.
Over the next year, Park People will be reviewing how COVID-19 impacts Canadian parks, building on the ideas in this report. To read more about their thoughts about parks and COVID-19, please read this special blog post. And keep in touch with their continuing analysis on parks and COVID-19 on social media and by signing up for their newsletter.
