Research Program

The Sydney Parks Group research program to date has involved the following projects. For more information on these studies, including availability of results, please click on the individual project. Details of reports for sale, can be found be clicking on Publications at left.

Sydneysiders' Use of Parks and Gardens

• regular community surveys of park usage in the Sydney metropolitan area, conducted in 1998 and 2001.
•  two major community surveys of park usage in the Sydney metropolitan area, conducted in 1998 and 2001 by Environmetrics. A published report on these surveys is not available, but a summary of key findings can be found in 'Who uses Sydney's parks?', by Veal, A. J. Australian Parks and Leisure, Vol. 4, No. 3, Sept., 2001, pp. 21-23
• Click here to see Who uses Sydney's parks? (pdf format - for further information see box at page end)

The 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. Visit our shop for details.

The Value of Public Open Space for Community Service Provision

• a study on the value of public open space in terms of avoided costs for government agencies using urban park spaces for their programs, 2002. A full published report is available - see Publications at left.
• In addition a free summary brochure is available to download (pdf format - for further information see box at page end). This summary document was also published in: Australasian Parks and Leisure, Vol. 5, No. 3, Sept., 2002, pp. 11-13.

Tourism in Urban Parks

• joint sponsorship, with the Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism, of a PhD scholarship. Results from this project not available at this stage.

Cultural Diversity in Social Valuing of Parks

• support for a study of ethnic groups' perception and use of parks and gardens. Results from this project not available at this stage.