Our collective Taonga: Parks plan

A plan for the future of Auckland's green spaces

What are the challenges?

Based on an analysis of existing park provision and use in Auckland, this section sets out the issues and challenges facing our parks and green spaces, and why we need to plan for their future protection and improvement.

2.1 Analysis of existing park provision and use

Traditionally, park provision is measured by quantity. This means we know how many parks we have, what area of land they cover and how the amount of green space in a city compares with the number of people living there. In Auckland, and throughout the world, this measure has traditionally been the area of open space measured in hectares per 1000 people.

There are several difficulties with the use of this measure and its use as a standard of park provision. These include obtaining consistency about what open space is included in the measure. For example, in Auckland if the beaches - a valuable element of the open space network - were added to the equation the amount of open space per person would increase considerable. This inconsistency of terms makes it difficult to compare meaningfully the amount of open space provided by different local authorities, both regionally and nationally.

Most critically, the measure does not take into consideration the distribution of different types and uses of parks across the city. Reserves with a local purpose or a utility function under the Reserves Act may have limitations to actual use, due to size and/or function. This means that the quantity provision standard does not allow council to understand the extent to which the city's open spaces serve community, recreation and ecological needs.

2.2 Developing new measurement techniques

In response to these issues, three new measurement tools have been developed. These tools focus on assessing the types of green space we have, how easy they are to get to and use, and their quality.

Parks matrix

The parks matrix classifies the different types of parks in Auckland and is a key tool with which we can understand the park asset and develop priorities for its future development and management. It replaces the existing system of premier parks, sports parks and neighbourhood parks.

The matrix categorises parks by both function - active recreation, community and environmental/heritage; and by catchment, whether it serves the neighbourhood, the district or the city. This means we have an understanding of the different ways our parks are used and to what extent they serve our city. This allows us to analyse the citywide park asset to understand the range and spread of different park types across the city, establish standards of provision, levels of service and appropriate maintenance regimes.

The detailed descriptions of each park function are listed below:

1. Active Recreation

Active recreation is the major function of these parks and includes land, buildings and structures directly related to recreation. It includes indoor and outdoor sports facilities; playing fields; boat ramps and jetties; bike trails; courts and bowling greens managed by sports clubs. Active recreation parks provide for high intensity public use and this is a key factor in their design and development.

2. Community

Facilitating community interaction is the major function of these parks and includes facilities and activities related to informal recreation and leisure. Community parks provide for the broadest range of activities, from informal petanque settings to community centres. Some parks specifically provide for community facilities. Public use and protection of natural features occurs in tandem.

3. Environmental/Heritage

The major function of these parks is the contribution they make to Auckland's natural environment. They include areas of ecological, archaeological and geological sensitivity, and all volcanic features (e.g. cones, lava flows), coastal edge reserves and land with heritage features. It also includes land with hazard mitigation and buffer functions e.g. storm water, buffer zones, roadside amenity strips. Recreation or community use can be developed, where appropriate, but protection of the natural features will take precedence.

Park audits

In 1998 and again in 2005 each park on the isthmus was surveyed to determine its quality in terms of accessibility, usability, contribution to sustainability, safety, level of development and facility provision and so on. A simple numeric rating system was established to compare the parks across the city and to determine the overall quality in terms of usability.

The quality rating system is as follows:

0 - Not publicly accessible or doesn't provide a park function e.g. a large berm
1 - Poor land configuration, no facilities, access difficult
2 - Little or no facilities, access limited
3 - Basic amenity for local use, good access
4 - Good facilities but some issues e.g. maintenance/quality, multiple access points
5 - High quality 'destination' facilities and design of space, multiple access points, unique or variety of settings.

Ped-shed analysis

A mapping technique was also developed to calculate the population catchments within a five (400 metres) or eight minute walk (600 metres) from an area of green space.

It provides a 'walkability analysis' of important green spaces across the city and within neighbourhoods, identifying how evenly these destinations are distributed and dispersed through a town or city and gaps in the distribution. It enables us to understand where the optimum locations for new parks and green spaces are across the city and indicate where existing green spaces may be improved to accommodate increased residential density relative to the growth areas identified for the city.

Applying these measurement tools to the existing parks network, enables us to establish standards of provision and levels of service for parks management and maintenance.

2.3 Some highlights from the analysis

The council owns or administers 800 parks in the city. This equates to approximately 2,000ha.
Seventy-three percent of the council's park network is situated on the isthmus.
The network consists of a variety of open spaces that includes 20 city parks, 67 district parks and 617 neighbourhood parks.
Additional land zoned in the District Plan for open space purposes, which is administered by other stakeholders, totals approximately 484ha and accounts for a further 3 per cent of the isthmus land area. This includes parks that are often not distinguished as different from council's parks, such as Cornwall Park.
Parks in Auckland city come in a variety of sizes. The network consists of 455 small park of less than 1ha and 210 medium parks between 1ha and 10ha. There are 39 large parks greater than 10 ha, many of which are volcanic features such as One Tree Hill and Maungawhau Domain (Mt Eden).
Over half of the isthmus' parks coverage functions primarily as environmental/heritage parks, with parks for active recreation making up 30 per cent of the network's area.

2.4 What are the issues?

Auckland is a growing city, with an intensifying urban form, a changing and more culturally diverse population with changing needs and lifestyles. 'Places for people, places for nature' highlighted the challenges and opportunities such changes bring to the whole of the open space network.

As we set out the plan for the future of the city's parks as places capable of meeting the needs of a growing city and contributing to the long-term sustainability of the city, we need to understand the specific issues facing parks and reserves.

An analysis of the current park provision (supply analysis) highlighted a number of key issues:

access to a high quality park is not equal across city
growth of the city will increase pressure and demand on parks in areas identified as being able to accommodate growth
increasing pressure on Auckland's higher quality city, district and neighbourhood parks, which will increase as the city continues to grow
the park network is disparate and unconnected
inconsistent access to the coast and along esplanade reserves
degraded natural environments
conflict of use and values including ecological, historical, cultural and social values and provision of infrastructure e.g. stormwater management
limited number of parks of the highest quality, with quality varying significantly across the city.

An analysis of customer values (demand analysis) told us that:

there is declining customer satisfaction with the quality of the city's parks
use of parks is linked to quality, maintenance levels and accessibility
people value the natural environmental role of Auckland's parks and their contribution to Auckland's identity
there is concern that growth will threaten these values.

The key challenge for Auckland is to how we ensure the long-term preservation and connection of the city's open space network, enhancing the natural environment values of our open spaces and the benefits they bring to the city, without compromising use and enjoyment.

Published February 2008