Public open space strategy guide for local governments.
An audit of current public open space provision and associated facilities forms an essential component of the strategy. This forms the basis for determining how well current needs are being met and what is required to meet the future needs of the community.
It is important that there is a good understanding of the current public space assets that the local government has (for example foreshore reserves, public open space, regional open space etc.). Detailed information on these assets should be collected including:
In addition, it is important to consider public open space or regional open space in surrounding areas that may also be meeting the needs of the community (for example regional playing grounds, parks and facilities).
Public open space can be described using the characteristics and terminology outlined in Table 1.
The University of Western Australia developed a “Quality of Public Open Space Tool” (POST) to assist in the process of auditing public open spaces such as parks and ovals, with particular emphasis on the physical attributes that may either encourage or discourage their use for physical activity. Also available is the Public Open Space Desktop Audit Tool (POSDAT) which is tailored for those using aerial photography to conduct an audit.
Placescape (Dr May Carter) in collaboration with the Centre for Built Environment and Health at UWA and Playce developed an audit tool for the City of Subiaco. The resulting open space assessment template and guide is a local government scale tool for auditing public open space.