Vancouver - The 2023 Canadian City Parks Report

We’ve switched to biennial data gathering for the city profiles — The data available here was collected in early 2022 and originally published in last year’s Canadian City Parks Report.

City Profile

Vancouver

2022

British Columbia

Population: 662,248

Vancouver is one of 20% of cities with a biodiversity strategy.
Vancouver is above average for percentage of park washrooms that are winterized, with 95% open year-round.
Vancouver is one of 53% of cities with a park system master plan updated within the last 10 years.

Early in 2022, the Vancouver Park Board committed to developing co-management agreements with the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. As an initial step, Park Board staff will meet with the three Nations to identify parkland within each of their territories and to seek guidance on proceeding in a manner that respects protocols and knowledge of each Nation.
The Park Board is developing a skateboard amenities strategy. Vancouver CitySkate will “explore opportunities for skateboarding and other wheeled sports in parks, plazas, streets, greenways/bikeways, and potentially other public locations.”
A Parks Washroom Strategy was adopted in late 2020 to ensure all park visitors have access to safe, accessible and clean washroom facilities.

1.8

ha of parks & green space / 1000 people

Total parks and green space

Total hectares of parkland and green space that is publicly accessible and owned, leased, or under a management agreement by the municipality. This number should capture all parks and green spaces that are perceived/used by residents similarly to parkland.

Specifically, it should include:

Actively managed parkland
Natural parkland/areas
Other municipally owned, managed, or leased open spaces that are used as public green space

Excludes:

Golf courses
School yards, if owned/maintained by the municipality
Active (open) cemeteries
Sports stadia
Parking lots
Institutional and other publicly owned green space
Other parks/green spaces that are not owned, managed or leased by the municipality (e.g. privately owned public spaces)

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1,164 ha total

47%

of parkland is natural area

Natural parkland

A natural area is a green space which receives a relatively low level of maintenance and supports natural or naturalizing vegetation. Natural areas may be publicly accessible (e.g. via trail networks) or areas with limited/little public access.

Natural areas may include:

trails or walkways
washrooms
environmentally sensitive/protected areas
stormwater ponds/water bodies located within natural areas

Excludes:

parking lots
actively managed parkland

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548 ha total

50%

of parkland is actively managed

Actively managed parkland

Total hectares of parkland that is actively maintained by the municipality for community use. These parks often contain built and natural amenities such as: park furniture, planted trees/beds, sports fields, playgrounds, and mown grass.

Includes:

plazas and “grey” spaces used for public recreation, when maintained by the parks department
small ponds/water bodies located within actively managed park spaces

Excludes:

natural areas
hazard lands
school yards
active (open) cemeteries
golf courses
sports stadia
parking lots

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586 ha total

10%

of total city land is parkland

11,497 ha of total city area

Dog parks

Off-leash dog areas

Includes both standalone dog parks and off-leash dog areas within parks.

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Community gardens/urban farms

159

Playgrounds

A playground refers to an area with purpose-built children’s playground equipment present, and may have just one single item of equipment or several items located together.

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Public washrooms

Total number of permanent public washrooms in parks that are open year-round or seasonally. Excludes portable toilets.

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92 winterized public washrooms

1.1

Parkland provision goal (distance to park / ha per 1000 people)

Parkland Map

View Vancouver’s parkland map

$67

Parks operating expenditures / person

Operating expenditures (actuals)

Direct operating expenditures (not including revenues) for 2021 for maintaining parks and natural areas. This number will be used with your current year population to understand operating budget spent per person.

Includes:

planting and maintenance of trees in park/natural areas
graffiti & vandalism repair
management, administration & operational staff salaries
consultant/contractor costs
parks horticultural plantings
maintenance of closed cemeteries if carried out from the parks operating budget
parks litter pickup & waste disposal
inspection and maintenance of splash pads, playgrounds & outdoor fitness equipment
maintenance & replacement of park furniture
public toilets where maintained from parks budget
sports field maintenance
snow clearing and ice control for parks & natural areas
any other parks/green space maintenance costs except cemetery costs where the cemetery is "active"

Excludes: golf courses, swimming pools, indoor recreation facilities/halls, forestry, and zoos.

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$44,400,000 total

$70,400,000 info hint

Parks capital expenditures

Capital expenditures (actuals)

Capital expenditure for all capital items related to land improvement works completed during the 2021 financial year.

It includes:

Both new and renewal work
Capital items carried forward from previous years
Salaries and wages for all staff involved in the design, planning and delivery of capital projects.

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$1,200,000

Total philanthropy/sponsorships

See note

Volunteers / 1000 people