Take me out to the dog park
How cities are dealing with the high demand for—and high controversy around—dog parks.
City Profile
Hamilton
Hamilton
- With 17 community gardens per 100,000 people, Hamilton has the third highest number of community gardens per population.
- Hamilton is one of about a quarter of cities that offer a formal park volunteer program, a grant program, and a policy to waive permit fees for groups showing financial need.
- Hamilton is one of 56% of cities with a seniors strategy that includes parks.
- John Rebecca Park, opened in 2019, is built on a converted downtown parking lot, and was partly funded through a $1 million donation.
- In 2020, Hamilton received Bee City designation for its commitment to supporting pollinators.
- Hamilton’s Summer Supie program which provides free drop-in activities for kids in parks celebrated its 110 year anniversary in 2019.
Data 2020
4.7
ha parkland per 1000 people
2717 ha of total parkland
46%
of total parkland is natural area
1240 total ha
37%
of parkland is environmentally significant/protected
1010 total ha¹
2%
of total city land is parkland
112775 ha of total city area
14
Dog parks
100
Community gardens/urban farms
2.1
Parkland provision goal (ha per 1000 people)
0.6
Volunteers per 1000 people
350 total²
39
Community park groups
Yes
Policy to waive permit fees for groups with financial need?
Community park group program
Community grant program
$38
Parks operating budget per person
$22,083,870 total
$8,376,000
Total parks capital budget
$154,000
Total philanthropy/sponsorships
Yes
Provincially legislated tools available for parkland development
Community Benefits Charge³
¹Includes ESAs in parks that are maintained, but not owned, by the city. ²Includes volunteers engaged in maintenance/stewardship only. Decrease from 2019 due to program review/administration clean-up. ³This tool was introduced in 2019 and is still under review. Previous Provincial legislation allowed 5% of development site or cash-in-lieu.
Environmental Strategies
Inclusion Strategies
Don’t just tick the box—think outside of it
Why community engagement requires going deeper—and broader—to provide meaningful opportunities for people to see themselves reflected.
Feed them and they will come
How creative community groups and city support are growing connections through food in parks.
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