The role of political and financial factors in the provision of parks: the case of Logan City, Queensland

Researchers have found that open space provision (e.g. parkland) is vitally important for meeting the social, economic and environmental needs of urban populations globally. The international literature on park provision identifies many factors that influence a local government’s ability to provide adequate parkland including political agendas, governance tools and resources. This paper draws upon a conceptual model devised through a systematic review of the open space literature to critically examine the challenges for the City of Logan in providing adequate parkland to support its urban population. Recent legislative changes in Queensland mean significantly less developer funding is available to support the provision of parkland for Logan residents. This paper addresses three important questions: (i) What is the current approach to planning for green space in Logan? (ii) What are some of the factors that influence the provision of parks in Logan and how do they compare to those identified in the literature? And (iii) are there alternative approaches to providing parks in Logan? Like many other Australian cities, in the face of competing economic, social and environmental demands Logan exhibits a widening gap between planning standards and actual provision of parks. With rapid urban growth and land use intensification set to continue in South East Queensland (SEQ), now is a critical time to evaluate the success of the current approach to planning open space in Logan, as a major regional city. This paper mobilises findings from the international literature on open space provision to identify directions for future research.