Background - Neighbourhood Parks

North Sydney’s extensive network of neighbourhood parks breaks up the rigid form of the urban landscape and helps give the area its distinctive, leafy character. These parks offer some of life’s small but essential pleasures; a pleasant spot to read a book in the shade of a tree, a respite from the office, a glimpse of the harbour or a small playground to entertain children.

Neighbourhood parks act as the community backyard, affording residents who live in units convenient and accessible outdoor spaces for recreation. Many local residents are involved in the co-operating management and maintenance of neighbourhood parks through Council’s Streets Alive program. In commercial areas, neighbourhood parks cater for the business community, these urban plazas often contain hard-wearing elements such as paving to withstand high levels of use.

As the amount of medium density housing and other development in North Sydney grows, greater pressure is put on neighbourhood parks to meet the outdoor recreational needs of the community, and the value of the neighbourhood parks in the social make‑up of the area increases.