How funding scarcity and ineffective governance tools inhibit urban greenspace provision: An exploration of municipal greenspace managers’ insights

Local government is at the forefront of providing communities with urban greenspace, amidst responding to global challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and population growth. Much research has focused on the demands for more urban greenspace; far less has examined issues concerning supply. Better understanding of the dilemmas faced by those charged with the task of providing urban greenspace at the city scale can help policymakers, planners, and aligned professions ensure that municipal resources are appropriately and justly allocated. We aim to address this gap, answering two research questions: 1) what factors shape urban greenspace provision, and 2) how do these factors manifest differently for municipalities of Australia and New Zealand? We surveyed 82 local government officers/officials from mid-size municipalities of nine Anglophone countries about their experience providing municipal greenspace. We expose some of the experiences, challenges, and emerging issues facing contemporary municipal greenspace providers globally, including the drivers and barriers to urban greenspace provision. Findings reveal the complexities of supplying urban greenspace, shaped by multiple factors. While funding, community expectations, and governance tools, are the main factors, funding is the main barrier to providing urban greenspace globally. Moreover, almost all other factors affect availability of sufficient funding. Key differences for Australia and New Zealand reveal a broadening conceptualisation of the purpose of parks: more so multi-purpose than primarily sport and recreation. Revealing challenges greenspace managers face in delivering adequate urban greenspace and facilities, these findings question the efficacy of the current planning approaches embedded in planning legislation, municipal greenspace plans and strategies.