Dublin’s park life under the spotlight in new DCU research

15/03/2021

Survey launched in partnership with Dublin City Council to find out what users want

A new research survey by DCU is aiming to find out what people want to see in Dublin’s parks and how they can be developed in response to users' needs. The findings will be used by Dublin City Council to help inform planning and development in relation to public parks.

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Since COVID-19 parks in Dublin and nationwide have remained open, providing an important outlet for people by helping to support their physical, social and psychological needs.

The research team behind the project highlight that there are significant insights available in terms of the frequency, type of usage and volume of activities that have taken place in parks during this time.

Launched Monday, March 15th in partnership with Dublin City Council (DCC), the survey is seeking responses from people across Dublin city and county. The findings will be used to help inform planning and development policy in relation to public parks by DCC.

“People access parks for a whole variety of reasons, for exercise, to enjoy nature, for social occasions and by hearing from them it will help to inform the ways in which parks should be improved and developed and, crucially planned as a space that all generations can enjoy together,” said Joint Research lead Dr Carol Barron, DCU School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health.

“Parks have proved a safe haven for many during COVID-19 and undoubtedly the volume of people using their local park has increased substantially. While the country remains under current restrictions and people are using their parks on a frequent basis, we want to find out from respondents what they would like to see developed in their park,” added Dr Marcos Dias, DCU School of Communications and Joint Research Lead.

The survey is a collaboration between DCU’s School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health, DCU School of Communications and Dublin City Council.

The survey closes on Sunday, March 28th.

Image: credit Dublin City Council