Public Open Space (POS) geographic information system (GIS) layer

Full description

Public Open Space Geographic Information System data collection for Perth and Peel Metropolitan Areas

The public open space (POS) dataset contains polygon boundaries of areas defined as publicly available and open.  This geographic information system (GIS) dataset was collected in 2011/2012 using ArcGIS software and aerial photography dated from 2010-2011.  The data was collected across the Perth Metro and Peel Region. 

POS refer to all land reserved for the provision of green space and natural environments (e.g. parks, reserves, bushland) that is freely accessible and intended for use for recreation purposes (active or passive) by the general public. Four types of “green and natural public open spaces” are distinguished: (1) Park; (2) Natural or Conservation Area; (3) School Grounds; and (4) Residual.  Areas where the public are not permitted except on payment or which are available to limited and selected numbers by membership (e.g. golf courses and sports centre facilities) or setbacks and buffers required by legislation are not included.

Initially, potential POSs were identified from a combination of existing geographic information system (GIS) spatial data layers to create a generalized representation of ‘green space’ throughout the Perth metropolitan and Peel regions. Base data layers include: cadastral polygons, metropolitan and regional planning scheme polygons, school point locations,  and reserve vesting polygons. The ‘green’ space layer was then visually updated and edited to represent the true boundaries of each POS using 2010-2011 aerial photography within the ArcGIS software environment. Each resulting ’green’ polygon was then classified using a decision tree into one of four possible categories: park, natural or conservation area, school grounds, or residual green space.

Following the classification process, amenity and other information about each POS was collected for polygons classified as “Park” following a protocol developed at the Centre for the Built Environment and Health (CBEH) called POSDAT (Public Open Space Desktop Auditing Tool). The parks were audited using aerial photography visualized using ArcGIS software. .  The presence or absence of amenities such as sporting facilities (e.g. tennis courts, soccer fields, skate parks etc) were audited as well as information on the environmental quality (i.e. presence of water, adjacency to bushland, shade along paths, etc), recreational amenities (e.g. presence of BBQ’, café or kiosks, public access toilets) and information on selected features related to personal safety.

The data is stored in an ArcGIS File Geodatabase Feature Class (size 4MB) and has restricted access.

Data creation methodology, data definitions, and links to publications based on this data, accompany the dataset.