What is Public Park

Public park means a development designed or reserved for active or passive recreational use, including all
natural and man-made open space and landscaping, facilities, playing fields, and buildings that are
consistent with the general purposes of recreation, whether or not such recreational facilities are public
operated or operated by other organizations pursuant to arrangements with the public authority owning
the public park. E.g. Deshpande Udyan, Pune, Shivaji Park, Mumbai, etc.

Ownership of Public Parks

Public park means a Park owned or controlled by the Corporation or by any Ministry, Board, Commission
or Authority

Challenges and Constraints of a Public Park

As important as public spaces are, they are also faced with innumerable constraints. Designing and
maintaining a public space is highly challenging. Public spaces need to be protected against various
impediments such as crime, misuse, deterioration, violence and climate. Among all, the safety of the users
of public spaces is the key challenge.

Important Factors for a Public Park

Location – Location and distance of any Public Park is very important for the use of public. If the park is
in the vicinity to the residential area and at a walkable distance or at the center of a city or at a major
junction or may be at a crowded commercial place, then the footfall at such public parks would be way
higher then the one located at a far distance.

Facilities - Physical Activity Resources: Paved pathways, Kabaddi & Badminton courts, play area etc.
encouraging physical activity. 2. Family Facilities: Child-friendly play equipment’s, picnic spots, dustbins,
park furniture – benches and garden tables, pathways / green areas with trees etc. 3. General Services:
Boundary Wall/ Fenced Area, Public Conveniences, Tubewell/ Piped Water Supply (For watering and
drinking water facilities), illumination, parking space & compost area (wherever possible), semi-pucca
huts 4. Aesthetics: Enhancing overall park attractiveness by making attractive entry gates, illumination
using LEDs, fountain area, landscaped manicured area, flower and shrubs, waterbodies with aquaculture
(wherever possible), and, accessibility

Accessibility – Parks should have accessible facilities—including wheelchair-accessible trails. Many

visitor centers have audio-described exhibits, tactile features for the blind, and captioned and audio-
described videos as well as assistive listening devices in theaters and exhibits. Alternate formats for print
materials such as braille, large-print, and audio versions may be available. Just as the opportunities and
experiences offered by every park are different, accessibility features and services differ among parks.
See the map on Plan Your Visit for links to accessibility information for each park.