Managing contested greenspace: neighborhood commons and the rise of dog parks

Abstract

Dog parks present an emerging class or urban environmental amenities. In order to develop a better understanding of dog parks, this article applies existing literature regarding urban parks and common pool resource (CPR) management to off-leash recreation areas. We develop a typology dog-park management and build upon a survey of 298 dog park users of a major dog park. We test the relationship between the perception of the park as a successfully governed CPR, and behaviour which contributes to collective action, such as contributing time, money, or to the upkeep of the park and developing a sense of community. We see strong relationships between these indicators of overcoming collective action problems and the four variables corresponding to design principles. Across all models, feeling involved in rule-making positively and significantly predicts more collective action or stronger sense of community.