Parks and Recreation

Richmond’s Community Needs Assessments are community-wide studies that solicit Richmond residents’ feedback on services and programs delivered by the Parks, Recreation and Culture Division and its many community partners, in order to understand and respond to the community’s experiences, values and needs. Richmond’s Community Needs Assessments help inform the planning and delivery of future facilities, programs and services. The City of Richmond has conducted four Community Needs Assessment studies, in 2001, 2009, 2015, and in 2023.

2023 Community Needs Assessment
In 2023, a new Community Needs Assessment was undertaken to understand how program, service, and facility offerings are meeting the current needs of Richmond residents. The findings and recommendations from the 2023 Community Needs Assessment allow the City to continue effectively managing and delivering services and programs that respond to current and future needs of all those who live, work and play in Richmond.

2023 Community Needs Assessment Report

Following major investment for both the Richmond Olympic Oval and in meeting community needs for parks, it was recognized that there was a need to examine facility and amenity needs across the entire city. In early 2007, a PRCS Facility Evaluation Framework and Evaluation Toolkit were developed to provide PRCS with a process to enable staff to consistently examine and prioritize potential investment in PRCS facility and amenity projects. Twenty-one projects were identified and prioritized and then were examined to determine location and synergies (how amenities could be grouped for development) and to outline an appropriate phasing of projects. The resulting PRCS Facilities Strategic Plan, which was endorsed by City Council in June 2007, addresses a long-term PRCS strategy for replacing, retrofitting and upgrading existing buildings and for new facility development.

The Volunteer Management Strategy 2018-2021, endorsed by Council in September 2018, focuses on supporting volunteers in their development and achievement of their personal goals, as well as further supporting City,partner and affiliate staff who work closely with volunteers. Through reaching out to various community partners, staff strengthened the strategy to ensure its strategic initiatives and action items detailed will be impactful.

Find out more about the Volunteer Management Strategy 2018-2021.

Endorsed by Council in 2009, this strategy aims to re-position Richmond’s waterfront. The strategy's vision is that:

“Richmond is a community that celebrates its rich past and recognises the full potential of its island legacy – a dynamic, productive and sustainable world-class waterfront”.

The intent of the Waterfront Strategy: Redefining Living on the Edge is:

• To promote coordination and integration by increasing awareness of the complexity of managing the waterfront and of the need to work together to achieve the City’s overall Vision.
• To provide a basis for developing policies to be included in the new Official Community Plan and for further work towards developing a detailed Waterfront Sustainability Strategy.
• To establish a management approach to promote coordination and integration, and to monitor progress and success over the next three years.