What our parks are worth
Parks and Greenspace service carried out a Social Return on Investment (SROI) study to measure the impact of services provided through the city's parks. SROI is a method of estimating the financial value of the social, environmental and economic benefits that parks provide.
The study found that through Edinburgh's parks, for every £1 invested, there is about at £12 return in social, environmental and economic benefits.
Download the
- summary report the value of the Council's parks (PDF)
- technical report calculating the value of Edinburgh's parks (PDF)
- 2013 SROP report on the Pentland Hills Regional Park (PDF)
Other findings include
- individuals will gain health and wellbeing benefits worth around £40.5 million
- the impact on social inclusion and community capacity is worth over £6 million
- local businesses will gain additional money from visitors to parks in the region of £51 million
- schools, nurseries and colleges are able to provide outdoor learning experiences of just under £1 million
- the awareness and understanding gained by visitors of their local environment is valued at just under £5 million.
The study shows that our parks deliver multiple benefits and make a large contribution to people in Edinburgh feeling
- healthier
- wealthier
- smarter
- safer
- greener.