The REVAMP natural experiment study: the impact of a play-scape installation on park visitation and park-based physical activity

Designing parks that optimise visitation and support visitors to be active is important for public health. Yet there is very little evidence about whether playground refurbishment achieves these objectives.
This study examined the impact of the installation of a play-scape in a large metropolitan park in Melbourne, Australia. The findings confirm that a well-designed play-scape installation has the potential to increase park visitation and encourage visitors to be physically active. They provide encouraging evidence for urban planners and designers that well-designed play-scape refurbishments have the potential to attract visitors and to facilitate greater levels of physical activity in the age groups for which the upgrade was targeted.