"Parks do not have to be grassy to be be green."

Recreational Land Strategy for Ottawa 2006-2031. 

4.4.2. Parks and Open Spaces-"The City's requirements for parks and open spaces may have to be revisited to ensure that the types of spaces required of developers reflect the need for quality spaces of all sorts (active, passive, programmed, soft-surface and hard-surface) at the right location, and at the right sizes. The goals of a review of parks and recreational land should be: "Quality over quantity of space should be the guiding principle". Parks don't have to be grassy to be green. One of the many appropriate types of public green space is the plaza. Sized right and positioned at the heart of a community, it becomes a genuine focal point. The city should accept parkettes as part of the 5% parkland dedication." (Note: A parkette or a pocket park is less than 0.5 hectares in size-savecfbrockcliffe.)

No, city of Ottawa, our children and grandchildren will not play in parkettes, not when they are surrounded by thousands of acres of greenspace---the Experimental Farm (1,000 acres); Ev Tremblay Park; the 22-acre Commissioners Park; the 2,000 plus acre Greenbelt Farm; Lebreton Flats...

Recreational centres may be sold for housing, and the Dalhousie Community Centre in Chinatown was recently given away for a dollar. Park land is rarely preserved--- the Humane Society land on 101 Champagne; Moffat Farm near Mooney's Bay; embassies are being constructed in Mechanicsville; apartments are being built on Rochester Field near Maplelawn on Richmond Road and the 100-acre Rideau Hall grounds are off-limits. Major's Hill Park encompassed more than 20 acres before the Chateau Laurier built their parking garage, and the National Capital Commission sold Major's Hill Park land to the American Embassy during the mid-1990's.

The former Dalhousie Community Centre,755 Somerset Street West.CBC News photo.