The urban parks selected are New York Central Park, Moscow Gorky Park, and London The Royal Parks due to their consistently successful trajectory, a fact evidenced by their ranking in global lists of top urban parks worldwide as tourist destinations.
Another reason for their selection is the involvement of the stakeholders in the branding process, which, although often goes unnoticed, unquestionably contributes to its success.
Initially, general information is presented, followed by practical applications on New Media, and finally, an analysis of statistics.
The case study demonstrates the correct practice and application of the frameworks analyzed in the previous chapters, emphasizing concepts such as the existence of vision, strategy, the need for identity, and the involvement of all stakeholders.
Central Park serves as a peaceful refuge for New Yorkers, a getaway from the city, and a place for visitors to experience nature up close. However, the history of how the park became a world-class destination includes renovations of swampy land, periods of decline, and an impressive effort by many New Yorkers driven by a civic-minded spirit.
Construction began in 1858 with the aim of building a park that would provide ample green space and put New York on the map as a world-class destination. Central Park was built over 15 years and cost an additional 10 million dollars beyond the original project budget of 5 million dollars.
Politics complicated the maintenance of the park, and Central Park began to decline in the early 1900s. Central Park experienced a revival in 1934 after receiving funding. By 1960, with no maintenance plan and no supervision, it was overwhelmed by crowds of people. The equipment was destroyed, and the park's 100-year-old infrastructure began to collapse. Volunteer groups started addressing the park's problems. In 1979, a small advocacy group called the Central Park Task Force became the park's first management body. In 1980, they joined forces with other advocacy groups to form the Central Park Conservancy in collaboration with the city.
Central Park Conservancy: Stewardship, Services, & Digital Engagement
The Central Park Conservancy cares for 843 acres of the park, having invested over 1 billion dollars in restoration and maintenance. Welcoming more than 42 million visitors annually, it continues its mission to provide a beautiful and healthy destination for future generations through reliable and careful planning (Kang, 2017). It hosts top events and activities, maintains a constant presence on New Media, and informs visitors through websites, interactive applications, and posts on social media platforms where it is active.
Observing the park's functions, one notes that Central Park offers and implements most of the services available to an urban park. Moreover, referring to the branding book, its message is clear:
“The Institute develops programs designed to facilitate the discovery of the Park and the transfer of knowledge on global practices in the management and stewardship of urban parks, both locally and globally” (Central Park, 2023).
Central Park has a brand book that defines how the park's identity is presented to the public.[1] To convey this identity, visual communication practices have been adopted not only through "traditional media" (print materials such as posters, brochures, admission tickets, etc.) but also through interactive services enabled by new media.
The park's website features mini-applications for booking seats at events, dining, and shopping (souvenirs). In addition to the blog covering topics related to the park, it also includes a magazine that showcases the park's events, a plant catalog...
The blog and magazine share their posts on social media platforms to inform and attract the public to these activities. Additionally, the content can be shared by the public on social media and via email.
The park offers a mobile application that interactively narrates its history through scanning QR codes. Points of interest within the park include these QR codes, which users scan with their devices to start the narration.[2]
The “Calendar” presents upcoming events to visitors with the option to make reservations.
Users can also subscribe to newsletters to receive informational material via email. The website includes “Alerts” to notify the public about critical incidents.
Central Park Conservancy: Statistics
Practically, the proper functioning of the mechanism and services is reflected in the results clearly shown by the statistics from SimilarWeb, revealing the following:
- · The park ranks very high in the global web ranking. It falls under the "Travel & Tourism" category (tourist destination) and not under the "Arts & Entertainment" category. By a simple projection of the numbers, we understand that the annual traffic to the website amounts to 6-7 million users per year.
- · 15% of the website visitors are from outside the United States. This indicator suggests that Central Park is a tourist attraction of global interest.
- · Demographically, 50% of the website visitors are aged up to 34 years.
- · Under “Audience Interests,” it is evident that the audience desires to seek news through New Media. The blog, event calendar, and other services provide the public with real-time updates with relevant articles about the park and the city.
- · 97% of traffic sources come from search engines (organic) and direct visits, while social networks do not add additional traffic. The park does not use paid advertisements. The park has tremendous reach with the audience through organic and direct visits.
- · The “Keywords” used by users in searches revolve around the events hosted by the park. Despite this somewhat superficial approach to its identity, the park utilizes all the possibilities offered by new media. It offers a wide range of events and activities in a healthy and impeccably maintained environment, aligned with the rules and practices indicated by the brand book, using New Media to the fullest for communication with the public.
The volume of visitors to its premises indicates popular acceptance of the practices it uses. The park’s success is undisputed and stands as a prime example of an urban park as a global tourist destination.
The absolute cultural treasure of the city, a tourist destination featured in "things to do" lists in Moscow. Covering an area of 120 hectares, the park stretches along the Moskva River and includes gardens, cycling facilities, museums, a viewpoint, cafés, beaches, a climbing park, an open-air cinema, a sports center, an observatory, an ecological school for children, outdoor dance floors, tennis courts, and ping pong areas.
Amenities such as free Wi-Fi support its New Media services with a website, applications, online seat reservations, social media, etc., to ensure a unique user experience.
Gorky Park: A Historical and Cultural Hub Embracing Urban Renewal and Digital Engagement
Central location for recreation and enjoyment in the city, with an exciting and complex history. Gorky Park was built in 1928 and became the first park of culture and recreation in the Soviet Union. The park was designed in a pioneering, constructivist style {?}.
A perfect reflection of socialism, the park was the place where people gathered under the guise of collective thought, with part of it dedicated to sports—values upheld by socialist idealism at that time.
In 2010, the reconstruction began to revitalize this vibrant cultural landmark in the city center. The new post-socialist cities across the nation faced the monumental task of "reinventing" their public spaces in an effort to reflect this shift in political and economic ideology (Kalyukin, 2015).
Gorky Park, fully reconstructed, is considered one of the best parks in the world. Within it, all social classes come together through a wide range of activities.
Visitors enjoy everything from a simple walk around the monuments to attending world-famous concerts and performances. Monuments surround the park, and thousands of people cycle, walk, skate, creating a cosmopolitan, youthful, and lively atmosphere with modern youth cafes and street vendors.
The park, as an important point of visitation, highlights in the best way the role of urban spaces in responding to political and social change through New Media.
The promotion of all these values is guided by its identity[1] for communication with the visitor, through the website and the mobile application[2], its presence on social networks with blog posts and event shares, newsletters via email, online bookings, and so on.
Gorky Park: Statistics
The operation of this complex service mechanism is seen as a result of the statistics from SimilarWeb[1], and the following are identified:
- · The park ranks high on the global web. It falls under the category "Arts & Entertainment" rather than "Travel & Tourism." By extrapolating the numbers, we understand that the website's annual visitors amount to 9 million users per year.
- · In the "Targeting" section, we observe that only 5% of the website visitors are from outside the Russian Federation.
- · Demographically, 48.5% of the website visitors are aged up to 34 years.
- · In the "Audience Interests," the audience shows interest in Arts and Entertainment. The category to which the park belongs, the blog topics, the event calendar, as well as the other services, provide the audience with information related to Arts and Entertainment.
- · The source of traffic ("Top Channels") is 98% through search engines (organic) and direct visits, while social networks do not contribute additional traffic. The park does not use paid advertisements. The park has an enormous reach with its audience through organic and direct visits.
- · The "Keywords" used by users in their searches revolve around the park's name and its facilities.
The Gorky park successfully leverages the capabilities offered by New Media.
It hosts and offers a vast range of unique events and activities within its impeccable environment, following the rules and practices of its brand book, with New Media as a key pillar in its communication strategy with the audience.
The public’s acceptance is evident from the volume of visitors, a sign of the effective communication practices employed by the park. The success of Gorky Park is undeniable, representing yet another admirable example of how an urban park can operate.
The Royal Parks are lands originally used for the recreation of the royal family.
They form part of the Crown estate, managed by the charitable organization The Royal Parks Limited, which oversees eight royal parks and several areas in London.
The charitable organization The Royal Parks was established in March 2017, taking over management responsibilities from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Managing and Preserving The Royal Parks: Promoting Recreation, Conservation, and Education
The primary objective is to manage the 5,000 acres of the parks Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Richmond Park, Bushy Park, St James’s Park, The Green Park, The Regent’s Park & Primrose Hill, and Greenwich Park.
The charitable organization organizes event and activity programs, encouraging public access to outdoor recreation in these areas. It also allows third parties to conduct such activities within its boundaries to promote these goals, but with strictly controlled commercial activity.
The mission of The Royal Parks is:
- a) the protection, preservation, and care of the parks,
- b) the promotion of their use for public recreation, health, and well-being,
- c) the conservation and development of the biodiversity of the parks, including the protection of wildlife and their natural environment, along with the promotion of sustainability in the management and use of the parks, and
- d) supporting the advancement of education by promoting the understanding of the history, culture, heritage, and natural environment of the royal parks to the public.
The Royal Parks have a brand book[1] showing how the park's identity is presented to the public. To convey the identity, it uses visual communication practices through “traditional media” (print) as well as interactive services enabled by New Media.
The park's website features a blog with events related to the parks. These events are supported by micro-applications for seat reservations. The blog shares its posts on social media platforms to inform and attract the public to these activities.
Additionally, the content can be shared by the public on social media platforms and via email.
The most important of all services is the emphasis placed on the education of students through educational programs related to ecology and sustainability.
This is achieved through:
- a) school visits to the parks,
- b) live online sessions to support teaching in distance education, and
- c) comprehensive and user-friendly downloadable teaching resource packages.
The Royal Parks: Statistics
For the operation of the Royal Parks, SimilarWeb statistics [ref. 7] were used, and the following findings were observed:
- · The park ranks among the highest on the global web. It is categorized under "Travel & Tourism" (tourist destination). By extrapolating the numbers, it is understood that the website's annual traffic exceeds 8 million users per year.
- · With 12.5% of the website visitors coming from outside the United Kingdom, the Royal Parks represent a tourist attraction of global interest.
- · Demographically, 50% of the website visitors are aged up to 34 years old.
- · Regarding the "Audience Interests," Technology, Computers, and Software Development are prominent. Therefore, promoting the Royal Parks through New Media appears imperative.
- · The source of traffic is 84% from search engines (organic) and direct visits, while social networks do not contribute additional traffic. The park uses paid advertisements.
- · The "Keywords" used by users in their searches revolve around park-related queries.
The identity of The Royal Parks is leveraged through the capabilities offered by new media, as evidenced by audience traffic.
It offers a wide range of events and activities in a healthy and impeccably "royal" environment, with a strong emphasis on education.
This is the official English version of the article originally published in Greek: “Πέρα από το Πράσινο - Εξερευνώντας τα Αστικά Πάρκα μέσω των Νέων Μέσων” — available at Zenodo.org.
Chapter: 3