Development of a Public Open Space Desktop Auditing Tool (POSDAT): A remote sensing approach

Auditing public open space (POS) until now has generally relied on direct-observation methods that are time consuming and expensive. Recently, remote-assessment methods using Google Earth have been used to assess the quality of parks without the need for in-person visits. This paper builds on auditing approaches used to date, and trials the development of the Public Open Space Desktop Auditing Tool (i.e., POSDAT) that combines web-based information and remote sensing. Validation of POSDAT was undertaken by comparing desktop and on-the-ground audit results using an existing instrument (POST). The agreement between POSDAT and POST attractiveness scores were assessed using a Bland-Altman plot for a sample of parks (n = 30) selected from 11 of the 32 local government authorities across metropolitan Perth, Western Australia. The inter-rater reliability of POSDAT was later assessed on auditors of 89 randomly selected parks during the desktop audit of 3463 POS across metropolitan Perth's 32 local government areas. Correlation between POSDAT and POST attractiveness scores was 0.90 (p < 0.0001). POSDAT also had high inter-rater reliability with >70% agreement for 40 of the 44 items assessed. The desktop method of auditing reduced the audit time by nearly 22%, plus it saved travel time and associated costs. POSDAT appears to be a valid and reliable tool for assessing the quality of parks without the need for site visits. This new method of remote-assessment facilitates researchers efficiently auditing the quality of large numbers of POS, has positive implications for research examining the link between environmental features and health outcomes. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.