Children playing at Toetoe-roa/Cooper Park after its opening on 3 July.
Photo: Auckland Council
Fast forward three years and $600,000 worth of upgrades and Toetoe-roa/Cooper Park now has a shiny yellow and red playground, upgraded basketball and volleyball courts, a mini pump track and a picnic area.
But such a project is an exception to the norm.
According to a council-commissioned report in 2018, despite 25 percent of Auckland s children living in the southern parts of the city, only 16 percent of the city s play equipment was located there. Furthermore, playgrounds in Mt Albert and Mt Eden were found to have an average of five pieces of equipment per facility, whereas playgrounds in South Auckland only have three.