A one-day national conference drawing together innovative thinking and learning from policy, practice and research on ways to maximise the value of parks as public assets in the 21st century takes place next week.
Organised by the University of Leeds and taking place at The British Academy in London on July 13, the Future of Public Parks Conference is backed by idVerde, with support from The Parks Alliance, Groundwork and Historic England.
The conference forms part of the University's AHRC Project looking at the future prospects of urban parks. It will create opportunities for dialogue, learning and exploration of important questions, issues and challenges that cut across all models of park management whether local authorities, trusts, charities or private sector.
These include questions about health and well-being, social and educational use, community involvement and strategies for generating income.
The conference provides a timely opportunity to foster a research-informed, policy and practice-orientated dialogue about urban park futures and offers a platform for advancing public debate in light of the findings and recommendations of the Communities and Local Government Select Committee Inquiry. It seeks to promote discussion of what parks might become and how their value can be maximised in the context of changing dynamics of urbanisation, conditions of fiscal restraint, inequalities in health and well-being, growing social and cultural diversity of park users, and other future demands on urban green spaces.
The conference will be of interest to policy-makers, practitioners, researchers, local authorities, the voluntary sector, think tanks, and government.
Key aims of the event include:
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