What if...
What if...
...no one created new parks?
Whether you’re designing a small development of homes, remodelling a city centre or creating an entirely new community, high quality public space plays is vitally important. This includes green space as well as urban squares and streets.
Well designed and maintained green spaces make an area more attractive and desirable – property values can be between 5% and 7% higher for homes near a park. They provide variety and enable community and social events to take place, whether it’s a group of friends kicking a football about or a concert or cultural festival.
High quality new parks and urban spaces create a focal point in a city or town where people naturally gather. Sheffield’s Heart of the City scheme, for example, centres on the Peace Gardens and the Winter Gardens. These new spaces have brought citizens back into the centre and have stimulated a great deal of development. These spaces are part of a city centre public realm strategy, aiming to have linked streets and spaces of the highest quality to ensure an enjoyable pedestrian experience.
In Runcorn, the redevelopment of the Castlefields estate involved the creation of a new park, Phoenix Park, on a derelict school site. Local people helped decide what should go there and as a result it has become a hugely popular feature, and private developers are keen to build nearby.
The government has recognised the importance of parks and open spaces, and national planning policy encourages taking a strategic approach to green space, with a focus on quality and functionality rather than quantity. Parks act as an important link between different areas or neighbourhoods, and can encourage more sustainable forms of transport – a park with a cycle route, for instance, can help persuade people to commute to work by bike rather than car.
All Comments
euan
couldn't agree more - the key is in Emmas words about well maintained. Whilst the Governement has recognised the importance of well maintained open space/parks in helping sustain communities, the funding streams that are needed don't follow this. Many authorities have great difficulty allocating money to their parks budget since it is not currently one of Governemnets main targets!
