Grass Greener

Is the grass greener…? Learning from international innovations in urban green space management CABE Space is part of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment and was set up in May 2003. It champions excellence in the design and management of parks, streets and squares in our towns and cities. CABE Space receives funding from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and support from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) www.odpm.gov.uk Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) www.dcms.gov.uk The research was undertaken by the Bartlett School of Planning, UCL Research team Matthew Carmona (Project Director), Claudio de Magalhães and Ruth Blum John Hopkins, Landscape Design Associates Bartlett School of Planning University College London 22 Gordon Street London WC1H OQB T 020 7387 7500 F 020 7380 7502 www.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/planning International Partners Melbourne John Senior, Parks Victoria Curitiba Eng. Carlos Eduardo Curi Gallego, Cobrape Curitiba Aarhus Karen Atwell, Danish Building and Urban Research Paris Michel Carmona, Le Sorbonne Hanover Kaspar Klaffke and Andrea Koenecke, Deutshe Gesellschaft für Gartenkunst und Landschaftskultur Groningen Gerrit Jan Van’t Veen, Kirsten Mingelers and Iefje Soetens, STAD BV Tokyo Aya Sakai, Royal Holloway, University of London Wellington Shona McCahon, Boffa Miskell Limited Malmo Tim Delshammar, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Zurich Professor Peter Petschek, HSR Hochschule für Technik Minneapolis Peter Harnik, Trust for Public Land CABE Space Steering Group Alan Barber, CABE Commissioner Jason Prior, CABE Commissioner Paul Bramhill, Greenspace Brian Johnson, ENCAMS Will Weston, Royal Parks Agency Helen Woolley, University of Sheffield CABE Space Team Rachael Eaton, CABE Space Edward Hobson, CABE Space © Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment The views expressed are those of the researcher. Although every care has been taken in preparing this report no responsibility or liability will be excepted by CABE or its employees, agents and advisors for its accuracy or completeness Designed by Duffy Cover image: View over Wellington, New Zealand (Doug Armand/Getty Images) Intro Is the grass greener…? 01 Learning from international innovations 02 in urban green space management 03 04 05 06 07 08 Introduction: the need for this report and who should read it 4 01 Why take an international view? 7 02 How well is urban green space understood? 12 Case study: Tokyo, Japan 16 03 What are the aspirations for urban green space? 20 Case study: Aarhus, Denmark 26 Case study: Malmo, Sweden 28 04 Who is responsible for urban green space management? 32 Case study: Curitiba, Brazil 40 Case study: Minneapolis, USA 42 05 How are management responsibilities coordinated and resourced? 46 Case study: Hanover, Germany 54 Case study: Zurich, Switzerland 56 06 How is urban green space maintenance delivered? 60 Case study: Wellington, New Zealand 68 Case study: Melbourne, Australia 70 07 How are management practices applied to local contexts? 74 Case study: Paris, France 82 Case study: Groningen, Netherlands 84 08 What can we learn? 88 Appendix: The research methodology 96 Foreword I welcome this new research from CABE Space which brings together the experiences of 11 international cities, from Zurich to Melbourne in aspiring towards excellence in their green spaces and seeks lessons for practice here. It is clear that the managers of parks and urban green spaces all over the world face numerous challenges. Although their circumstances may seem different, this research demonstrates that these cities face many issues common to English local authorities in terms of managing and maintaining green spaces. Like us, these cities have recognised that good quality green spaces contribute to a higher quality of life amongst their residents. The priority given to green space and the lessons from these case studies demonstrates that a clear vision, a commitment to the benefits of good quality green space and dedicated leadership can deliver impressive results. These findings reinforce the recommendations of the Urban Green Spaces Taskforce in May 2002, which we are taking forward through initiatives with CABE Space and others. The report demonstrates what can be achieved and how the principles we are pursuing will lead to a transformation of towns and cities through the quality of their green spaces. I commend the research to you and hope that the stimulating and transferable lessons in this report will provide a valuable reference tool for all those with a responsibility for parks and urban green space quality. Yvette Cooper MP, Parliamentary under Secretary, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Opposite: Melbourne seen from Royal Botanic Gardens Introduction In this chapter The need for this report • The need for this report The work of the Urban Green Spaces Taskforce highlighted the issue that public parks and urban green spaces in England’s • Who should read it? towns and cities have suffered a widespread decline and neglect How should it be used? in recent years. The result has been a poor public perception of • urban parks and green spaces, and a gradual loss of civic pride. • The research approach Recognising these concerns, the Government announced at the Urban Summit in 2002 a range of initiatives to address this decline, including a programme of research led by CABE Space to establish how urban green space can be given a higher priority, both now and in the future. This project is one of the first outputs from the CABE Space research programme. Using 11 case study towns and cities from countries across the world, including Japan, Australia, USA and Europe, the research builds up a convincing comparative study examining urban green space practice overseas, focusing in particular on aspects of management and maintenance practice. Most significantly, it assesses the transferability of the lessons learnt to current English practice, providing a series of challenging and inspiring solutions to what are surprisingly common issues. By beginning the process of learning from international good practice this research presents: • A better understanding of exemplary green space management and maintenance practice abroad • Transferable lessons for improving the practice of those with national and local responsibility for parks and urban green space in England • A series of inspiring and innovative solutions to issues currently challenging English practice Introduction 5 Population density in Curitiba demands good access to parks and urban Maschpark, Hanover's first Municipal Park green space by looking overseas. After that, the international experiences Who should read it? are discussed and compared, establishing how they have been grappling with the same issues. And finally, at the end of each chapter we present the key approaches of relevance to The findings of this research should be of great interest and English practice. relevance to all of those with a responsibility for parks and urban green spaces, including local politicians, policy makers The discussion is illustrated throughout by short case studies and practitioners. of the international experiences, to highlight particularly valuable approaches, and to give a more coherent flavour of the cities The lessons learnt from the international experiences (see in question. chapter 08) will be of specific interest to parks and urban green space managers, as well as all managers of local authority The final chapter brings the findings from the international case services whose activities impact on the quality of urban green studies together and reflects on them in relation to the English space in England. By relating the lessons directly to English context and will be of particular relevance to green space practice, it is hoped that they will be directly transferable by managers. readers to their own experience and practice, providing a series of challenging and inspiring solutions to common issues. An appendix is included, containing more detailed discussion of the research methodology, and details of the published sources of research, policy and advice in the UK reviewed for the project. How should it be used? The research approach It is intended that this report can be read in its entirety, or ‘dipped into’ on a chapter-by-chapter basis to extract ideas on a particular subject area. A simple research methodology was used, consisting of three stages, the detail of which is discussed in the appendix. The The report consists of eight chapters. Following this introduction approach involved: to the research and to the approach taken, the problems and challenges in England are addressed in chapter 01. Stage 1 Devising a framework for analysis Drawing from a quick-fire We then present a comparative discussion of the international review of published sources of research, policy and advice experiences extracted from the 11 case studies. This discussion in England, to create an appropriate framework for analysis extends over seven chapters, each of which deals in turn with through which to undertake a comparative review of carefully a particular aspect of the green space management process selected international experiences. that is presenting challenges in England. Stage 2 The following chapters each run to a common structure. Commissioning the international project partners With the Discussion begins with a short reminder of the issues facing framework for analysis as a basis, a network of international practice in England, and what therefore needs to be addressed partners was sought out and commissioned to directly 6 Introduction participate in the research. They prepared expert reports on assessment of international practice. English practice clearly has good practice in 11 cities, across five continents. The reports much to learn from good practice overseas – so further research were commissioned from local experts in the countries in the future will undoubtedly be appropriate. concerned, reflecting a range of cultural and political contexts and different city scales. The selection criteria for the cities are discussed in more detail in the appendix.

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