How can we safeguard public parks?

Work has begun on the co-production of a guide to good practice to inform community engagement and sustainable management models for public parks. Initiating this guide was the focus of a workshop recently hosted by the Understanding Everyday Participation project (UEP) and The Whitworth in the Art Gallery and Park.

The event Valuing Parks and their Communities, centred on the values and practices of community engagement in public parks. It considered the recommendations of the recent CLG Select Committee on the Future of Public Parks, which identified issues concerning the competing demands and inequalities of access amongst different user groups. Participants discussed these in the light of recent University of Manchester research and the work of cultural institutions and community groups. Attendees included representatives from Manchester City Council, the Heritage Lottery Fund, community groups and the National Trust.

A copy of the completed guide will be publically available through the Understanding Everyday Participation website.

The Understanding Everyday Participation project (UEP) is pioneering a new vision of the relationship between participation and cultural value. Using advanced and innovative research methods, it challenges traditional boundaries of ‘culture’, exposing the role these play in the making of economic, social and geographical inequalities. UEP is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and Creative Scotland.

For more information or to get involved please contact Abigail Gilmore, Andrew Miles or Charlene Linton.