Place-Keeping for Health? Charting the Challenges for Urban Park Management in Practice

Jinvo Nam and Nicola Dempsey
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Jinvo Nam: Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Sheffield, The Arts Tower, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
Nicola Dempsey: Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Sheffield, The Arts Tower, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 16, 1-26

Abstract: There is a growing body of evidence that demonstrates the health and well-being benefits of urban green spaces. There is less evidence on the effect of the management of such spaces on our health and well-being. This paper attempts to address this gap in knowledge by calling on empirical evidence collected in the United Kingdom (UK) city of Sheffield. Interviews conducted with professionals and community groups involved in the management of six district parks are analysed using the place-keeping analytical framework. The results highlight the overriding importance of local and national policy regarding how they inform the availability of funding, which is increasingly dependent on partnerships, and governance arrangements to contribute to a park’s maintenance, which is monitored through evaluation. The findings show how policies without funding can jeopardise the effective management of parks and how the concept of making park management a statutory service might have more traction if we consider its contribution to people’s health.

Keywords: urban green space; park management; place-keeping; long-term management; health; well-being (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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