Future of Public Parks: Policy, Practice and Research (original) (raw)

On Thursday 13th July 2017, the University of Leeds hosted a major one-day national conference entitled 'The Future of Public Parks' at The British Academy in London. The conference was generously sponsored by the Leeds Social Sciences Institute and idverde, with support from The Parks Alliance, Historic England and Groundwork. Some 79 delegates participated in a lively and engaging event which drew together innovative thinking and learning from policy, practice and research on ways to maximise the value of parks as public assets in the twenty-first century, and to consider challenges that threaten the sustainability of public parks in the future. The event brought together academics from diverse disciplines, funding bodies, policy-makers and practitioners from the across the public, voluntary and private sectors. At a time when the future of public parks is both in the balance and in the national spotlight, the presenters and delegates explored important issues and challeng...