| Zusammenfassung |
With increasing numbers of people living in cities, space is a precious resource, making it challenging to balance the needs of diverse communities. One such commodity is public urban greenspace, which includes parks, nature reserves, and commons. Greenspace is important because it allows us to connect with nature and do activities which are good for our physical and mental health, including exercising and socialising. While everyone should have access to greenspace, some groups face additional challenges to visiting their local spaces, particularly those in less affluent areas, ethnic minorities, and women. This is due to unequal provision, and because different people need different things from their local greenspaces. These can be physical- for example accessible paths to visit and move around the space, room for different activities- or social - such as feeling safe and included in the space. Personal factors are also important, including individual preferences, availability of leisure time, and mobility. While we know that greenspace is important, less research has examined how we can make greenspaces accessible for everyone and meet the needs of increasingly diverse city communities. We need to look in detail at the characteristics of both the greenspaces and those who are(n't) using them. Most previous research has either linked up large surveys at a national scale or conducted local case studies. Studies tend to focus on existing greenspace users or look only at certain aspects of inequality; this leaves a gap understanding the physical and social barriers faced by different, or intersectional, groups- particularly those who don't currently use their local greenspaces. This study will be the first of its kind to use both quantitative and qualitative methods which combine a large survey, spatial analysis, and local focus groups, to compare both objective and subjective experiences of greenspace access. Using two cities in West Yorkshire as a case study and working directly with local authorities (Leeds and Bradford City Councils) and community stakeholders (practitioners and local 'Friends of' groups), this project will conduct a large survey of greenspace users and non-users in Leeds and Bradford, to identify how different people use the space, the barriers they face, and how to overcome these. This will be combined with spatial data about the local area, to identify physical characteristics of the space. Focus groups will help us understand exactly what residents and community organisations need from the spaces. Combining both subjective and objective perspectives will allow us to identify not only which communities of Leeds and Bradford are underserved, but also where provision is falling short of individual needs and expectations, informing how changes can be made to improve both physical and social access to greenspace. This will contribute to academic theories of intersectional inequality and greenspace benefits, as well as feeding directly into local management plans to improve, maintain, and increase accessibility of greenspaces for their many potential users. It will especially look at how greenspaces can be made more welcoming and accessible to those groups who aren't currently using the spaces, to help them gain the many benefits of being around nature and engaging with their local area. We will also create resources for residents to see what is available for them in their local area. While this project is focussed on West Yorkshire, the lessons learned will be applicable far beyond this. The innovative combination of methods also hold potential for adaption to study intersectional disparities in access to other community assets. We will fully document the survey so it can be applied in other regions, while our policy briefings and extensive network of researchers and practitioners across the UK and internationally will enable findings to be extrapolated more widely and improve greenspaces for all. |
