European Commission Greenspace Project

Project Title:

Greenspace Project

Project Client:

European Commission

Project Team:

Dr. Neil Ravenscroft, Dr. Gerda Speller, Paul Gilchrist. Other consortium partners include The Robert Gordon University / The Macaulay Institute in Aberdeen; The University of Surrey, Guildford; the Eindhoven University of Technology; the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich; the University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, and the Autonomous University of Barcelona.

Brief Description:

Many European towns and cities possess attractive parks or recreational areas. This green space makes an essential contribution to the quality of life of urban citizens. It provides a recreational resource, a peaceful retreat, a medium for social interaction, safe and exciting play areas for children, and a reserve for urban wildlife as well as an attractive backdrop to built development. Yet green space is often not given the same priority as other calls on municipal funds. The portfolio of space is often a legacy of earlier decades and in relatively few cities has the planning of urban squares, parks, green corridors and urban nature reserves been approached in a comprehensive manner. The GREENSPACE Project defines the types and variety of green space and other landscaped public space that best satisfy people's needs. In particular it demonstrated how citizen participation can be brought to the strategic planning of "green space" on a continuing basis. Through the unique application of socio-economic techniques, the project has described and quantified the benefits that people attach to different types of green space. It has investigated the various functions (e.g. recreation, social interaction, heritage, ecological) of green space and other considerations such as equity or conflicts of use.

Further information: http://www.ucd.ie/greensp