BACKGROUND CONTEXT
As The IPCC Report states, cities around the world where concentrated populations live are at the greatest risk of climate change. Importantly, these areas also provide the greatest strength for climate action, leadership and sustainable solutions.
Looking at the context of London, for decades evidence has been building on the value of parks and green spaces in tackling complex challenges in modern society and their positive impacts on economic, environmental, social and health outcomes. However, this evidence has failed to translate into the sustained investment needed to fully realise the potential of green spaces for our future cities.
Furthermore, The United Nations is urgently campaigning for The Cities We Need Now, in which sustainable urbanisation, resilient cities, and green cities are important components.
Through the research phase, it was evident that communication was a key pain-point, stopping the creation of a collaborative healthy atmosphere between community gardens and councils.
While each case study had a different issue and a different response, despite their specific differences and diversities, there were key commonalities in the challenges that they face such as funding, ownership, design, skills generation, communication and mainatainance, to name a few.
