{"id":5028,"date":"2020-04-09T15:43:29","date_gmt":"2020-04-09T14:43:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=5028"},"modified":"2020-04-09T16:33:26","modified_gmt":"2020-04-09T15:33:26","slug":"parks-in-a-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=5028","title":{"rendered":"Parks in a Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-5034\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_1236-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_1236-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_1236-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_1236-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_1236-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_1236-400x267.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Jim Roberts, Director at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fourth-street.com\/\">Fourth Street<\/a>, reacts to the recent\u00a0controversy over the use of public parks during the Covid-19 crisis<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Our public parks were both a blessing and a battleground on the first sunny weekend of spring this year.<\/p>\n<p>People flocked to their nearest park for some much-needed respite from weeks of tough, but necessary isolation. The need for a walk in the park was especially acute in major cities where so many residents live in shoebox flats with no gardens or balconies of their own.<\/p>\n<p>Current government guidelines say you can leave your home for \u2018one form of exercise a day, for example a run, walk, or cycle\u2019. Many people thus welcomed the weekend\u2019s warm weather by \u2018exercising\u2019 in public parks.<\/p>\n<p>This caused a commotion in the news and on social media, where every image of a picnic or an impromptu game of football sparked a feverish debate. Are we carelessly flouting the social distancing norms that are meant to save lives and ease the pressure on the NHS? Or, how can elitist politicians with sumptuous back gardens\u00a0lecture the flat-dwelling masses for taking a walk in the park after weeks of incarceration?<\/p>\n<p>Matters were made worse by a steady stream of anecdote and indignation on social media. Depending on who you read and when, our parks were either over-run by selfish sunbathers or they were an indispensable resource for people who generally kept their social distance and played by all the rules.<\/p>\n<p>Lambeth Council has since made headlines by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-52181808\">closing Brockwell Park<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m lucky. I have a small garden. I can stroll outside as often as I like. My kids can jump on their trampoline. But many don\u2019t have that luxury. A local park is their garden and a playground for their children. It is their breath of fresh air. For access to be restricted to \u2018one form of exercise per day\u2019 is a difficult pill to swallow.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-5036\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/AOFM0461-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/AOFM0461-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/AOFM0461-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/AOFM0461-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/AOFM0461-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/AOFM0461-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/AOFM0461.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The whole episode has prompted a few reflections about public parks in the near and the long term.<\/p>\n<p>To keep our beloved parks open through the lockdown, we need to change the way they are marshalled and managed. If parks were previously just\u00a0 amenities for residents, they have become \u2013 in today\u2019s peculiar circumstances \u2013 destinations for a much larger market. Councils are thus learning a hard lesson in destination management: congestion is as much a factor of dwell time as it is a function of visits. Last weekend\u2019s issue was not the fact that so many people visited their nearest park \u2013 it\u2019s the fact that too many of them\u00a0<em>stayed<\/em>\u00a0to relax, have a picnic, and catch some rays.<\/p>\n<p>(And, no, it doesn\u2019t matter that most of those people were spread out and social distancing anyway. Once you adopt a permissive attitude to extended dwell time in parks, it won\u2019t take long for the market to start rationing access by its own means, similar to the way the market \u2013 left to its own devices \u2013 determined who got all the toilet roll and pasta before supermarkets put rules in place.)<\/p>\n<p>People should be allowed \u2013 even encouraged \u2013 to use their local park through this crisis. But they mustn\u2019t bunch or loiter unnecessarily. Cycle, jog, walk, stroll, amble even \u2013 but keep it moving if you can.<\/p>\n<p>It would also help for UK cities to adopt measures seen elsewhere (e.g.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/traffic\/4-nyc-streets-closed-to-traffic-open-for-social-distancing-space\/6052003\/\">New York<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/denverite.com\/2020\/04\/03\/some-denver-streets-will-go-car-free-giving-people-who-walk-and-bike-more-elbow-room-during-the-covid-19-pandemic\/\">Denver<\/a>) by closing some roads to traffic. This would provide extra public space for people to get their daily exercise. It would provide more\u00a0space\u00a0to walk, jog and cycle without over-crowding sidewalks or the narrows paths through parkland.<\/p>\n<p>More important is the lesson we take from this for the longer term.\u00a0Fourth Street regularly\u00a0advises local authorities on how to manage their parks with increasingly limited resources. It is dispiriting work. With no statutory protection, public parks have generally been fighting a losing battle to cost-cutting measures. Some local authorities have been forced to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-england-merseyside-42627492\">sell off their parks<\/a>, while others have been\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/uk\/politics\/playgrounds-closed-england-conservative-budget-cuts-tory-government-children-public-spaces-councils-a7682141.html\">forced to close<\/a>. Almost all are at risk of creeping privatisation.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-5037\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_3501-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_3501-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_3501-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_3501-113x150.jpg 113w, https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_3501-400x533.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/>While it is commendable for the\u00a0National Trust and the National Lottery Heritage Fund\u00a0to pursue\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationaltrust.org.uk\/press-release\/uk-first-as-towns-and-cities-are-chosen-for-11m-initiative-to-save-green-spaces\">new models<\/a>\u00a0for the management and operation of public parks, it is unfortunate that the they have\u00a0been forced into this position by the systemic, top-down disregard for the importance of parks as a determinant of public health.<\/p>\n<p>Last weekend\u2019s controversy is a timely reminder that parks are the quintessential \u2018public good\u2019, in the strictest economic definition of the term. Most urban parks were either gifted or developed for exactly the purpose they are now being used \u2013 as breathing space for people who do not enjoy the privilege of their own private garden. Before this crisis too many councils were busily virtue-signalling their commitment to our \u2018health and well-being\u2019 while simultaneously gutting their park budgets and turning them into concert venues, fun fairs, and sports grounds.<\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s crisis shows how parks \u2013 and swimming pools, for that matter, but\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/fourth-street.com\/misc\/swimming-blues\/\">I\u2019ve written about that before<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 are meant to serve, first and foremost, a public health function. If Government is serious about prioritising our mental and physical well-being, then it should properly fund its parks \u2013 for the public good; as a public good.<\/p>\n<p>The maths of managing parks on a shoestring just don\u2019t add up. You can\u2019t run parks for a profit. They must be protected by statute. They are part and parcel of our history and heritage and a vital means of maintaining the public health \u2013 especially, but not exclusively in cities.<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t blame the public for descending on parks this weekend, although I would urge the picnickers and sunbathers to grin-and-bear these unfortunate short-term restrictions. There are people who genuinely do need to sit for a spell on a park bench or to feel the grass beneath their feet \u2013 they shouldn\u2019t have their access denied by my desire to throw a frisbee.<\/p>\n<p>I do, on the other hand, blame successive governments for failing to enact any meaningful protection for our public parks and open spaces. Out of the Covid-19 catastrophe should come explicit recognition for the importance of public parks, with the the\u00a0statutory\u00a0protection and investment they deserve.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n<p>Jim Roberts, Director at Fourth Street, reacts to the recent controversy over the use of public parks during the Covid-19 crisis<\/p>\n<p>Our public parks were both a blessing and a battleground on the first sunny weekend of spring this year.<\/p>\n<p>People flocked to their nearest park for some much-needed respite from weeks of tough, <\/p>\n<p>Continue reading <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=5028\">Parks in a Pandemic<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1312,1364,12,2,9,1313],"tags":[1770,1707,1705,1772,1766,1767,25,417,26,264,1765,1769,169,1771,1768,310,422,1748,1773],"class_list":["post-5028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-central-government","category-consultants-consulting","category-environment-sustainability","category-local-authority-councils","category-nhs-healthcare","category-politicians-political-parties","tag-brockwell-park","tag-corona-virus","tag-covid-19","tag-denver","tag-flats","tag-gardens","tag-government-public-sector-journal","tag-government-journal","tag-gpsj","tag-gpsj-magazine","tag-jim-roberts","tag-lambeth-council","tag-local-authorities","tag-new-york","tag-parks","tag-public-sector","tag-public-sector-magazine","tag-secretary-of-state-for-health","tag-social-distancing","odd"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Parks in a Pandemic - Government &amp; Public Sector Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=5028\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Parks in a Pandemic - Government &amp; Public Sector Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jim Roberts, Director at Fourth Street, reacts to the recent controversy over the use of public parks during the Covid-19 crisis Our public parks were both a blessing and a battleground on the first sunny weekend of spring this year. People flocked to their nearest park for some much-needed respite from weeks of tough, Continue reading Parks in a Pandemic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=5028\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Government &amp; Public Sector Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-04-09T14:43:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-04-09T15:33:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_1236-300x200.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"The GPSJ Team\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"The GPSJ Team\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/?p=5028#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/?p=5028\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"The GPSJ Team\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d54386f99736367ec2789825fed93b4a\"},\"headline\":\"Parks in a Pandemic\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-04-09T14:43:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-04-09T15:33:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/?p=5028\"},\"wordCount\":1048,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/?p=5028#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.gpsj.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/04\\\/IMG_1236-300x200.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Brockwell Park\",\"Corona Virus\",\"COVID-19\",\"Denver\",\"Flats\",\"Gardens\",\"Government &amp; 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