Making better use of London’s green spaces 

The empty parks and neglected green spaces of London are paved with good intentions. 

Even the most well-meaning policies and high-cost redevelopments can still leave our parks empty — and in some circumstances, the unintended consequences of urban green space (UGS) planning can result in a reduction in overall usage. 

“Different groups of people like different types of spaces,” says Professor Nici Zimmermann, Professor of System Dynamics, at The Bartlett School of Environment, Energy & Resources.  

“Some people like wilderness, others like more maintained spaces. Sometimes you only find out after the space is designed that it’s not been made to match the desires of the local people... or maybe the population has changed since then.” 

When UGS redevelopments aren’t planned correctly, they risk ignoring or worsening existing barriers to usage. Dr Irene Pluchinotta, Lecturer in Systems Thinking for Sustainability explains, there can be lots of different barriers. 

“From our research, we can understand there are lots of different elements. There’s the perceived safety of the space, there are cultural aspects. There are also practical aspects, like a lack of awareness of what to do in specific areas, a lack of clear signposting, gates or specific kinds of access.” 

All these factors are linked together, and the way they interact generates complexity, which is then amplified by wider socio-economic factors in the area. In Thamesmead, South-East London, where Nici, Irene and Dr Gemma Moore, an Associate Professor in Health, Wellbeing and Communities, have spent four years studying UGS usage, one of the biggest factors restricting people’s access to green space is time constraints. 

Lots of green space, not enough time 

“Before the Elizabeth Line was opened in 2023,” says Irene, “many Thamesmead residents faced a long commute to work. Schools were often far away, and there were very few post offices, banks, things like that. So every activity of the household involved a long commute too. By the end of the day, families were left with really limited time for leisure activities — especially outdoor ones.” 

As the increased accessibility of the Elizabeth Line has proven, however, lack of time is far from the only factor influencing green space usage in Thamesmead. 

“Thamesmead is quite unusual,” says Gemma.   

“There’s a really high percentage of green space and green and blue infrastructure (connected networks of both wild and designed green spaces, rivers, canals and other water courses).”  

“It’s also unusual because the housing association there, Peabody, also owns a lot of that public space. So they have the huge challenge of redeveloping the housing, and also the redevelopment, use and maintenance of the green and blue infrastructure.”   

“They’re facing some challenges related to perceptions of safety, following a few recent incidents in the area. The redevelopment has also brought noticeable demographic changes, with the community becoming more diverse than it has been historically.” 

Designing with diverse perspectives and system dynamics 

The system dynamics work in Thamesmead evolved out of several wider projects and studies, including the CUSSH and CAMELLIA research projects. Nici and Irene were looking to develop their ideas about how different stakeholder perspectives could be integrated more effectively. 

“We were interested in the idea that different people pay attention to different elements,” says Nici.  

“We wanted to gather a broad variety of people, to examine the way they focus their attention, and which parts of the world they see. We needed to get as many of these microworlds together, to build the holistic idea of the issue that scientists need.” 

Drawing on existing relationships with Peabody, Irene and Nici used a 10-step participatory design process involving four main stakeholder groups — local residents, environmental agencies and government bodies, Peabody, and the academics.  

The extended design process allowed The Bartlett team to more fully capture the perspectives of each stakeholder group, as Irene explains. “We started the engagement by scoping the issues – basically asking the stakeholders what they wanted to focus on, step by step. 

“Then because everyone involved could take full ownership of the activity, the process and models, we were able to create a strongly connected, lasting network right from the beginning of the project, capable of working together on a range of issues.” 

Measuring the impacts in Thamesmead and beyond 

Gemma reflects, “We know research impact takes a long time, and it’s not always straightforward. We’re tracking the project’s legacy on several fronts.  

“Although we’ve reached the end of this particular research project, I think from a faculty perspective we can see potential changes that will result, whether that’s policy changes or ways of working.” 

Irene agrees. “We’ve developed a systems methodology that helps us analyse different perspectives, and gives us a better way to quantify simulation models for complex issues when the data is scarce. We’ll continue working on those, and maximise their impact for both academics and practitioners working across various sectors with UGS.” 

For Thamesmead itself, the stakeholder network The Bartlett team have established continues to bear fruit, with consequent work involving co-design on the Thames path which connects Thamesmead green space with other green areas of London.  

The team are already putting the methods and results of the project to use as a case study for students at The Bartlett, disseminating these innovative new approaches for the next generation of planners and built environment experts. 

Gemma tells us, “It’s bridging the gap between research and practice. 

“The students love it because it’s a real-life case. They’re finding it challenging, but it's making them think, and ask more questions, like ‘where do we get this data from?’, and ‘why are there these tensions?’ Because that’s the reality of this work. 

“And because we’ve built up that relationship with Peabody and Joseph, the lead community researcher, it’s allowed us to have access to greater insights on the issues. We’ve had Peabody's Head of Landscape in the class, we’ve had their communities lead join us too, explaining what’s happening. They’ve been really open and honest about the challenges they’re facing. 

“We’ve already had some lovely feedback from the students about it – it is hard work, but they’re telling us they really value that experience, that understanding of the reality of a project.”