A researcher at the Environmental Change Institute (ECI) is working with Plymouth City Council and the Woodland Trust on a project to promote equitable access to green spaces, that is hoped will have implications across the country.
Dr Martha Crockatt, a Researcher with the ECI’s Ecosystems programme, is building on a previous study she carried out and says there is mounting evidence of the many benefits of green infrastructure (e.g. parks, gardens, street trees), including health and wellbeing benefits. Yet although less affluent communities, which typically experience health inequity, derive greater benefits from greenspace, they often have less access to it. Dr Crockatt said:
Identifying these communities would allow local authorities to develop policies that promote equitable access to green infrastructure benefits, potentially reducing health and social care costs.”
Dr Crockatt conducted a previous study in Oxfordshire entitled: Oxfordshire’s greenspace-deprived Neighbourhoods. Working with partners from Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership, Oxfordshire County Council and Wild Oxfordshire, the team identified neighbourhoods in Oxfordshire experiencing both socio-economic deprivation and poor provision of accessible green spaces, with a view to these neighbourhoods being prioritised in terms of planning, allocation of funding, and effort for improving quality and quantity of accessible green spaces.
Councillor Nathan Ley, Oxfordshire County Council portfolio holder for Public Health, Inequalities and Community Safety, commented:
This report provides an important starting point for working with communities to improve the quality of their local green spaces, so that people of all ages are able to enjoy both the physical and mental health benefits of connecting with nature.”
The project has been made possible through an Oxford Policy Engagement Network (OPEN) Fellowship. OPEN is a growing network of researchers, doctoral students and professional services staff at the University of Oxford who share a vision of public policy powered by the world’s best available research evidence and expertise.
Dr Crockatt, who also works in the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, at the ECI, added:
I’m excited to be able to extend my work on equitable access to green space beyond Oxfordshire.
For this Fellowship, I will be collaborating with Plymouth City Council and the Woodland Trust to develop a novel, transferable methodology that allows local councils to assess equity of access to green infrastructure, building on existing work by the Woodland Trust and myself. The close collaboration with Plymouth City Council allows us to directly support equitable green infrastructure policy development in Plymouth, as well as ensure that the method is fit for real-world application.
Having the opportunity to spend time in and around green space is so important, and we need to make sure that it is available to everyone. Collaborating with the Woodland Trust and Plymouth City Council in developing this set of metrics means it’s being tested in the real world, increasing the likelihood that it can be used by other councils across the country, supporting access to green space for all communities.”
