Where we started....

How do we get more people involved in our parks?

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We went for a walk....

• we visited some impressive parks
• in these spaces we found:
• communities working - with support from council
• community fundraising
• diverse facilities and assets
• the basics were provided - eg toilets
• they felt safe
• people were growing food with school kids
• volunteers were planting flowers
• there were clearly demarcated spaces for different users
• these spaces felt loved!

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But we also noticed that there are many spaces which did not feel this loved...

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• Much of the public space owned by the council is not designated as a park
• eg on estates - lot of green space but not used
• on the street

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• And some of Lambeth's parks aren't that loved
• Smaller parks do not always have a critical mass of people to look after them

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So we redefined the problem

• Why can't all of Lambeth be a (successful) park?
• Getting people to feel ownership of all public spaces
• Creating the characteristics of 'loved' spaces in 'unloved' spaces
• the definition should come from the community!

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• We thought we'd better find out more.....

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Research and campaign

• Face to face interviews on the street, in parks and estates�
• Boards with pens left in strategic locations inviting people to contribute ideas�
• Online survey�
• Tweeting! #loveyourspace�
• And we gave out seeds to �encourage people to get� growing!

Face to Face

Positive

• "Throw the green space down there - don't ask the council to take it over - the community will do it"
• "We love this!"
• "I've only had positive experiences of the area - I love it"

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Negative

• "We asked for lumps to be put in to prevent kids playing football"
• "We can use this space
• "I'm struggling for inspiration!"

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Boards

Locations: Lambeth North Tube, outside Oasis cafe, Cherry Walk Estate, Imperial War Museum

• Most frequent message: people wanted to grow stuff
• Demand for cafes
• Welcoming space

Survey

• 17 responses �
• 56% said they would like to be part of a group growing edibles - particularly a group with people they didn't know

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• 46% said they would do fitness activities in a group with people they didn't know

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• Strong response around making more use of message boards in parks

And Twitter said.....

• BBQs!
• Shared ovens
• Clean, open toilets
• Cafes
• Food growing
• Extension of the classroom
• People posted links to unloved spaces

This is what we made

• Branding�
• Website mockup�
• Guides for transforming unloved spaces�
• Distributed seed bags�
• Case studies - plus form to generate more case studies�
• Bing Map for people to post up loved and unloved spaces - and find others who might like to help�
• Drew up user journeys

loveyourspace.org

When it works...

Before

After

Remember:

Loves You!

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Thanks team.... its been emotional