Naturally Challenged: Contested Perceptions and Practices in Urban Green Spaces

Dr Nicola Dempsey is Senior Lecturer based in the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Sheffield. Her research focuses on place-keeping which conceptualizes the design, planning and management of places as an ongoing and dynamic process. Dr. Dempsey’s recent research on the Improving Wellbeing through Urban Nature (IWUN) project identified green space interventions which boost the health and wellbeing of urban residents. Her research is underpinned by the need for long-term ‘post-occupancy evaluation’ of everyday urban landscapes. Her work has been recently published in the books: Marketization in Local Government, Staging Urban Landscapes and Public Space Design and Social Cohesion as well as in journals including Journal of Environmental Management, Landscape Research, Urban Forestry & Urban Greening and the International Journal of Public Sector Management.  Dr Julian Dobson is director of the research consultancy Urban Pollinators, based inSheffield, UK. He was also a member of the IWUN team at the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Sheffield. He was previously founding editor of the community regeneration journal New Start.His research interests focus on the development and care of equitable and environmentally sustainable places, and he is currently involved in a range of projects on urban green spaces and their management and governance.Dr Dobson is author of How to Save our Town Centres (Policy Press) and co-editor of Urban Crisis, Urban Hope (Anthem, in press). Recent research articles have appeared in journals including Sustainability, Voluntary Sector Review, and Environmental Science and Policy.

• Chapter 1. Why practice doesn’t make perfect: the challenges of translating greenspace knowledge into action.- Chapter 2. Contesting longstanding conceptualisations of urban green space.- Chapter 3. What is urban nature and how do we perceive it?.- Chapter 4. Naturally feeling good? Exploring our complex relationships with urban nature.- Chapter 5. Can we really value nature? Contesting the costs and benefits of urban green space.- Chapter 6. Mind the gap: does what we know about greenspace and wellbeing change what we do?.- Chapter 7. The challenges of changing governance: curating new civic identities for health and wellbeing.- Chapter 8. What about the ‘not-so-good’ practice? Examining urban green space interventions post-implementation.- Chapter 9. Realigning knowing and doing: an agenda for reflection and action.