Chapter 1: Introduction: why parks matter.- Chapter 2: A brief history of parks and policy formation.- Chapter 3: Close encounters.- Chapter 4: Parks as cultural institutions.- Chapter 5: Managing the commons.- Chapter 6: Conclusions: Parks and their cultural politics in the 21st Century.

“Finally we have a book which engages seriously with parks not just as ‘recreation’ but as a vital part of the social infrastructure and inseparable from fully democratic, locally focused cultural policy.” — Justin O’Connor, Professor of Creative Economy, University of South Australia “A valuable read for anyone interested not only in the public park but in participation and public value, cultural policy and governance.” — Leila Jancovich, Professor in Cultural Policy and Participation, University of Leeds, UK This book concerns the values and practices of participation in municipal public parks, and the connections they have with cultural policy, urbanism, and social life. Adopting a critical cultural policy lens, it identifies the park as a mundane but extraordinarily treasured place for the production and exchange of cultural values, regulation, resistance, and the practising of citizenship.  Drawing on extensive mixed-methods research on everyday participation in diverse local cultural ecosystems in England and Scotland, the book examines the social lives of parks and their users, and the important public values that are generated through their common stewardship and usership. It presents case studies of parks and co-located museums as cultural public spheres, which promote both commoning and commodification. These are contextualized by histories of municipal parkmaking from the nineteenth century to the present and related to the making of local government and to other civic and cultural institutions. The book highlights contemporary issues of austerity, marketisation and de-municipalisation within local government in the context of urban development. It positions the public park as fundamental to democratic cultural governance and makes the case for the primacy of public trust, ownership, and park equity in safeguarding the right to the city. Abigail Gilmore is Senior Lecturer in Arts Management and Cultural Policy at the University of Manchester, UK. Her research is on culture, public policy and place with recent projects on everyday participation, local governance and the move beyond the ‘creative city’ in place-based policymaking.

“Finally we have a book which engages seriously with parks not just as ‘recreation’ but as a vital part of the social infrastructure and inseparable from fully democratic, locally focused cultural policy. So often overlooked, Abigail Gilmore has pushed public parks directly into full view and provided us with the foundations of a new engagement with these spaces as essential to democratic public participation.” (Justin O’Connor, Professor of Creative Economy, University of South Australia)   “This book draws on extensive interdisciplinary scholarship for a deep dive into the social and political life of the public park in Britain. From the 19th century creation of the park as an escape from the industrial revolution to the present-day environmental case for them as “the lungs of the city” it offers the park as a metaphor for another way of living as well as a space in which cultural live is lived in all its richness. By examining case studies across the north of England and Scotland, that sit across the publicly managed (by either state or volunteers) to privately owned it considers different approaches to governance and their precariousness in the face of neo-liberalism despite evidence of their public value. The empirical data the book draws on shows how parks are seen as egalitarian and democratic spaces in which we might “practice citizenship”. Yet it also shows the tensions that exist in who decides on their appropriate use.  The book makes a strong case for the park as a valuable research site for understanding the importance of as well as the functioning of the cultural commons and also demonstrates the failures of cultural policy to safeguard them as cultural assets. It is a valuable read for anyone interested not only in the public park but in participation and public value, cultural policy and governance.” (Leila Jancovich, Professor in Cultural Policy and Participation, University of Leeds, UK)   “Public parks are sometimes relegated to the status of green spaces but, as Abi Gilmore’s book emphasises, they are much more than that. Municipal parks are civic institutions, with rich histories and resonant imaginaries, where citizenship is nurtured and practised. This book highlights that parks across the UK host a wide range of sociabilities and cultural activities. Shamefully, the social and cultural value of parks is not reflected in public policy or government spending. It is important to acknowledge and address the various threats facing municipal parks, and this book highlights what will be lost if we continue to neglect them.” (Andrew Smith, Professor of Urban Experiences, University of Westminster, UK)   “This book offers fascinating insights into parks as everyday spaces for participation, where communities can come together and where citizenship and conviviality are practised. Through empirical research andhistorical analysis, the book argues for recognition of the cultural dimensions of parkmaking and usership which are closely allied to urban governance and the politics of place, and which contribute to placemaking, social infrastructure and public value.” (Anna Barker, Associate Professor in Criminal Justice & Criminology, University of Leeds, UK)

Considers parks within broader cultural policy environments Outlines the early instrumentality of urban park planning Includes unique empirical insight into early 21st century park life in England and Scotland