Diverse Values Uses of Parks Dr Christy Boylan

Diverse Values & Uses of Parks Dr. Christy Boylan Chair IFPRA Europe Parks & Landscape Services Department South Dublin County Council cboylan@sdublincoco. ie 21 st IFPRA World Congress, Dublin, Ireland 3 rd September 2007

Diverse Values & Uses of Parks

Some parks such as Versailles near Paris, France, were provided as gardens surrounding castles and manor houses of the nobility, but the enjoyment of these facilities was restricted to the privileged few.

The Phoenix Park in Dublin was provided for the pleasure of the King’s Deputy in Ireland until Lord Chesterfield decided to open it to the public in 1747.

In 1847, when Birkenhead Park was opened; it was the first to be provided with public funds. It became an inspiration for Frederick Law Olmsted in his design of New York’s Central Park. The focus at that time was a place with clean air where people could visit.

The use of parks for sporting purposes sometimes dominates and the more passive areas can be overlooked.

Some economists propose, that abused parklands would be better utilised for alternatives such as housing.

Health & Well Being Recreation (Active and Passive) Children’s Play Social Interaction & Community Development Diverse Values & Uses of Parks HERITAGE Archaeological Artistic, Cultural Commemorative Historical & Geological Economic Values Tourism Visual Impact & Environmental Biodiversity Engineering Values Education & Research

Landscape Features Natural or man-made Green Roofs Sustainability Biodiversity Ecosystem Conservation & Development Grasslands Wildflowers Wetlands Woodlands Visual Impact & Environmental Diversity Heritage Buildings Open Space Visual Breaks between buildings Landscape Diversity Views to and from Flora & Fauna Trees, shrubs Herbaceous & alpine Sculpture Local Climate Away from noise and traffic Clean air Sun and shade

Bergen, Norway Parks and open spaces provide visual breaks between buildings Guimaraes, Portugal

Sir Thomas & Lady Dixon Rose Garden, Belfast Designers usually • vary the topography, • provide lakes, woodlands, avenues, vistas • and flowers, that attract thousands of people to parks in spring and summer. Corkagh Park, Dublin Botanic Gardens, Dublin

Stuttgart, Germany Biodiversity Oystercatchers on North Bull Island, Dublin Tymon Park, Tallaght, Dublin

Parks with special landscapes and particular species Sequoia National Park where the Giant Redwoods are conserved in the USA Killarney National Park in Ireland

Climate Moderation Plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen to the atmosphere, thus reducing pollutants from motorised vehicles. Green roofs absorb high temperatures and assist in reducing the heat island effect of buildings in cities.

Canals, Rivers & Lakes Cultural Former Mills, bridges etc. Activities Castles & Towers Cemeteries Entertainment Concerts Circuses & Funfairs HERITAGE Archaeological Artistic, Cultural Commemorative Historical & Geological Artistic features e. g. Buildings, Sculpture Fountains Lighting Historical Events Geological & Archaeological features

Corkagh Park, Dublin Archaeological Dig Little & Large Punch & Judy Show

Fun Day Activities Luxembourg Corkagh Park, Dublin Parc Floral, Orleans, France

Commemorative Parks Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima, Japan The Grave of John F. Kennedy in Arlington Cemetery National War Memorial Park, Islandbridge, Dublin

Castlewellan Forest Park, Northern Ireland Peace Maze

Versailles, France Fountains Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia National Botanic Gardens, Wales Sean Walsh Park, Dublin

Sport for all ages Cycleways and gender Skateboarding Clean air Football Roller skates Climate Soccer, Rugby Hockey Going for a walk moderation Gaelic Games Camogie Hurling Passive Slí na Sláinte Outdoor Activities Athletics trails Sports Golf Pitch & Putt Horticultural Health & Well Being Bowling Therapy Softball Baseball Basketball Tennis Recreational (Active & Passive) Children’s. Play Learning Skills Have fun & Exercise Challenging Opportunities Interpersonal Skills Indoor activities Swimming Aerobics All-weather facilities

Golf Fishing Football All-Weather Pitches

Walking is the most popular activity in parks

Children’s Play Learning Skills Challenging Opportunities Interpersonal Skills Have fun & Exercise

Quality of layout and standard of maintenance more important than quantity Sponsorship Opportunities Property Values TOURISM (see next diagram) Economic Values Direct Employment Suppliers of materials & Equipment Inexpensive Location for Infrastructure Commercial Leisure Activities Reduced Govt. spending on health and justice Revenue from Funfairs, Concerts etc Private Park associated Ventures

Direct Employment and Suppliers of Machinery & Equipment

Sponsorship Schemes

Tourist Caravan & Camping Facilities Feature Gardens Arboretum Zoo/Animal Farm Historical Buildings Tours & Exhibitions Tourism Outdoor Pursuits Fishing & boating Tree climbing Horse riding Environments of Special Significance Landmark Features

Historical Buildings, Tourist Facilities Ardgillan Castle Belfast Botanic Gardens Skerries Mills

Giant’s Causeway Rock of Cashel Lough Derg

Horse Riding Camac Valley Caravan Park

Pedestrian & Cycle Routes Under and over-ground services Temperature & Gas Moderation Engineering Values Surface water Attenuation Energy Saving Wind & Hydro generation Telecommunications Water & Waste Recycling Reservoirs, Cemeteries Landfill

Windmills Flood Attenuation Cycle Routes

Underground Services Overhead Wires Mobile Phone Mast

Organised Family/Community Days Places to meet Allotments Garden Societies Guided Tours & Interpretation Social Interaction & Community Development Community Participation Environmental Clean-ups National Tree week Tree day Wildflower week Eco week Special Interest Groups

School Plots Animal Farm Allotments

Family Days National Tree Week

Places For All Ages

Outdoor Classroom Guided Tours Physical Planning Surveys of Visitors Education & Research Values Social Studies of Plants, animals & Ecology

Study of Trees & Woodlands Guided Tours

Research Findings Parks as an important part of the community (Combined Samples)

Dr. Yoritaka Tashiro, IFPRA World President Keynote Speakers Jan-Gustav Strandenaes Dr. Alan Barber Dr. Christy Boylan, Chair IFPRA Europe Alan Smith, IFPRA Gen. Sec. Nick Reeves Gerry Barry John Senior Michael Lynch Dr. John Mc. Cullen Kathy Madden

Visual Impact & Environmental Tim Carey, Heritage Officer, Dúnlaoghaire Rathdown County Council, Ireland Cliff Lacey Consultant. Coordinator, Outdoor Recreation Services, Alberta, Canada Russell Wedge Parks and Recreation Manager Waimakariri District Council, South Island, New Zealand Sissel Lerum Director of Parks/Head of Commune, Bergen, Norway Tuuli Yli-Kotila Biologist, nature Conservation Areas, Helsinki, Finland Darryl Ford Planning Assistant - City of Los Angeles, Department of Recreation and Parks Los Angeles, California, USA Aidan ffrench, Immediate Past-President, The Irish Landscape Institute, Dublin, Ireland Heritage Values Michael Starrett Director, Heritage Council, Kilkenny, Ireland Mary Keenan Parks & Landscape Services Department, South Dublin County Council & Member of the Heritage Council, Ireland Walter De Backer Landscape Architect, Antwerp, Belgium Marie-Pierre Bazan Landscape Architect, Besancon, France Daniel Boulens Director of Parks, Lyon, France Margaret Gormley Parks Superintendent, Office of Public Works, Dublin Ireland Dr Peter Wyse Jackson, Director, National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland

Health & Well Being Torgeir Esig Sorensen Stavanger Kommune, Norway Dr. Elizabeth Philip & Y. Noor Azlin Forest Research Institute, Selangor, Malaysia Tiffany Harris Founder/Executive Director, Shane's Inspiration Valley Village, California, USA Dr. Jim Herstine Associate Professor, Parks and Recreation Management, Dr. Candy Ashton, Professor and Coordinator, University of North Carolina, Wilmington, NC, USA Michael Hannon Parks & Landscape Services Department, South Dublin County Council, Dublin Ireland Jeanette Jespersen International manager, Kompan Play Institute, Denmark Economic Values Dermot Burke Director, Heritage Services, Office of Public Works, Dublin, Ireland Dr. David Aldous, Associate Professor in Environmental Horticulture, The University of Melbourne, Australia Dr. Anna Steidle-Schwahn Landscape Architect, Institute of Urban Landscape Management, Management Consultant, Munich, Germany Michael Shellito Assistant City Manager/Community Services Director Roseville, California, USA Michael M. Edwards President & CEO of Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA Bengt Persson Visiting Professor, Dept. of Landscape Management and Horticultural Engineering, Swedish Agricultural University, Alnarp, Sweden

Social & Community Andrew Hassard Director of Parks & Leisure City of Belfast, Northern Ireland Yuriko Koike Parks & Recreation Foundation, Tokyo, Japan Mayumi Yano Zappoan Non Profit Organisation, Tokyo, Japan Dana Valdez WOW Director, Department of Recreation and Parks Camp Section Los Angeles, California, USA Urban Parks Forum Rob Small President IFPRA, Urban Parks Forum, Melbourne, Australia Neil Mc. Carthy Parks Victoria, Melbourne, Australia Chris Rutherford Prophet Infrastructure Asset Management Ltd, Tauranga, New Zealand Paul Wilson Chair Elect, IFPRA Asia Pacific Quennstown Lakes, DC, New Zealand Hans Visser Biodiveristy officer Fingal County Council, Dublin, Ireland John de. Lucca Parks Manager Matamata. Piako District Council, Matamata-Piako, DC, New Zealand Dr. Jean Whyte, Senior Research Fellow, Children's research Centre, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland Paul Todd Green Flag Award Applications Manager, The Civic Trust, Liverpool, United Kingdom

Congress Partners Office of Public Works – Heritage Services Dublin City Council – Parks & Landscape Services Fingal County Council – Parks department South Dublin County Council Parks & Landscape Services Department Dunlaoghaire Rathdown County Council Parks & Landscape Services Department