20 C O N T E X T 1 3 3 : M A R C H 2 0 1 4 VALUING HERITAGE acknowledged. Many park creation schemes of the 19th century were designed explicitly to create ribbons of parks across a town or city. However, today explicit references to specific parks are frequently averted as discrete sites are subsumed into the broader epithet of ‘green infrastructure’.4 The shift towards terms such as green infrastructure is representative of recent attempts to protect parks and green spaces by demonstrating their role in achieving statutory commitments, such as mitigating climate change.5 However, the adoption of such terminology must not erode the vocabulary that we need to explore and explain historic green spaces, their character and value. Parks are too often misfiled within local authorities under ‘events, leisure and tourism’ or ‘planning and building control’. The perils of misfiling historic parks in the portfolio of planning departments, which face immense pressure to provide new housing, should be obvious to all. Even when they are protected, parks are increasingly valued by the departments that manage them exclusively in terms of their status as event sites or sports facilities.When this approach complements the heritage asset there can be positive outcomes for all, but when conservation presents obstacles to revenues from sport or development, the historical landscape is frequently sacrificed for short-term economic gain. The net loss of historic urban green space across England is currently impossible to assess. This is due, in part, to the absence of a comprehensive typology, but also to the lack of the resources and leadership required to produce and maintain the data sets. Local authorities do not currently have the resources to produce such material, nor is it necessarily in their interest to do so. Hitherto the only attempt was the 2001 Public Parks Assessment. Even this was only an estimate.6 It is disappointing that CABE Space never made the leap to establish such a dataset. However, there are successful models we might follow, such as Scotland’s Green Space Map. The map, GIS based, provides information, not Underinvestment and vandalism both contributed to a downward spiral for many parks from the 1960s onwards. Identifying a longterm use for redundant structures is the key to securing their survival. References 4 Mayor of London and Greater London Authority (2012) Green Infrastructure and Open Environments: the all London green grid 5 Forest Research (2010) Benefits of Green Infrastructure: report to Defra and CLG 6 Forest Research (2010) Public Parks Assessment
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