Justifying and resisting public park commercialisation: The battle for Battersea Park

Smith, Andrew

doi:10.1177/0969776418767731

Cited by 20 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Despite legal challenges and public opposition (Smith 2019a), since 2012, music festivals have been introduced into many London parks (such as Finsbury Park, Brockwell Park, and Gunnersbury Park). Other parks have been used to stage contested events such as Battersea Park -which was used for Formula E motor races in 2015 and 2016 (Smith 2018;2019b). The links between these events and the Olympics Games in 2012 are indirect, but as Smith (2016) has shown, organisers have cited the Olympic events staged in London parks as precedents in event applications -to justify their proposals.…”

Section: Transforming Public Spaces Into Commercial Event Sites: Normmentioning

confidence: 99%

The long-term implications of mega-event projects for urban public spaces

Smith

McGillivray

2020

Sport in Society

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An emerging theme within the mega-events literature is the ways they affect the provision, regulation and design of urban public spaces. Parks, streets and squares host competition venues, and are also used for supplementary occasions and facilities associated with hosting megaevents. Using examples from the London 2012 Olympic Games and Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, this paper examines the longterm significance of mega-events for urban public spaces. The paper contends that these events can be used as 'Trojan Horses' , allowing new systems to be introduced under the cover of an event. It also emphasizes how temporary mega-events transform public spaces into venues for subsequent commercial events. Finally, the paper acknowledges more positive legacies, showing how mega-events can change how public space is imagined by users and by those responsible for managing it. Both cases highlight how events influence the ways spaces are used, designed and managed.

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Section: Transforming Public Spaces Into Commercial Event Sites: Normmentioning

confidence: 99%

The long-term implications of mega-event projects for urban public spaces

Smith

McGillivray

2020

Sport in Society

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“…However, there was little interest from Bloomsbury's local businesses given the perception that they already paid for parks through the business rates (Nesta, 2016b). Applying the BID model is considered contentious in this way, challenging the democratic nature of parks as truly publicly accessible spaces (Smith et al, 2014). While there are longstanding critiques of the BID model as aggressive privatization and commercialization (Zukin, 2005;Minton, 2009), commercialized activities are on the rise in parks.…”

Section: Businesses and Residents Paying For Parksmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While the economic case for generating income from parks may resonate with political decisionmakers, we do not know if other stakeholders share that view. For example, fund-raising and income generation may be more effective in high-profile city parks (Smith, 2019) meaning other, less highprofile (e.g. district) parks are adversely affected.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acceptability of income generation practices in 21st century urban park management: The case of city district parks

Nam

Dempsey

2020

Journal of Environmental Management

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There is growing interest in understanding the benefits of parks and green space in financial terms, particularly from policymakers and decision-makers. Applying a financial value is an increasingly popular practice designed to communicate urban green space benefits to budget holders. This is pertinent for local governments who routinely struggle to secure funding for parks, given their nonstatutory status around the world. To address this, it is perhaps inevitable that the application of a wide range of funding models to parks is being explored. However, there is little empirical evidence that users and residents share this sentiment. This paper aims to address this gap in knowledge by exploring how feasible and acceptable such income generation practices are for stakeholders directly involved in using and managing parks. We asked local residents, parks managers, community groups and academics in one northern English city how feasible and acceptable they considered different income generation practices if applied to their local parks. The findings showed that overall, income generated by cafés and organised events were considered acceptable by residents but to a lesser extent by community groups and professionals. Voluntary donations, car parking and increased taxation were considered unacceptable by all stakeholders, while using the planning system to secure funding was considered acceptable. The findings suggest a variety of acceptable income-generating practices which may help stakeholders to address pragmatically the current challenges of managing urban parks.

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“…These works have demonstrated how actual production processes are defined by contingent, and therefore unique, interactions between autonomous actors and a set of political, technical and organizational constraints operating at different scales. Yet, with the exception of BIDs and events (Smith, 2013, 2019), there is little detailed work on the emergence (rather than the operation and/or the effects) of new governance arrangements in specific spaces. This is the purpose of this paper.…”

Section: The Privatization Of Public Spacementioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are numerous studies on the spatial and political logics of public space policies and their implementation, including an identification of the different normative views at play (Betin, 2001;Dessouroux, 2006;Fleury, 2007;Jacob and Hellström, 2010); on the impacts of participatory techniques (Söderström et al, 2001;Vareilles, 2006); on the gradual definition of public space projects and regulation practices, including investigations of the locus of decision (Calderon and Chelleri, 2013;Ehrenfeucht and Loukaitou-Sideris, 2007;Smithsimon, 2008); on the circulation of policies and design and management models (Didier et al, 2013;Söderström and Geertman, 2013;Ward, 2006)… These works have demonstrated how actual production processes are defined by contingent, and therefore unique, interactions between autonomous actors and a set of political, technical and organizational constraints operating at different scales. Yet, with the exception of BIDs and events (Smith, 2013(Smith, , 2018, there is little detailed work on the emergence (rather than the operation and/or the effects) of new governance arrangements in specific spaces. This is the purpose of this paper.…”

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confidence: 99%

The birth of public space privatization: How entrepreneurialism, convivial urbanism and stakeholder interactions made the Martim Moniz square, in Lisbon, ‘privatization-ready’

Gomes¹

2019

European Urban and Regional Studies

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Despite the vigorous debate on the extent, modalities and impacts of public space privatization, there have been few analyses of the processes of its emergence in specific places. Based on 36 stakeholder interviews and desk research, this paper does so through an analysis of how the Martim Moniz square, in Lisbon, became the city’s first square under private management in 2012. To do so, the paper goes through the local governance context and the importance of convivial public spaces as a political objective, leading to regular partnerships with non-state actors. The square is adjacent to Mouraria, a derelict neighbourhood that was a testing ground for the city’s new urban policies. The square’s private management scheme – branded the Mercado de Fusão – rather than a rupture with existing practices, is the result of a coincidence of interests of both actors. Moreover, it reassembles typical local policy responses and the company’s expertise in a unitary management scheme. The seamless implementation of the Mercado is made possible by the pre-existing relationship between the company and the municipality. The paper thus shows that there is no fundamental shift towards private governance in Lisbon. Rather, it is the generalized commodification of public spaces resulting from the emergence of conviviality as a political objective that opened up the conditions for the square’s privatization. The relationship between conviviality as a political objective and privatization is presented as a promising subject for further research.

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Justifying and resisting public park commercialisation: The battle for Battersea Park

Cited by 20 publications

References 43 publications

The long-term implications of mega-event projects for urban public spaces

The long-term implications of mega-event projects for urban public spaces

Acceptability of income generation practices in 21st century urban park management: The case of city district parks

The birth of public space privatization: How entrepreneurialism, convivial urbanism and stakeholder interactions made the Martim Moniz square, in Lisbon, ‘privatization-ready’

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