tag:theconversation.com,2011:/institutions/research-institute-for-humanity-and-nature-2954/articlesResearch Institute for Humanity and Nature2017-03-07T07:34:32Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/720052017-03-07T07:34:32Z2017-03-07T07:34:32ZEnough is as good as a feast: here’s how we can imagine a brighter food future<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159105/original/image-20170302-14714-1xrrq5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Christoph Rupprecht/FEAST Project</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/IP/2016/NVA/WEF_FSA_FutureofGlobalFoodSystems.pdf">World Economic Forum’s 2017 report on the future of food</a> examines what the world’s food systems might look like in 2030. But none of the four future scenarios it presents is particularly attractive. </p>
<p>To create a world where everyone can eat well without wrecking the planet, we need better ideas, a rich imagination and the right tools.</p>
<p>The WEF report offers four potential scenarios.</p>
<ol>
<li><p><strong>Unchecked consumption</strong>: resource-intensive consumption and strong trade cause environmental collapse and extreme global warming, while rich countries and corporations continue to exploit resources worldwide.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Survival of the richest</strong>: resource-intensive consumption with limited trade and intellectual property rights widen the gap between rich and poor, while environmental problems and climate change worsen.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Local is the new global</strong>: resource-efficient consumption and limited trade allow resource-rich countries to feed themselves and protect their environment, but countries without good agricultural land face a difficult choice between overusing resources or risking hunger.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Open-source sustainability</strong>: resource-efficient consumption and strong trade help to provide food while protecting the environment. But relying on produce from around the world means local extreme weather and economic or political shocks affect people worldwide. </p></li>
</ol>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159095/original/image-20170302-14714-8h4fxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159095/original/image-20170302-14714-8h4fxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159095/original/image-20170302-14714-8h4fxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159095/original/image-20170302-14714-8h4fxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159095/original/image-20170302-14714-8h4fxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159095/original/image-20170302-14714-8h4fxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159095/original/image-20170302-14714-8h4fxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Extreme weather events are increasing and can have devastating effects on local food production.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/oxfam/8655300366/">Oxfam International/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The report’s authors argue that shifts in demand (towards resource intensive or efficient consumption) and market connectivity are the two critical uncertainties that will influence whether food systems can nutritiously and sustainably feed the 8.5 billion people <a href="http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2015/07/un-projects-world-population-to-reach-8-5-billion-by-2030-driven-by-growth-in-developing-countries/">projected to be living in the planet by 2030</a>. </p>
<p>The report emphasises that all its scenarios are possible and all have winners and losers. Even in the open-source sustainability scenario, for instance, some people may not be able to afford the higher price of <a href="http://www.glamur.eu/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/keane-real-cost.pdf">ecologically priced food</a>, which may include the cost of managing water quality, paying fair wages for workers, and better animal welfare. </p>
<p>But it’s unclear if the scenarios are really sustainable; consuming more efficiently may not be enough.</p>
<h2>Efficiency and markets</h2>
<p>The science is clear: we are <a href="http://www.footprintnetwork.org/resources/data/">using more resources than the Earth can regenerate</a>, so to become sustainable we must consume less. </p>
<p>There are good reasons why using resources more efficiently isn’t enough. Think of the Earth as a fish pond. In our pond, one new fish is born every day (a regenerating resource). But if we are eating 1.6 fish every day (just as we are currently <a href="http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2016/08/08/earth-overshoot-day-arrives-earlier-than-ever/">using 1.6 Earths’</a> worth of resources), the day will come when the pond will be empty – regardless of how efficiently we cook, preserve and eat the fish.</p>
<p>Improved production processes alone also <a href="https://news.mit.edu/2017/technological-progress-alone-stem-consumption-materials-0119">do not reduce absolute resource use</a>. Consuming less remains the most viable option. But our societies and model of development are built on the idea that economic growth and consumption are necessary for a good life. </p>
<p>Can we really shift our diets and consumption patterns enough without rethinking this foundation? The solutions the report proposes, such as <a href="http://www.fes-sustainability.org/en/nachhaltigkeit-und-demokratie/education-limits-growth">consumer education</a>, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-08-28/patagonias-buy-less-plea-spurs-more-buying">different marketing</a> or <a href="https://ds.lclark.edu/soan498/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2014/09/Jacklyn-Cock-green-capitalism1.pdf">new business models</a>, have been tried with only limited success. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154628/original/image-20170129-30394-mmfxqb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154628/original/image-20170129-30394-mmfxqb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154628/original/image-20170129-30394-mmfxqb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154628/original/image-20170129-30394-mmfxqb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154628/original/image-20170129-30394-mmfxqb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154628/original/image-20170129-30394-mmfxqb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154628/original/image-20170129-30394-mmfxqb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154628/original/image-20170129-30394-mmfxqb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A shrinking target: achieving sustainability gets harder as we reduce the planet’s biocapacity by overusing its resources.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Travelplanner/WikiCommons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Local is the new global, the second scenario in the WEF report, assumes resource-efficient consumption is characterised by low market connectivity. According to the report, it avoids the <a href="https://theconversation.com/crops-hit-by-drought-and-biofuel-policy-another-food-price-crisis-8557">risks of economic and political shocks</a> that the highly connected markets of the Open-source sustainability scenario pose. </p>
<p>But this comes at a price. The report’s authors speculate that countries depending on imports will struggle to feed their people without connected markets, while innovations will have trouble spreading. </p>
<p>Does this hold water? Open knowledge and technology don’t need markets to work and spread, as Wikipedia and arXiv, home of more than one million scientific articles, have shown. There’s also the question of whether food is a commodity or a <a href="https://ourworld.unu.edu/en/why-food-should-be-a-commons-not-a-commodity">common resource everyone has a right to</a>. After all, everyone needs to eat. </p>
<p>The report also fails to provide examples of strong institutions that might limit the impacts of market connectivity, such as the threat of transnational corporations dominating the world’s <a href="https://www.behindthebrands.org/en//%7E/media/Download-files/bp166-behind-brands-260213-en.ashx">food</a> and <a href="http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/1/4/1266">seed</a> markets.</p>
<h2>Better ideas</h2>
<p>If the goal is good food and a healthy planet for everyone, including future generations and other species, perhaps we should look beyond just nutrition. A better aim may be food sovereignty, defined in the 2002 <a href="https://nyeleni.org/spip.php?article125">Nyéléni Declaration</a> as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>To achieve this goal, we need to grow food using <a href="http://agroeco.org/">agroecology</a>, that is, using knowledge of ecosystems and biodiversity to fix how we practice agriculture. Further, <a href="http://www.choicesmagazine.org/magazine/article.php?article=114">regional food systems</a> based on self-reliance and <a href="http://www.totnespound.org/what">local currencies</a> would allow for <a href="https://www.fairtrade.net/about-fairtrade/what-is-fairtrade.html">fair trade</a> but also make sure food is always available and accessible.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154630/original/image-20170129-30394-1uar6w2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154630/original/image-20170129-30394-1uar6w2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154630/original/image-20170129-30394-1uar6w2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154630/original/image-20170129-30394-1uar6w2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154630/original/image-20170129-30394-1uar6w2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154630/original/image-20170129-30394-1uar6w2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154630/original/image-20170129-30394-1uar6w2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It may not be the fastest, but the degrowth movement is gaining a lot of momentum.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Acción Política de Desazkundea</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/life-in-a-degrowth-economy-and-why-you-might-actually-enjoy-it-32224">Degrowth</a>, both a concept and movement, aims to use and produce less while increasing human well-being and improving ecological conditions. It could help us move away from over-consumption and the need for growth by redefining happiness socially, not individually.</p>
<p>Why not relax and enjoy a good life (or <a href="https://theconversation.com/buen-vivir-south-americas-rethinking-of-the-future-we-want-44507"><em>buen vivir</em></a>) of cooking and eating with friends and family, instead of competing to buy the biggest car or house? </p>
<p>With open knowledge sharing instead of patents and restrictive copyright we can freely exchange everything from blueprints for <a href="https://farmbot-genesis.readme.io/docs">3D-printed farming tools</a> to open-access textbooks that teach the <a href="https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/BookDetail.aspx?bookId=96">basics of sustainability</a> or <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-press/browse-books/sustainable-food-systems-the-role-of-the-city">how cities can help create sustainable food systems</a> - without relying on market connectivity to spread innovation.</p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/124550319" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">People from around the world have come up with many great ideas how to shape a brighter future.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Tools to shape brighter futures</h2>
<p>Anthropology researchers use the term “<a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1463499606066891">imaginaries</a>” to describe the capacity of people or societies to imagine how things could be different from what they are. The stronger the power of our imagination, the more options and solutions we can come up with to tackle challenging problems. </p>
<p>A rich imaginary allows us to easily reject the common political argument that there is no alternative, which, in the context of food, is sometimes used to <a href="https://monthlyreview.org/2012/01/01/the-paradox-of-cuban-agriculture/">argue for industrial agriculture</a>. Likewise, if we can envision a brighter future, we can avoid the trap of <a href="http://www.humaniteinenglish.com/spip.php?article2311">infernal alternatives</a> – where being confronted with only bad choices leaves us powerless to demand change.</p>
<p>So how can we give our imaginaries a good workout? Art and literature, and especially utopian science fiction, such as Ursula K Le Guin’s <a href="https://public.wsu.edu/%7Ebrians/science_fiction/dispossessed.html">The Dispossessed</a> or Kim Stanley Robinson’s <a href="http://kimstanleyrobinson.info/content/mars-trilogy">Mars Trilogy</a>, can serve to start a <a href="http://hieroglyph.asu.edu/">public discussion about the future</a>. </p>
<p>And recently, people have invented <a href="https://ia800702.us.archive.org/27/items/Participation_Works/Participation_Works.pdf">participatory tools</a> everyone can use to imagine, plan, and shape a brighter future together, even without being a writer or artist. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154627/original/image-20170129-30416-1h9p91s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154627/original/image-20170129-30416-1h9p91s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154627/original/image-20170129-30416-1h9p91s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=276&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154627/original/image-20170129-30416-1h9p91s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=276&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154627/original/image-20170129-30416-1h9p91s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=276&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154627/original/image-20170129-30416-1h9p91s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154627/original/image-20170129-30416-1h9p91s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154627/original/image-20170129-30416-1h9p91s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Our Open House visitors had plenty of ideas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">FEAST Project/RIHN</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One simple way is to share and compare our values and beliefs with people around us. For example, my <a href="http://www.chikyu.ac.jp/rihn_e/project/2016-01.html">FEAST project</a> colleagues and I asked hundreds of children and adults at our <a href="http://www.chikyu.ac.jp/rihn_e/">Research Institute for Humanity and Nature</a> Open House event in Kyoto what “good food” means for them. </p>
<p>The answers were both funny and fascinating: from eating chocolate in the middle of the night and traditional Kyoto heirloom vegetables to home-cooked food and meals shared with family and friends. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154626/original/image-20170129-30428-1o723hh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154626/original/image-20170129-30428-1o723hh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154626/original/image-20170129-30428-1o723hh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154626/original/image-20170129-30428-1o723hh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154626/original/image-20170129-30428-1o723hh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154626/original/image-20170129-30428-1o723hh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154626/original/image-20170129-30428-1o723hh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/154626/original/image-20170129-30428-1o723hh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Our workshop participant ideal meal of the future: fish, a few slices of beef, salad, miso soup, rice and a cup of local sake.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">FEAST Project/RIHN</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another great tool to shape the future is <a href="http://forlearn.jrc.ec.europa.eu/guide/4_methodology/meth_backcasting.htm">backcasting</a>, where you think about what kind of future you want, then identify pathways towards this future.</p>
<p>Noshiro is a rural town in northern Japan that’s facing an ageing and declining population but is famous for its delicious rice. Here we held workshops where residents imagined what their personal ideal meal would look like 30 years in the future. Using drawings of these meals, we then discussed what actions were necessary to make this future a reality. </p>
<p>How about you give that a try right now? What ideal meal do <em>you</em> want to eat in 30 years? And what do <em>you</em> need to do to make it happen?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72005/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christoph Rupprecht has received funding from Griffith University and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for research on urban green space. He works for the FEAST Project at the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature on sustainable food consumption and production. Christoph is a member of the American Association of Geographers, the Royal Geographic Society, the Society for Ecological Restoration, and the Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture.</span></em></p>The four scenarios in the WEF’s 2017 food report paint a bleak picture. But there are better ways.Christoph Rupprecht, Project Researcher, Research Institute for Humanity and NatureLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/282712014-07-25T05:06:19Z2014-07-25T05:06:19ZOur cities need more green spaces for rest and play — here’s how<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54745/original/x5swgbfn-1406175529.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Seoul's Cheonggyecheon Stream was once a freeway.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kycheng/8174439617">Kwong Yee Cheng/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Your local park is likely playing a vital role in your city’s health, and probably your own too. Parks and other “green spaces” help <a href="https://theconversation.com/trees-are-a-citys-air-conditioners-so-why-are-we-pulling-them-out-21890">keep cities cool</a>, and as places of recreation, can help with health issues such as obesity. Even looking at greenery can <a href="https://theconversation.com/hug-a-tree-the-evidence-shows-it-really-will-make-you-feel-better-21924">make you feel better</a>.</p>
<p>But in increasingly crowded cities, it can be difficult to find room for parks. Fortunately, there are other green spaces, or potential green spaces that can provide the same benefits. </p>
<p>In recent research, we found that these spaces are more common than we thought. And innovative green spaces overseas show how we might use them. </p>
<h2>Cities are getting crowded</h2>
<p>In the next thirty years, almost three quarters of the global population will live in cities. Underpinning this glib statistic is an astounding wave of migration driven by changing livelihoods, global economic changes and environmental change, which is <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/333/6042/540.full">unprecedented</a> in human history. </p>
<p>This presents a number of challenges for urban planning — more housing, schools and hospitals, better infrastructure such as transportation, water, sanitation and electricity. </p>
<p>Parks in this competition for space are often an afterthought. This can lead to some big problems, especially in higher-density cities. Such problems include urban heat (from concrete, bitumen and glass), storm water run-off, and fewer parks to play and relax. Fewer parks can in turn lead to health impacts such as obesity, anxiety and depression.</p>
<p>Worse still, in some cities parks and other green-spaces are regarded as a luxury, not a necessity. In a climate of fiscal austerity, some city managers and elected officials are making decisions that will potentially harm the quality of life of urban residents, now and into the future. </p>
<p>Some local governments regard under-utilised parks as surplus assets, which might be sold to bolster strained coffers. </p>
<p>Other cities, like Melbourne, have <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/melbournes-green-spaces-are-pure-gold-20130916-2tv75.html">sacrificed</a> some park spaces for new road and tunnel projects. But the short-term financial gain from selling parks or converting them to other purposes could very well lead to long term pain.</p>
<h2>Making real urban jungles</h2>
<p>Around the world, city planners and design professionals have begun to respond to the problem of park shortages by finding innovative solutions to add more green-spaces to cities. These include green roofs, green walls and pocket-parks. </p>
<p>Some unconventional solutions are emerging too. Parking lots, former industrial sites (brown fields) and even abandoned infrastructure like old railway lines are being converted into new green spaces. </p>
<p>Some cities like Seoul in Korea for instance, have torn down freeways to make room for new green spaces for people, plants and animals, with big financial and social dividends. The Seoul Metropolitan Government has seen billion-dollar returns from its <a href="https://lafoundation.org/research/landscape-performance-series/case-studies/case-study/382/">Cheonggyecheon</a> stream restoration project, and has realised other benefits too such as cooler temperatures, increased use of public transport, adaptive re-use of buildings, <a href="http://www.visitseoul.net/en/see/cheonggyecheon/cheonggyecheon.jhtml">increased tourism</a>, and a return of plants and animals to the “concrete jungle”. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54744/original/78rwc672-1406175219.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54744/original/78rwc672-1406175219.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54744/original/78rwc672-1406175219.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54744/original/78rwc672-1406175219.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54744/original/78rwc672-1406175219.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54744/original/78rwc672-1406175219.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54744/original/78rwc672-1406175219.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54744/original/78rwc672-1406175219.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of San Francisco’s “parklets”</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/pwkrueger/8689794483">Paul Krueger/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="http://pavementtoparks.sfplanning.org">parklets</a> of San Francisco are reinvigorating urban spaces, improving street life and encouraging more people into active lifestyles. </p>
<p>And in Hangzhou, China, the removal of old factories and conversion of grey space into linear parks, as well as <a href="http://worldlandscapearchitect.com/hangzhou-new-cbd-waterfront-park-hangzhou-china-ki-studio/#.U89Zy1bldZg">park-making</a> on “wasteland”, has opened up spaces for recreation and relaxation to millions of residents.</p>
<h2>More parks aren’t always the solution</h2>
<p>But making new parks can be expensive, especially in the urban core. Park-making projects can also increase the value of surrounding properties. If these projects are undertaken in poorer neighbourhoods, they can harm marginalised and vulnerable residents, by forcing them out of their homes as rents and property values rise and wealthier residents move in (gentrification). </p>
<p>With our colleagues, <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204614000310">we have noted</a> that planners must take steps to prevent this from occurring, such as rent control or park-making on a more “informal” scale, making neighbourhoods “<a href="http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/gentrification-green-neighborhoods-just-green-enough">just green enough</a>”.</p>
<p>If we can’t get city officials to buy land for more parks, then maybe we can convert grey spaces — roads, rooftops and storm-water drains — into functional, yet affordable, green-spaces that people can use for active and passive recreation. </p>
<p>In New York for example, the <a href="http://www.thehighline.org">High Line Trail</a> along a disused railway line has become a major attraction, and breathed life back to a blighted space. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54743/original/5n4mjpqp-1406174952.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54743/original/5n4mjpqp-1406174952.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54743/original/5n4mjpqp-1406174952.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54743/original/5n4mjpqp-1406174952.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54743/original/5n4mjpqp-1406174952.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54743/original/5n4mjpqp-1406174952.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54743/original/5n4mjpqp-1406174952.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54743/original/5n4mjpqp-1406174952.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New York’s Highline: a park on an old railway.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidberkowitz/5923527436">David Berkowitz/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Mexico, an oil pipeline easement has been converted into a beautiful and functional park — <a href="http://citiscope.org/story/2014/mexico-city%E2%80%99s-scar-becomes-its-most-prized-park-la-l%C3%ADnea-verde">La Línea Verde</a> — in socially vulnerable neighbourhoods. There would appear to be similar opportunities in other cities.</p>
<p>Under-utilised and abandoned spaces such as railway corridors, vacant lots, street verges or even power line easements could make excellent parks.</p>
<h2>How much green space?</h2>
<p>Until recently, it has been hard for city planners to know how many of these spaces exist, what they are designated for, and whether people can easily access them.</p>
<p>Recent research on <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0099784">“informal green-space”</a> that we have published in PLoS One seeks to answer this question. </p>
<p>We have designed a rapid assessment technique to identify how much “left-over” land exists in cities, which could be used for green-space. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54831/original/gcv8pts4-1406239689.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54831/original/gcv8pts4-1406239689.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54831/original/gcv8pts4-1406239689.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54831/original/gcv8pts4-1406239689.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54831/original/gcv8pts4-1406239689.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54831/original/gcv8pts4-1406239689.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54831/original/gcv8pts4-1406239689.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54831/original/gcv8pts4-1406239689.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Distribution of ‘informal green space’ across Brisbane.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Christoph Rupprecht</span></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>Surprisingly, informal green-space made up around 5% of the urban core in Brisbane (Australia) and Sapporo (Japan), the two cities we surveyed. This means it contributes 14% to the city centres’ total green space — that’s almost 900 soccer fields in Brisbane’s core alone. </p>
<p>We also found that over 80% are at least partly accessible for people to use them. Have a look around on your next walk — maybe a verge or vacant lot near you is just the place for a community garden?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/28271/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason Byrne is a member of the Australian Conservation Foundation and the Better Parks Alliance. He does not receive funding from these organisations, but he is an active advocate for parks and green-space.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christoph Rupprecht received funding from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and Griffith University.</span></em></p>Your local park is likely playing a vital role in your city’s health, and probably your own too. Parks and other “green spaces” help keep cities cool, and as places of recreation, can help with health…Jason Byrne, Professor of Human Geography and Planning, University of TasmaniaChristoph Rupprecht, Project Researcher, Research Institute for Humanity and NatureLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.