Conference Agenda

Evidence for the health and social benefits generated through urban green and blue spaces is comprehensive. Numerous studies have found that visits to parks and natural spaces can help address policy priorities such as reducing obesity, diabetes and heart disease; support social integration and community engagement; and encourage connections with the natural world (Dobson et al., 2019). The Covid-19 pandemic underlined these benefits at a global scale, with multiple contemporary studies reporting the health and wellbeing benefits of access to green spaces in mitigating the impacts of pandemic-era restrictions (Ugolini et al., 2020; Venter et al., 2020; Xie et al., 2020).

However, there is little evidence that knowledge of these benefits has resulted in greater care for and investment in urban green spaces. In the UK green spaces have been starved of funding for more than a decade due to government austerity policies, and this is likely to continue. Drawing on a three-year longitudinal qualitative study focusing on eight urban locations in the UK, this paper examines the impact of an intervention which was designed to initiate systemic change in local and national policies to give urban green spaces a sustainable future. We outline the programme's achievements and limitations and reflect on the challenges of changing embedded systems so as to promote and share the benefits of green spaces more widely.

Engaging with recent thinking on the rights of nature (Stone, 2010, Talbot-Jones & Bennett, 2022), we therefore ask what voice natural spaces can have in policymaking; how that voice may be amplified to protect and enhance the health of urban green spaces and their users; and how entrenched systems may be changed to generate greater benefits for human and nonhuman species. In posing these questions we also consider the ontological and practical dilemmas raised when green spaces are considered as possessing agency and value.

The paper focuses on the relationship between climate and health by discussing how local communities approach sustainability, and what kind of communal solutions they can offer for the the most recent challenges of climate change. The research constitutes a part of a nation-wide research studying sustainable consumption involving a large number of interviews from different fields. In this research field, we focused on an inner district of Budapest, which can be characterized by fast and radical changes, increased gentrification, but at the same time, it is also home to a rising number of urban community projects aiming at the local, rapidly changing population. In our research we analyzed local community programs, which aimed at integration programs for the marginalized population. Within those programs, we focused on societal groups with various backroungs, such as Roma people, most particularly children and young people, the local elderly, and the specific segment of young mothers with small children.

The paper examines the attitudes and practies of these societal groups towards various segments of sustainability, such as climate change, food consumption, clothing, access to healthy food and home practices of energy consumption - and the role of community within those.

The main question is, what are the community solutions for the challenges of climate change and how can communal programs contribute to sustainable solutions on a local level in a quickly changing urban area with a great societal diversity? We aimed to examine how the societal groups with very different backgrounds approach problems of climate and sustainability, what it means for them, and whether and how communal programs can help them to co-operate. The research is based on about 40 qualitative interviews and ethnographic research.

This presentation explores the intersection of urban ecological transformation and children’s well-being through the lens of the Oasis Schoolyard program in Paris. Initiated in 2019, this program aims to depave and green schoolyards, addressing climate change adaptation, fostering biodiversity, and improving children’s quality of life in a dense urban environment.

With 70 hectares of asphalted schoolyards, Paris has a unique opportunity to create cooling islands that benefit children and local communities, particularly when these spaces are open to the public. Contact with nature provides well-documented benefits for children, including stress reduction, enhanced immune systems, cognitive development, decreased bullying, improved academic performance, and better social relationships. These considerations make children’s well-being the cornerstone of the Oasis program, facilitating the integration of vegetation and other living elements despite potential resistance from educational stakeholders.

This talk will focus on research conducted in partnership between the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle and the City of Paris. Drawing on data collected in 2024 and 2025, including vegetation inventories, interviews with urban designers, managers, and school staff, as well as observations of children’s interactions with vegetation, the study examines perceptions of greening efforts and the ways children engage with these new spaces. This presentation will focus on understanding which parameters play a role in the ecosystem services children can benefit from in green schoolyards. We will use interviews and observations carried out in a Parisian school environment to test the hypothesis of the role of the educational community in promoting these interactions, as well as the importance of plant diversity for children. This work brings together inventory data on the ecological quality of environments and how they are appropriated by children, in an interdisciplinary approach combining urban ecology and science.

The Oasis Schoolyard program also highlights Paris’s broader strategy of ecological transformation which extends beyond schoolyards to include streets, housing courtyards, and other urban areas. This talk will provide insights into how urban initiatives can successfully combine climate adaptation, biodiversity, and human well-being, using Paris as a living laboratory for sustainable urban development.

In the new geographical research, the concept of urban care involves the spaces, materialities, and subjects, of care. （Emma R. Power，Miriam J Williams, 2019）This is a striking departure from classical research of urban care. Based on these ideas, this article explains the multiple values of gardening in urban care through the practices of Beijing residents. Our research yielded four key and novel findings: (1) The involvement of Beijing residents in urban care through gardening is widespread, fostering a harmonious space where nature, humanity, and spirituality coexist. Nearly all participants exude generosity and vitality, both in body and mind. (2) The neglected corners and wild land spaces within the community were transformed, adding more natural areas to the urban landscape and enhancing livability for residents. (3) Urban care encompasses both material and spiritual dimensions. On the material side, it includes activities like planting food that can be readily consumed, while spiritually, it manifests in acts of mutual assistance, charity, giving, and interpersonal support, all contributing to the realization of self-worth. (4) The subject of care includes both individuals and the harmonious symbiosis between humans and non-human entities. This creates an experience of bringing the idyll of nature back home. This article explores the diverse values of gardening in urban care, highlighting its role in bridging the divide between humans and nature, as well as addressing the alienation of human nature in the context of postmodern. It emphasizes the value and creativity inherent in gardening as a means of urban care, as well as the positive correlation between urban environments and quality of life. It also explores the pathways for public participation and practice of gardening in urban care spaces. The issue under discussion is the impact of gardening, as a form of urban care, on urban planning, management, and services, as well as the challenges and difficulties it presents. In conclusion, while gardening may be considered a micro-system, it is omnipresent. Its prominent features—naturalness, physicality, interconnectedness, and well-being—enable it to play a unique role in urban care, particularly in the context of climate change.