We all enjoy going
for a walk in our local park. But how
can you help to show how much you value your parks? How can you highlight what
you like and dislike about these places? And how much you would be willing to
do to protect these spaces from real risks, such as flooding? Have a look at http://www.openspaces-portsmouth.org.uk
and read further!
I
am a PhD student from London Metropolitan University, doing a research
project about how users value green spaces in Portsmouth. Using a
variety of surveying techniques, I am investigating the best way
that people can make their opinions heard on issues that affect them and
their
favourite parks and open spaces. Also,
the North Solent Shoreline Management Plan highlighted the long-term
risk to
areas of Portsmouth from flooding. How
much would you be willing to protect your local open spaces from such
risks?
If you use parks in Portsmouth (particularly the Farlington Marshes,
Milton Common and Southsea Common), you might have recently seen me with my
clipboard, asking questions on this subject to visitors in a 15 minute
questionnaire. I have received very positive feedback about the survey and I
have to say, people in Portsmouth are really happy to talk about their parks
and how much they value them. So, if you see me one of these days, please come
over and say hello!
However nice it is to spend the day talking to local residents in the
open air, I think talking about parks, and how valuable they are, should not be
only offered to those who have the time to visit them, and Portsmouth has so
many parks (68 in total!) that I cannot visit them all. So that is why I decided to expand my surveys
to other places that could help me to meet more people - through an internet
survey and at 2011 Portsmouth Summer Fair.
My
online survey is based on Google Maps technology, which (hopefully)
makes it easy to visualise the parks in Portsmouth and provide
easy-to-understand information regarding flood risk in the area.
Everyone can take part today! If you are willing to share your own
experiences of your use of parks in Portsmouth and how much they mean to
you,
please access this website: www.openspaces-portsmouth.org.uk
to access my online Internet survey and some further explanation about my
project. And please, send it to as many
people in Portsmouth as you can, so that as many people as possible can make
their opinions heard.
Finally, in June of this year, the Portsmouth Climate Action Network were
kind enough to let me have a stall during the Summer Fair in June, which was a
great opportunity for me to meet more people and to talk about my
research. I hope to see some of you
there next year at the 2012 Festival!
Even if you don’t have time to take part in my surveys, I am happy to
hear about people’s experiences of their local parks. So please, reach me through www.openspaces-portsmouth.org.uk
if you have any comments or queries regarding my project.
Hélène Draux, PhD student
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