Speaker : Lady Marylla Hunt (Environmental Design Associates, London)
Organiser : Department of Ecology, French Institute of Pondicherry.
Abstract
There has been significant renewal of public parks in England since the 1980s, the majority of which were created in response to conditions in industrial towns and cities in the latter half of the 19th century. Many were in an extremely neglected condition and unused. The work has involved conservation and restoration of their landscapes and features together with the introduction of facilities for new uses. Whilst France too has its historic parks, a decision was made at the same time to select areas of former industrial use within cities and create new parks. Both approaches have fostered improvements within neighbouring urban environments and generated high usage of the spaces.
So, this in a way is a more evolutionary approach as compared with contemporary novelty. There are differences in attitude towards civic space within England and France, as, too, is the value given to contemporary design. In addition, the funding of the projects also plays a part in the decision-making. To illustrate this talk, the examples are taken from the London area and in Paris.
