Project aiming to improve park access launched

A project aiming to remove physical and social barriers to accessing parks has been launched in West Yorkshire.

University of Leeds researchers will ask more than 8,000 people living in Leeds and Bradford how they use green spaces.

The Green AWARE survey aims to help the research team understand why and how communities use parks, and why some people may feel excluded from them.

The research will focus on the experiences of women and girls, people from minority ethnic groups, older people and disabled people, the project said.

The research team will then work with Leeds City Council and Bradford Council to come up with ways to make public spaces more accessible.

The project, which is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, comes after a previous University of Leeds study found most women and girls felt unsafe in parks in some situations.

"If we understand the barriers to park usage, we can then take steps to widen inclusion to meet the needs of our fantastic, diverse local communities," Vikki Houlden, project lead, said.

"We'd love to hear from as many people as possible, whether you use your local green spaces or not - everyone has different experiences and points of view."

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