Three greenspaces across inner city areas of Bradford were co-designed with local adolescent girls, to enhance the safety and appeal of these spaces. The girls valued their involvement and felt empowered by the process. This way of working influenced other community consultations and will be embedded in local design guides. This project was funded though the NIHR ARC and Sport England.
Synopsis
Green spaces including parks are often promoted as spaces for physical activity, yet adolescent girls are less likely to use these spaces than boys. To address this gender inequality, three greenspaces across inner city areas of Bradford were co-designed with local adolescent girls, to enhance the safety and appeal of these spaces. The girls valued their involvement and felt empowered by the process, and the new spaces are being used by the girls, their families and the wider community for physical and social activities. This way of working influenced other community consultations and will be embedded in local design guides.
The challenge
Adolescent girls in Bradford are less likely to engage in sufficient physical activity for health compared to their male peers, with ethnic minority (excluding white minority groups) the least active. Greenspaces, including parks provide opportunities for physical activity and can support physical health and mental wellbeing. Yet many inner-city areas of Bradford have little to no public green spaces, and adolescent girls are less likely to be found in these spaces than boys, suggesting they do not meet their needs. There is an urgent need to ensure adolescent girls have access to safe and appealing parks and green spaces in urban areas of Bradford and are supported to be physically active in these spaces.
The solution
Gender-sensitive greenspace design involving adolescent girls within the design process may reduce their barriers to engaging in play and physical activity in these spaces. This approach aims to create empowerment and ownership of the space among the girls involved and wider community. The partnership between Bradford Metropolitan District Council, the JU:MP physical activity programme, the Make Space for Girls charity, and local community organisations provided the resources and expertise to co-design three green spaces across inner city Bradford. This was achieved through working with local adolescent girls, including one group in a predominantly South Asian community. A process evaluation was completed to understand the feasibility and acceptability of the process and its impact.
The impact (including cost savings/income generated if applicable)
The process exceeded expectations, as many girls hadn’t anticipated their ideas would be actioned. They developed skills and confidence through their involvement, and felt listened to, and proud to have made a difference for their community. The new spaces had provided opportunities for people to come together for social and physical activities, benefitting the girls, their families, and the wider community. At one site, the girls involved expressed an interest in forming an ambassador group. On behalf of the girls’ group, local community leaders secured £4,000 through the JU:MP Community funding programme to support them to take ownership of the new space through planning and delivering a programme of organised activities and events over 12 months.
How is the new approach being sustained?
For the landscape architects involved, this new approach to designing spaces led them to reflect on their current practice and modify future consultations to gain deeper insight about communities’ needs. Considering the needs of adolescent girls and involving young people in decision-making is being incorporated into Bradford’s Design codes (in development).
Lessons learned
Working directly with the landscape architects allowed the girls to think beyond traditional play equipment, and understand the process of decision making, budget limitations, and how spaces can be designed to mitigate antisocial behaviour. Multi-agency approaches allowed for sharing of resources and expertise, enhanced community engagement, and likely contributed to impact and legacy. Sharing academic evidence, encouraging professional stakeholders to reflect on their adolescent experiences of parks and having the landscape architect and landowners working collaboratively with the girls throughout the entire project may enhance understanding and buy-in across all parties.
Contact
Sonia Fayyaz
Community Engagement Manager, JU:MP
Twitter: @SoniaFayyaz
Amanda Seims
Senior Research Fellow, JU:MP / BIB
Born in Bradford, Bradford Institute for Health Research
Twitter: @DrAmandaSeims