Question: what are your views on clearing park spaces to build high-rises and office buildings...i personal hate it as parks mean a lot to me as i feel they do to you =P lucy

Oli Wilson answered on 8 Nov 2017:

I’m on your wavelength with this Lucy, I’m a huge fan of parks and natural spaces in built-places! I used to love the peace of wandering around the ones in Oxford, and there are some great riverside walks here in Reading too 🙂 You’re definitely not alone in loving green space in towns either – they’re hugely important on lots of different levels! I just found this great little document from the University of Leeds which you might find interesting (http://leaf.leeds.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/LEAF_benefits_of_urban_green_space_2015_upd.pdf) – it lists lots of benefits to having nature in our urban landscapes, from mental health to climate change and flood prevention. That’s one reason why it’s such a shame when these green spaces get bulldozed for development, and I’m sure it’s harder to make a new park in a city than it is to keep an old one. Of course it’s important that people have good spaces to live and work too – that’s why the key for people planning out towns is to make sure they can do this while keeping the green spaces as well. That way, everyone wins! 🙂