Large Parks in Large Cities

Register NOW!

Third call for a conference
in Stockholm, September 2-4(5), 2015
Large Parks in Large Cities

 
Registration starts now

 
We now invite you to register for the conference Large Parks in Large Cities and at the same time to state your interest in presenting a paper or a poster on either a park or a scientific problem. Click the link Registration!

 
The number of participants is limited to 250 due to the premises we have secured. International participants will be prioritized. We urge you therefore to register as soon as possible.

 
The fee for the conference is SEK 3.300. From the 1st of May it is raised to SEK 3.800. Meals, refreshments and a reception at the City hall of Stockholm are included.

 
The conference runs from 9 AM on the 2nd to 5 PM on the 4th of September. On the 5th of September we offer a social program inlcuding birdwatching and guided tours in the National City Park of Stockholm and guided tours of the green and blue infrastructure of greater Stockholm. Accompanying persons are invited to take part in the guided tours.

 
Visit our webpage: www.largeparks.se!

 
Background

 
Urbanization continues all over the world, pressing on and transforming ecosystems. In 40 years urban population will double. We need to take stock of the consequences and seriously judge the value of green cities, and, in this conference, focus on large parks.

 
There are large parks in many large cities in many parts of the world, even larger than well-known parks such as Central Park in New York and Hyde Park in London. Sometimes they are not recognized as parks, but are left-over-land that one day may be exploited. Or they may be national parks right on the border of the city, as in Nairobi and in Cape Town. Or they may be planned green wedges or belts around a city. Nevertheless, they serve as lungs of the city, recreational areas for its population and nature’s reminder of the foundations of city life and the history of the city. The idea of the conference is to demonstrate their existence and importance!

 
Aim and theme of the conference

 
The aim of the conference is to highlight large parks in metropolitan areas and to discuss their importance and role in the future, taking into account the enormous development of townscapes that is foreseen. We will also discuss status, protection and maintenance – in short the governance of large parks in large cities. This will be done within the context of overall green infrastructure, ecosystem services and sustainable cities. Large parks at the same time constitute a basis for understanding the landscape in which the city is set.

 
Another aim is to create a network of people working with large parks around the world.

 
Participants

 
We invite park administrators, NGOs, researchers, landscape architects, town planners and policy makers from all over the world to a path-breaking meeting. You will have the chance of being among the first to realize and understand that, in fact, very many large cities in the world have really large parks. How has this come about? What is their importance? Are they threatened? Will there be large parks in the many new large cities that will be built in the future?

 
We, the organizers, will work to assure that as many as possible of all major large parks in the world will be represented at the conference (perhaps you can help us by suggesting parks to be invited or spreading the call). This will constitute a tremendous learning opportunity.

 
Accompanying persons are invited to take part in the guided tours on the 5th of September.

 
Themes we will address:

• visions of large parks in large cities
• the specific aspects of large parks and nature reserves in townscapes in contrast to urban greening in general
• the role of large parks in urban ecology and biodiversity
• ecosystem services from urban green areas and specifically from large parks in large cities
• the role of large parks when building the sustainable city and mitigating climate change
• the role of large parks when integrating – functionally and architecturally – the city in the landscape
• large parks in understanding the history of the landscape
• the establishment and legal status of large parks
• urban planning for large parks – threats and conflicts
• governance of large parks in large cities

Abstracts at the latest 15th of April

 
Those of you who intend to deliver a park presentation, or a scientific paper or merely a poster are urged to submit abstracts at the latest 15th of April, so that our review committees can get to work. See Submission of abstracts for guidance!

 
The above mentioned themes can be addressed through case studies, research and practical applications of planning and nature conservation. We strongly encourage presentations of large parks in metropolitan areas and large cities at this conference. We ask for contributions from both practitioners and researchers. There are bound to be conflicts concerning large parks in metropolitan areas and town planning perspectives differ widely regarding ecological values. We therefore encourage contributions setting out such conflicts, either in the particular case or in general.

Abstracts should be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Program

 
The program includes keynote presentations, presentations of large parks around the world, invited and contributed conference papers and posters, workshops and panel discussions. See our web page www.largeparks.se!

 
Conference organization

 
The conference is organized by World Wide Fund for Nature, Sweden (Världsnaturfonden, WWF) and Association for Ekoparken (Förbundet för Ekoparken), in cooperation with Stockholm University (Stockholms universitet), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet), Stockholm Environment Institute, Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities (Kungliga Vitterhetsakademien), Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Art (Kungliga konstakademien), Royal Swedish Academy of Science (Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien), Royal Academy for Forestry and Agriculture (Kungliga Skogs- och Lantbruksakademien), Swedish Museum of Natural History (Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet), Swedish Society for Nature Conservation in Stockholm (Naturskyddsföreningen i Stockholms län), Royal Djurgården Administration (Kungliga Djurgårdens Förvaltning), Samfundet S:t Erik, Stockholms läns hembygdsförbund and Committee for the Gustavian Park (Kommittén för Gustavianska Parken) and County Administrative Board of Stockholm (Länsstyrelsen i Stockholm).

For further information please contact: