1. how to use the data before
2. research the history of the commons to support the report
3. reference
4. Harvard

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update

As a Chinese, when I was in China I would have found it rude to spit in the park, or to make loud noises and strike fights. When I first lived in the UK, I found it refreshing that people would lie down comfortably on the grass to enjoy the sunshine and the space: weren’t they worried about people spitting? Aren’t they worried about little bugs crawling into their clothes? But I really enjoyed it when I also tried curling up on the grass and going to enjoy the park. Even after a series of surveys, I found that the above-mentioned rude behavior happens here, but of course, it’s rude because I’m a young Chinese person and it makes people like me feel uncomfortable.

London commons：

In fact, all common land has always been private property and at one time usually belonged to the Lord of the Manor and his successors, with certain people known as commoners, given commoner rights to use it.

The five main rights (there are others) that were given to commoners are as follows: The Right Pasture, and The Right to Estovers, The Right of Turbay, Right the Soil, The Right of Piscary

Between the 16^th and 19^th centuries London’s commons, open land, and woods, and in particular those found south of the river were either sold for the purpose of building homes or enclosed for development by their wealthy owners.

Continued growth in capitalism saw societies’ long-held customs and social obligations starting to dwindle, with landowners now clearing woodlands and replacing traditional land use with intensive farming.   This resulted in excluding the poor from access to the commons, depriving them of grazing for their animals, fuel, food, and a way of supplementing their incomes.

All this of course did not happen quietly with the poor fighting back, bringing about mass open warfare against those landowners enclosing their land.

Whilst the 17^th and 18^th centuries were all about the Lords of the Manors enclosing and improving their land for agricultural purposes, thereby increasing their profits, the repealing of the Corn Laws in 1846 now allowed free trade with other countries.  This meant the Lords of the Manors no longer had control over food prices which, in turn, had a knock-on effect on the value of agricultural land.  The 19^th century saw struggles to keep open spaces for very different reasons.

By the middle of the 19^th century, London had grown in size, and this put pressure on large areas of open heathland, commons, and woodlands.  The city had become packed tight with people and poorly built houses partly caused by the enclosing of the commons which had forced the poor to leave the land and look for work in the city.

Meanwhile, as the middle classes started to grow so did the suburbs, with the building of homes for the better off leading to many of the commons, fields, and woodlands that surrounded the city to disappear, sold off for the building of these homes by the Lords of the Manors who were no longer able to make a profit from their land through agriculture, whilst some turned their hand to the business of house building themselves. The fast-expanding railways also saw many lands, along with homes that housed the poor disappearing rapidly too.

In the beginning, some of the commons, land, and woods were to be used to build houses for development. As capitalism continued to develop the land was replaced by agriculture and was inaccessible to the poor. By the 19th century, people kept space for development. By the middle of the 19th century, the middle class had grown and large areas of common land and woodland were lost for more housing. Then the Factory Reform Act was passed and people worked fewer hours to have more leisure time, making green space very important.

Our work for a greener London

London’s parks, green spaces, and natural landscapes are the places where Londoners can relax, exercise, play, and enjoy the capital’s natural heritage and culture. They also provide habitat for wildlife, help protect London from the impacts of climate change, and contribute to improving London’s air quality.

As London grows, its parks, rivers, canals, trees, gardens and green roofs will become ever more vital. Collectively they comprise a critical green infrastructure that can help to:

• improve the health of Londoners
• protect the city from climate change
• conserve wildlife
• boost the enjoyment of culture and heritage
• promote London’s economic growth.

Parks and green spaces

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London’s parks, canals, reservoirs and riversides form an important network of spaces and public places. Alongside London’s trees, these green and riverside spaces play a valuable role in improving the quality, character and economy of the capital.

With 3,000 parks of varying sizes designated by the boroughs as ‘public open space’, London is a green city. Together they cover almost 18 per cent of London which is more than the area of the city covered by railways and roads combined.

What we are doing for London’s parks and green spaces

The Mayor supported London in being declared the world’s first National Park City in July 2019 and aims to make more than 50% of the city green by 2050. We are working to make our city’s parks, green spaces and waterways great places for people and spaces where wildlife can thrive.

Improving parks and green spaces

We are funding green space projects across the capital through our Greener City Fund. Our Green Capital grants support strategic green space projects to bring multiple environmental benefits such as river restoration in parks, new habitats for wildlife and improved space for play. Our Community Green Space grants support the creation and improvement of green spaces such as community gardens, school grounds and nature areas.

Our previous projects, such as Pocket Parks and the Big Green Fund have also supported the improvement and enhancement of London’s green spaces.

The Greater London Authority is not a major landowner and the Mayor does not have any duties or powers relating to the day to day management of parks. Most parks in London are owned, managed and funded by London boroughs, and some by other public bodies and environmental charities.

The Mayor has established a Green Spaces Commission of independent experts. The Commission have been working to develop and review new ways to deliver park management to help address the ongoing funding pressures boroughs are facing.

Through policies in the new London Plan, the Mayor will protect parks and green spaces and encourage more greening of the urban environment such as pocket parks.

Valuing our parks

The Mayor wants all Londoners to have access to high quality parks and green spaces and for these places to be managed to provide the green infrastructure network that London needs. We want the wide range of benefits our parks provide to be fully understood and reflected in decisions about how to manage these areas.

Our ground breaking report, Natural Capital Accounts for Green Spaces in London shows for the first time the economic value of health benefits that Londoners get from the capital’s public parks and green spaces. The research shows that for each £1 spent by local authorities and their partners on public green space, Londoners enjoy at least £27 in value.