Andrew Smith
@andrewsmithwest
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Professor of Urban Experiences. Place & Experience Research Group. I research urban parks, leisure, events & tourism. Basically, Parks & Rec without the laughs.
London
Joined May 2016
A bit of news from me; I’ve been awarded a @LeverhulmeTrust Research Fellowship to work on a project entitled ‘Festivals and resistance: large-scale music events in London’s parks 1967-2027’. It's an 18month project that will provide a historical basis for my work on park events.
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Making a rare foray back on here to tell you about a new paper: it's an extended introduction to a special issue on International #Expos which will be published in @PlanningPersp soon. Might be interesting for @bieparis and those following @Expo2030Riyadh
https://t.co/mmHOutwHoW
tandfonline.com
Published in Planning Perspectives (Ahead of Print, 2025)
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@andrewsmithwest 👏 Wishing you well .. ↘️ Adding an excerpt from today’s @TfL email re: upcoming week-end travel .
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#Wimbledon is now the epicentre of lawn tennis in London, but in 1889 the highest concentration of public courts was in #FinsburyPark. When the Metropolitan Board of Works was dismantled that year, its 34 parks contained 36 grass tennis courts, 22 of which were in Finsbury Park.
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This is great - and really interesting that fencing off parks for events is now in the public consciousness as something that happens everywhere.
'Ten messages for a man who thinks children should stay off the roads and stick to the park'.
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The last event of our summer season! Come and celebrate with us tomorrow 12 July. 6 amazing bands, afternoon and eve! @wminhumanities @UniWestminster @FitzroviaNews @FitzWestForum
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The bronze statue of Fanny Wilkinson has been installed in a garden she laid out. https://t.co/fSA7kWsKEM
bbc.co.uk
The bronze statue of Fanny Wilkinson is installed on an Edwardian drinking fountain in Wandsworth.
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Just been talking to @jasonmohammad on @BBCRadioWales about staging music events in public spaces. An honour to be squeezed in between great songs by LaRoux and Roxette 😆
bbc.co.uk
Listen live to Radio Wales on BBC Sounds
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As we gear up for the Oasis reunion, I have been trying to figure out how much they are paying Manchester City Council to use Heaton Park. The best guess from council budgets is £375,000 - which seems very low for an event hosting 80,000 people every night for 5 nights (<£1 pp).
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Park Live(s) in '25 ... First it was Brockwell Live, then Blackweir Live, and - later this month - Blackheath Live. https://t.co/804gbsGDYr
blackheathlive.com
London’s Newest Uptown Festival, three stages of legendary live acts and DJs, “Little Town” family area, plenty of excellent street food, bars, and so much more to make this a big day out!
First it was Brockwell Live, now it's Blackweir Live. Festivals are great. Councils are desperately short of money. I get it. But parks are precious and I think its time for stronger legal protection from over-exploitation. https://t.co/1W2AJDg1jU
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Meanwhile, in other park fence news ... (thanks to my friend Ru for sending me this, presuming picture is faked/AI ? but I suppose it makes the point )
Croydon’s crisis-torn council hired Adam Wilkinson as interim head of planning, only for him to leave within weeks after it emerged his consultancy had been dissolved following a winding-up order by HM Revenue and Customs for unpaid tax. PLUS news from the Rotten Boroughs of
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First it was Brockwell Live, now it's Blackweir Live. Festivals are great. Councils are desperately short of money. I get it. But parks are precious and I think its time for stronger legal protection from over-exploitation. https://t.co/1W2AJDg1jU
walesonline.co.uk
This summer is the first year of Blackweir Live and it has proved highly controversial
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My latest article, on the choice of design for the memorial landscape for the late Queen in @TheConversation -
theconversation.com
Even the memorial to Queen Victoria, undoubtedly the most commemorated woman in British history, is relatively modest in scale compared to this new project.
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And Cardiff ... https://t.co/26TbyX0UFr
theguardian.com
Council argues Blackweir Live in Bute Park featuring Alanis Morissette will raise much-needed cash after budget shortfall
The eventification (i.e. event driven commodification) of public parks is not just an issue in London; it is affecting parks in Manchester, in Newcastle, in Bristol, in Liverpool, and in Sheffield.
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I have become slightly obsessed with fences over the past few years - not just festival fences, but park fences, and fences in general. So, I'm pleased to share a new #openaccess paper - written for @LandscapeResJ with Didem Ertem & Goran Vodicka
tandfonline.com
Fences are one of the defining features of public parks, particularly in England. In other parts of the world, fences have been removed or lowered to make parks more open and accessible. But many p...
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*retweets*
Next week: The Folklore of South London Parks 24 June 2025 at The Bell, E1 @OneEyeGrey explores folklore, myths, and the cultures around or linked to London’s open spaces. Tickets and details: https://t.co/jQ444vM3RV
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Are you a #birdwatcher? Take part in a study on #BIRDWATCHING & #BIRDCONSERVATION Help understand birdwatchers & birdwatching better, use this opportunity for self-reflection about your own experience. Link/QR https://t.co/JRei2Y9g1G Please RT @BirdTrack @IBIS_journal @_BTO
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The eventification (i.e. event driven commodification) of public parks is not just an issue in London; it is affecting parks in Manchester, in Newcastle, in Bristol, in Liverpool, and in Sheffield.
It was Parklife this weekend and it seems to have gone off without any problems. It does though place a lot of restrictions on residents (including me) so it’s good to see this fund in place. However, none of these project support those continuities around the park directly
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On social movements in the fight against unrestrained tourism growth and the long tail of its effects. https://t.co/Q2X0oE5mRc
theconversation.com
Mass tourism reshapes urban spaces, often at the expense of local communities.
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Our article in @ConversationUK reveals substantial #play inequalities across #England
@DrPaulBrindley & I looked at England’s largest settlements & mapped patterns from +18,000 #playgrounds within them Serious #socialjustice issues for #children exist!! https://t.co/ABdAQoT23z
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