Tenth International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

The management of large urban parks is a subject little studied in the scientific literature in landscape architecture and urban studies. Cranz (1992) [1982] in The politics of park design analyzed influential actors and park funding, Greenhalgh and Worpole (1996) discussed good practices in urban parks, Tate and Eaton in Great City Parks (2015) [2001] put forward Managing Organization, Management Principles and Funding of the finest achievements around the world, while Jansson and Vogel (2018) focused on the concept and practice of urban space management influenced by governance arrangements for participatory co-development. The paper considers a case study to highlight the approach underlying the master plan for the conservation, design, and development of Parc Jean-Drapeau, a 268 hectares urban park in the heart of Montreal. It addresses the methodology developed to review governance, the consultation process, the production of knowledge, the activation of heritage recognition processes, the collaboration with stakeholders, the development of a network, and expertise at the national and international levels and the mechanisms for implementing and monitoring the master plan. Beyond design, the study reveals a pattern of structuring actions resulting from a deepening of the theoretical and practical challenges of urban parks, the understanding of financing and management issues in a concern for sustainability. Such an initiative could become a model for how we think, plan, and develop large urban parks in the contemporary city. Between practice, research, and theory, this work presents a new way of thinking about urban parks.