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Series Editor’s Preface
The RGS-IBG Book Series only publishes work of the highest international standing. Its emphasis is on distinctive new developments in human and physical geography, although it is also open to contributions from cognate disciplines whose interests overlap with those of geographers. The Series places strong emphasis on theoretically informed and empirically strong texts. Reflecting the vibrant and diverse theoretical and empirical agendas that characterize the contemporary discipline, contributions are expected to inform, challenge and stimulate the reader. Overall, the RGS-IBG Book Series seeks to promote scholarly publications that leave an intellectual mark and change the way readers think about particular issues, methods or theories.
For details on how to submit a proposal please visit: www.rgsbookseries.com
Ruth Craggs, King’s College London, UK Chih Yuan Woon, National University of Singapore RGS-IBG Book Series Editors
David Featherstone,
University of Glasgow, UK RGS–IBG Book Series Editor (2015–2019)
Acknowledgments
Whilst carrying out the four projects on which this book draws, I have benefitted from many supportive academic friends over the years. This started during my PhD research, which shapes Chapter 5. At that time, I shared an office with, and learnt a lot from, peers including Caroline Bressey, Jason Chilvers, Robert Doubleday, Tara Duncan, Andrew Harris, Elaine Ho, Jason Lim and Bronwyn Purvis. Gail Davies and James Kneale were consistently wise and encouraging supervisors too. Since then, a further series of colleagues, in particular Chris Bear, Rosie Day and Alan Latham, have taken turns in helping me to figure out the nature and scope of my academic work. Alan was also my collaborator on the project that shapes Chapter 4. Those who did their PhDs with me were pretty good at exploring the big picture too. Elizabeth Shove and Gordon Walker have been sources of inspiration from the north. Further afield, colleagues in Australia have always provided refreshingly honest exchanges about how we work whenever I came to visit (whilst also being very welcoming and a lot of fun). Two further Australians, Alison Browne and Tullia Jack (along with a rogue Yorkshireman), were part of cooking up the project that is discussed in Chapter 6. Alongside all these academic friends, many others (and more excellent research trips) have helped me to refine the ideas that I present in this book. Cecily Maller gave thoughtful comments on an earlier draft and so did Paul Harrison. The editors and reviewers for the RGS book series were a pleasure to work with too – striking a very welcome balance between encouragement and critical engagement. My thanks to all.
This book would have been impossible without the financial support that allowed me to undertake the four studies that provide it with a backbone of empirical evidence. The studies that are considered in Chapters 3 and 5 were funded by the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council (RES-000-22-21-29; PTA-026-27-0465), the project discussed in Chapter 4 was supported by UCL’s ‘Bridging the Gaps’ fund, and the field research on which I draw in Chapter 5 was supported by both UCL and the ESRC (RES-597-25-003). It is also definitely true to say that this book could not have been written without the help of all the different people who took part in these studies (for whom I should say upfront that pseudonyms have been used throughout). I enjoyed meeting them all and was frequently delighted by their willingness to talk with me about the detail of their everyday lives.
Alongside them, my family and friends have supported me in all sorts of ways.
So thanks to you too!
Chapter One A Wager and a Strategy
A Wager
If we want to understand the likelihood of future societies having regular beneficial contact with living greenspace, we should examine how outdoor experiences are handled by people in their everyday lives today. This is the first wager of this book. My suggestion is that, if we ignore how widespread social practices can serve to discourage people from a fuller engagement with the outdoors, a certain kind of environmental estrangement could become increasingly entrenched.
The Argument
This first chapter tells the story of how I came to make the above wager. It begins with some reasons for encouraging greenspace experience in everyday life. Then it considers why, despite the various benefits
