Abstract

London played a pivotal role in the invention of public parks, and it is now at the forefront of new, neoliberal, park management strategies. This paper explores if, how and why London’s parks have been privatized, and how related changes have been resisted by activists and campaigners. Instead of land sales to private sector interests – which would too unpalatable even in the neoliberal age – there has been a more subtle, ‘soft’ privatization of London’s parks and green spaces. This is an ongoing process that involves shifting responsibility from the public sector to the third sector – social enterprises, trusts and volunteer groups – and sanctioning commercial incursions that allow parks to generate their own funding. Attractions and amenities that generate income have been added, and parks have been hired out to entertainment companies for events. This part-privatization is further “softened” by associating these changes with fun and festivity, and via rhetoric that emphasises the need to modernise ‘outdated’ parks to make them more relevant to a wider set of users. Even if park privatization is best described as ‘soft’, the effects are anything but, and this paper assesses the impact of soft-privatization at two levels. The implications for democratic accountability and financial transparency are discussed but, crucially, the effects ‘on the ground’ are also assessed, most notably the diminished inclusivity and integrity of urban green spaces.