RIAS CPD: Why would I go to the park? There’s nothing there for me

Thursday 7 March 2024, 12.30 - 13.30 (online)

The online recording of this event can be made available on request.

Event description:

When councils or developers provide facilities ‘for teenagers’ these all too often end up being dominated by teenage boys.  Recent research showed that 90% of these facilities are used 90% by boys and young men.  The lack of spaces for girls impacts on their physical and mental health, and on their rights to play and be in public space.  It’s a problem which has been hiding in plain sight for too long.

But the answers to this issue exist.  Research and good practice in Europe, and increasingly in the UK too, is demonstrating how better provision and design can create parks and other public spaces which work for teenage girls – and which often end up being more inclusive for other groups too.  Even simple changes to the way we think about parks and public spaces can have a big impact.

In this seminar, Susannah Walker, co-founder of the charity Make Space for Girls, will explain not just the problem but the practical steps which can be taken to make our public spaces more inclusive for teenage girls.

Images: Isobel Fox/Harry Groom for Make Space for Girls

Susannah Walker, co-Founder, Make Space for Girls

About the speaker:

Susannah Walker, co-Founder, Make Space for Girls

Susannah Walker is a co-founder of the charity Make Space for Girls, which advocates for better parks and public spaces for teenage girls.  Her previous career includes working in museums, as a tv producer for the BBC and Channel 4 and writing several books.  She became a campaigner when she realised that not only had her local council only provided outdoor facilities for teenage boys, they didn’t propose to do anything about it either.

Please note: this CPD is free and exclusive to current RIAS members only. To join or find out more, please see here