The GARDEN CITY FUTURES exhibition opens on Saturday 9 March in Castle Dene Shopping Centre, Peterlee. It features the work of students at East Durham College, who have been considering the future of green spaces in the urban environment and the unique landscape of Peterlee.
Their exhibition asks us to consider what are green spaces for and who uses or has access to them? What is an urban designer or spatial planner? How can we increase biodiversity and create sustainable green spaces for the future?
Facilitated by artist Sara Cooper alongside architects and design-practitioners from the School of Architecture at Newcastle University, the students have researched existing projects, shared case-studies, tested and developed ideas and designs, all with a view to actively encouraging community participation in the care of our shared green spaces.
The group also researched the origins of garden cities and connected these principles to the more recent history of Peterlee. They recorded existing green spaces and identified areas with potential for improvement within the town centre.
Included in their studies was a visit to the Fenham Pocket Park led by Armelle Tardiveau, a senior lecturer at Newcastle University’s School of Architecture and a co-founder of ec-architects, a socially engaged design practice. Armelle also introduced the group to accessible public commons (historically, shared public spaces) during a walk across the Town Moor in Newcastle.