Photo courtesy of The Edible Bus Stop

The 'pocket park' concept

The Pocket Park Initiative sits within the context of the Mayor’s vision for London’s Great Outdoors and the associated programme of improvements to city’s outdoor spaces — making London a place where people want to live, work and invest.

'Pocket parks' are small areas of inviting public space for all people to enjoy, providing relief from the hustle and bustle of the city. These spaces should have trees and greenery; they should be open to all; they should have places to sit and relax and for people to come together; and they should contribute to making the city friendlier, greener and more resilient.

They might be created from existing, underused or forgotten areas; they may be squeezed into streets or developments. They will turn spaces into places.

Pocket parks funding The Mayor of London is directly supporting the creation and enhancement of 100 pocket parks through a funding programme launched in November 2012. These 100 new and improved spaces across London will be delivered by March 2015.

Twenty-seven pocket park projects across seventeen boroughs are currently underway, having received funding through the first Pocket Parks funding round.

Added value of pocket parks

The Mayor of London wants the Pocket Park Initiative to:

  • Get more people using outdoor spaces;
  • Improve London’s quality of life, its recreational offer and its public life;
  • Support volunteering and public participation and to equip people with skills that they can transfer to the workplace;
  • Help create jobs and sustain growth by increasing local pride, determination and entrepreneurialism;
  • Help promote collaboration between the public bodies and local organisations that work hard to make London’s public places better; and
  • Make use of the extraordinary design and delivery skills in London.

Pocket park projects

Projects currently being delivered through the Mayor’s Pocket Parks programme include:

Links and other sources