Forum topic: Making Broomfield Park more welcoming for teenage girls

A recently published report contains recommendations aimed at making Broomfield Park more appealing and welcoming for some demographics that are underrepresented among visitors to the park, in particular teenage girls.

A report summarising the outcome of the workshops held earlier this year can be downloaded from the Friends of Broomfield Park website

The Make Space for Girls Broomfield Park project has published a report on the series of workshops with young women that were held in spring this year. Their purpose was to explore and co-design ideas of what’s needed to make Broomfield Park more appealing and welcoming for teenage girls, non-binary teens, and boys.

Parks form a vital component of public life, providing the opportunity for activity, social connection, interaction with nature, and community cohesion. However, research shows that many young people do not feel welcome, comfortable or safe in public and particularly green spaces. Further research shows that there is a marked difference based on gender, with young women and gender-diverse young people consequently using such spaces far less than their peers.

"Designing young women in" - a page from the report using artificial intelligence to illustrate how the ideas that emerged from the workshops might be implemented

Over a series of five workshopping sessions which took place in spring 2024 in the park and nearby, the ten participants aged 13-18 studied the way they moved around and used the green space and surrounding area, how they wished they could use it, and what design improvements could contribute to their feeling more welcomed in the green space.

The participants described the park as a "lovely space" but not somewhere where they felt that teenage girls could or would linger, and where their demographic was underprovided for.

The report outlines their recommendations and proposals and summarises these into workable prompts for the creation of a space for teenage girls in the park.