Southampton is one of five locations worldwide to be named a National Park City.
The city, alongside Glasgow, Rotterdam and Breda in the Netherlands and Chattanooga in Tennessee USA, will join London and Adelaide, the only two cities to have already been given the accolade, on UN World Cities Day on Tuesday.
National Park Cities is part of a grassroots movement calling on people to make their cities greener, healthier and wilder.
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Southampton has been honoured because of a grassroots campaign working to implement a vision for a city where people from all walks of life truly feel connected with nature.
From transforming disused spaces to growing food in buckets, Southampton National Park City is working with partners across the city to bring to life the vision of people wanting to live their best lives in an urban environment.
Members of the group are working with colleagues in the neighbouring New Forest National Park to share ideas and secure resources so that the wider area and its communities can be supported.
The announcement was made by The National Park City Foundation, in conjunction with Salzburg Global Seminar and World Urban Parks.
Mark Cridge, Executive Director of the National Park City Foundation said; “Having followed the development of each city’s campaign over at least the past 18 months the National Park City Foundation is confident that each campaign has demonstrated the passion, motivation, and ability to successfully become a National Park City over the next 18 to 24 months.”
Daniel Raven-Ellison, Founder of the National Park Cities Movement said: “These inspiring teams across five cities will each make excellent additions to the National Park City family, and we're excited to learn and be inspired by their approach to collaboration and public engagement, and bring this learning to the wider National Park family.”
Inspired by the world’s National Parks, National Park Cities work together for better lives, health and wellbeing, relationships with nature, responsible consumption, improved places, habitats, air, water, sea and land, and time outdoors, culture, art, playing, walking, and cycling.
Each campaign team has demonstrated that they have an active movement with at least 200 supporting partners. The cities will now develop their own version of the Universal Charter For National Park Cities.
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