Listen to the talk of this years Guest Urban Critic Mark Cridge, director of National Park City London, advisor for DemocracyNext and former chief executive of mySociety. In these roles, Mark consistently challenges and explores the relationship between the physical environment and democratization, with National Park City London as one of the key examples.
National Park City London began as a movement in 2013; driven by a simple idea: what if we reimagined our urban lifestyles by applying the principles and mission of National Parks to our cities? This resulted in London becoming the world’s first National Park City in 2019, supported by the Mayor of London and 260 launch partners and organizations. It represents a unique long-term grassroots movement for everyone making London greener, healthier and wilder.
In his talk, Mark Cridge elaborates on why we desperately need a new story. One that envisions how to live in the future, re-establishes our connection with nature, and redefines how we think of ourselves: as consumers or as citizens? A new story is a vision on how to re-organize our society, with National Park City London as being one of the prime examples of embracing such a new story.