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Australian city selected as second National Park City during World Urban Parks Congress
Adelaide’s recent selection as the second-ever National Park City had several rewarding elements for Salzburg Global Seminar, as the initiative from the National Park City Foundation continues to steadily succeed in its mission to “make our cities greener, healthier, wilder and fairer places to live.”
Salzburg Global Seminar has championed the National Park Cities Initiative since 2018. Salzburg Global as also present in 2019 when London was named as the inaugural recipient of the title after Salzburg Global Fellow Daniel Raven-Ellison’s idea for the concept came to realization following years of hard work.
The National Park City Foundation, a charity that was set up to support the effort, has the mission of establishing a family of 25 National Park Cities by 2025. Together with World Urban Parks, Salzburg Global Seminar worked with the Foundation to lead a campaign to create a universal charter for National Park Cities to help achieve this aim.
As part of the review committee for the bids put forward for consideration for the second bestowal of a National Park City title, Salzburg Global Program Director Dominic Regester and Program Development Manager Jennifer Dunn helped to assess Adelaide’s submission, interviewing more than 30 individuals either directly involved in the process or who had been selected for interview by an independent consultant.
Adelaide’s National Park City status was confirmed during the World Urban Parks Congress, where participants of Salzburg Global Seminar’s Parks for the Planet Forum were also in attendance to present outcomes of their contributions to the program.
With 95% of Adelaide residents only needing to travel around 400 meters to connect with an open, green space, the Australian city is an example of how urban environments can provide citizens with all the health and well-being benefits that well planned, green, accessible, and equitable public space can offer.
The city is now set for further investment to bolster its status and reputation as a true National Park City, with $5 million dedicated to greening its Central Business District and making it more climate-resilient and a similar budget dedicated to re-wilding the River Torrens. These were key themes that surfaced as part of Salzburg Global’s Parks for the Planet Forum in the latter half of 2021.