University News Last updated 02 August 2023
Changing the way people think about the landscape, the project is a bold and realistic vision of what the region could become when the significance of the culture, history and geography is realised and celebrated.
The brainchild of Professor of Landscape Architecture Kathryn Moore, the West Midlands National Park Lab has been recognised as one of the best and most innovative practices in landscape architecture for build projects created worldwide from 2017-2022.
As a result, the urban space project will be exhibited at the 12th Barcelona International Landscape Biennial Symposium from 24-28 November, and will be published in the Biennial catalogue and included in the online archive.
Real transformation
This new kind of national park, encompassing the entire West Midlands, is reimagining the region by using its landscape, identity, and culture as a way to create a more sustainable, healthy region to support better jobs and educational opportunities for all.
The project aims to transform the region by helping to drive social and environmental change, and was given the green light by a government review in 2019.
It is anticipated that the creation of the national park will provide a boost for the regional economy and underpin the aims of the West Midlands’ Industrial Strategy, as well as expand the green economy, which will leave a lasting legacy.
As one of 11 finalists, Professor Kathryn Moore will give a guest lecture about the project at the Symposium. The winner of the Prize will receive €15,000 (£12,800).
Kathryn Moore says: "This economic, social and environmental proposal has touched a nerve, not only with younger generations, and is making sure that in the long term, communities benefit from a better quality of life and quality of the environment.
"This is a great honour. It is brilliant to receive such prestigious, international acclaim for a new way of looking at landscape, following closely on the approval of UN Habitat to host an Urban Thinkers Campus in the region in the summer of 2024."
Pictured: Professor of Landscape Architecture Kathryn Moore