Dr Nicola Dempsey
BA PhD
School of Architecture and Landscape
Senior Lecturer in Landscape Management and Planning
Full contact details
School of Architecture and Landscape
12.11
Arts Tower
Western Bank
Sheffield
S10 2TN
- Profile
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My research is focused around the concept of place-keeping, the long-term management of our green and open spaces. My research involves exploring innovative approaches to designing and managing open space while securing its long-term future by getting the right people, funding and policies in place. The place-keeping research group, which I lead, is developing a body of empirical evidence testing aspects of place-keeping in practice.
- Research interests
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My work examines how relevant policies, strategies and political rhetoric are implemented in practice and experienced on the ground by urban green and open spaces users. This is conceptualised as place-keeping: the long-term management of our green and open spaces, a multidimensional concept which comprises partnership, governance, policy, funding, design & maintenance, evaluation and communication. Recently, my research has been examining how ‘Friends of Parks’ Groups operate, how acceptable Miyawaki Forests are in urban areas, and exploring how enhancing biodiversity can improve the health & wellbeing of city residents.
- Publications
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Books
- Preface.
Journal articles
- Miyawaki ‘Mini-Forests’ – The New Kids On The Block? Exploring perceptions of the miyawaki forest method among UK landscape professionals. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 116, 129238-129238.
- The nature of a park – managing complexity and unpredictability for the long term. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 114, 129170-129170.
- Seeing the forest for the trees? An exploration of the Miyawaki forest method in the UK. Arboricultural Journal, 46(4), 292-304. View this article in WRRO
- Unveiling the depths: unravelling stakeholder values in the landscape of Bangkok’s urban waterways. Sustainability, 16(16). View this article in WRRO
- ‘The Elephant in the Room’ – does actual or perceived biodiversity elicit restorative responses in a virtual park?. Cities & Health. View this article in WRRO
- ‘Blossom buddies’ − how do flower colour combinations affect emotional response and influence therapeutic landscape design?. Landscape and Urban Planning, 248. View this article in WRRO
- Urban parks in crisis…again? A historical examination of the political, economic and social context of UK parks. Landscape and Ecological Engineering, 20(3), 311-322. View this article in WRRO
- Does increasing biodiversity in an urban woodland setting promote positive emotional responses in humans? A stress recovery experiment using 360-degree videos of an urban woodland. PLOS ONE, 19(2). View this article in WRRO
- The Sheffield street tree dispute: a case of “business as usual” urban management?. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 67(12), 2791-2809. View this article in WRRO
- Flowers – Sunshine for the soul! How does floral colour influence preference, feelings of relaxation and positive up-lift?. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 79. View this article in WRRO
- Planning for sociable green spaces after COVID-19. Town Planning Review, 92(2), 171-179.
- Known but not done: how logics of inaction limit the benefits of urban green spaces. Landscape Research, 46(3), 390-402. View this article in WRRO
- From river to Riverfront: how meanings and cultural heritage change. The case of the Sabarmati Riverfront project, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Town Planning Review, 91(6), 643-666.
- Acceptability of income generation practices in 21st century urban park management: The case of city district parks. Journal of Environmental Management, 264.
- Working out what works : the role of tacit knowledge where urban greenspace research, policy and practice intersect. Sustainability, 11(18), 5029-5029. View this article in WRRO
- Children’s interactions with water in city centres: a case study from Sheffield, UK. Landscape Research, 44(6), 671-687. View this article in WRRO
- Place-keeping for health? Charting the challenges for urban park management in practice. Sustainability, 11(16).
- Understanding stakeholder perceptions of acceptability and feasibility of formal and informal planting in Sheffield's district parks. Sustainability, 11(2). View this article in WRRO
- Volunteered information on nature-based solutions — dredging for data on deculverting. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 40, 254-263. View this article in WRRO
- Community Food Growing in Parks? Assessing the Acceptability and Feasibility in Sheffield, UK. Sustainability, 10(8). View this article in WRRO
- There’s always the river: social and environmental equity in rapidly urbanising landscapes in India. Landscape Research, 43(3), 275-288. View this article in WRRO
- A Review of “The Routledge handbook of planning for health and well-being: shaping a sustainable and healthy future”, Edited by Hugh Barton, Susan Thompson, Sarah Burgess and Marcus Grant. International Journal of Housing Policy, 17(1), 157-159.
- Contracting Out Parks and Roads Maintenance in England. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 29(5), 441-456. View this article in WRRO
- Evaluating the effectiveness of a cross-sector partnership for green space management: the case of Southey Owlerton, Sheffield, UK. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 15, 155-164. View this article in WRRO
Book chapters
- Sustaining the Sense Of Place: Challenges in Long-Term Management, Case Studies in Architecture and Landscape Expanding the Legacy of Peter Blundell Jones (pp. 186-196).
- Community Supported Agriculture in the Pearl River Delta, The Urban Book Series (pp. 301-314). Springer International Publishing
- Case studies of blue-green infrastructure in spatial planning, ICE Manual of Blue-Green Infrastructure (pp. 287-303). ICE PublishingLondon
- Streets ahead or the road to hell?, The Politics of Street Trees (pp. 262-274). Routledge
- Where Is Municipal Marketisation Heading? Experiences from England and Scandinavia, Palgrave Studies in Sub-National Governance (pp. 157-170). Springer International Publishing
- Managing the maintenance of urban open spacess, Urban Open Space Governance and Management (pp. 150-167). Routledge
- Defining urban open space governance and management, Urban Open Space Governance and Management (pp. 11-29). Routledge
- Why Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect, Cities and Nature (pp. 1-7). Springer International Publishing
- Measuring the Gap Between Rhetoric and Practice: Examining Urban Green Space Interventions Post-implementation, Cities and Nature (pp. 167-187). Springer International Publishing
- Realigning Knowing and Doing: An Agenda for Reflection and Action, Cities and Nature (pp. 189-196). Springer International Publishing
- Mind the Gap: Does What We Know About Greenspace and Wellbeing Change What We Do?, Cities and Nature (pp. 143-165). Springer International Publishing
- In-House, Contracted Out…or Something Else? Parks and Road Management in England, Marketization in Local Government (pp. 101-116). Springer International Publishing
- Long-Term Partnership Contracting in Practice: Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, Marketization in Local Government (pp. 225-240). Springer International Publishing
- Lessons from Case Studies: Working with Marketization, Marketization in Local Government (pp. 293-311). Springer International Publishing
- Introducing the Research Setting: Four Countries and Two Local Services, Marketization in Local Government (pp. 79-98). Springer International Publishing
- Research Design, Materials and Methods, Marketization in Local Government (pp. 61-78). Springer International Publishing
- Patterns and Variations of Marketization Compared, Marketization in Local Government (pp. 197-221). Springer International Publishing
- FUNDING FLEXIBLE SPACE, STAGING URBAN LANDSCAPES: THE ACTIVATION AND CURATION OF FLEXIBLE PUBLIC SPACES (pp. 54-57).
- Preface.
- Research group
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The Place-keeping research group focuses on how relevant policies, strategies and political rhetoric are implemented in and experienced by urban green and open spaces users. This is focused around the long-term management of our green and open spaces, exploring innovative approaches to designing and managing open space while securing its long-term future by getting the right people, funding and policies in place.
- Grants
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INNATURE: Enhancing Biodiversity and Social Inclusion by Transforming Europe’s Living Environments
2025-2029
Funder: HORIZON Europe Programme: Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services & vNew European BauhausFriends in Green Places
2025-2026
Funder: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.With Dr Yuhan Meng and the National Federation of Parks and Green Spaces, we conducted two UK surveys to explore how Friends of Parks groups engage with
communities in their green spaces.
- Teaching interests
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My aim is to help students develop an understanding of the multiple scales (e.g. site/ neighbourhood/ city/ region/ beyond), physical contexts (e.g. urban/ rural/ peri-urban) and non-physical contexts (e.g. social/ economic/ political) that are at play in the landscape. In this way, I believe students can develop the skills to engage in critical thinking and decision-making which reflect a holistic approach to understanding the landscape.
My other main teaching interest is in research methodology: how we understand, measure and evaluate the landscape and our perceptions and behaviour therein. Conducting research need not be a daunting process: I want to make research methods accessible and enjoyable. I do this by engaging students in live, real and innovative landscape planning research projects to help demystify the research process. The underlying aim here is to sustain and promote the teaching-research-practice relationship, with the hope that students will continue to engage in research-based practice in their professional lives.
- Teaching activities
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- ALA461 Advanced Landscape Management: Managing for Change
- ALA220 Landscape Planning for a Changing World
- ALA446 Landscape Research as Creative Practice
- ALA469 Final Project
- ALA403 MA Dissertation
- Professional activities and memberships
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- Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
- Chair of the Landscape Geography Working Group, Royal Geographical Society Board Member, Green Estate
- Secretary, Sheffield Green Space Forum
- Trustee, National Federation of Parks and Green Spaces