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"This edited volume defines and compares central aspects of governance and management related to urban open spaces such as long-term management, combined governance and management, and strategic management of urban open spaces. Perspectives such as ethical considerations, user participation and changes in local governmental structures frame the governance and management of urban open spaces. Jansson and Randrup create a comprehensive resource detailing global trends from framing and understanding to finally practising urban open space governance and management. They conclude by promoting positive changes such as pro-active management and strategic maintenance plans to encourage the creation of more sustainable cities. Illustrated in full colour throughout, this book is an essential read for students and academics of landscape architecture, planning, urban design, and those with a particular interest in governance and management of urban open spaces"--

Purpose to perceived resource cuts in the Swedish park and road sectors.– The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent contracting out practices has led Design/methodology/approach the municipalities. Response rate: 39.7 percent.– E-survey sent to managers in park and technical departments in Findings 20 percent of park departments. 49 percent of the road departments responded– Decreased costs were found in 25 percent of the responding road departments, in"no change" or "increase" (48 percent parks). Findings indicate that tendering practices tend to be most commonly centered in Swedish municipalities situated in the three metropolitan regions (Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö with suburbs), while such practices are not as common in mid-sized and rural municipalities. In addition, contracting out practices correspond with higher per capita budgets, not with smaller. Research limitations/implications occur expensive, or, contracting out is combined with other provision models. The limitation of the data are that it based on managers– The research implications are that contracting out tend to"where the resources are," while poorer municipalities either have to contract even if it is more' perceptions, while hard data have been impossible to map. Practical implications to be conditioned with context, and initial resources at hand. Contracting out is one option among several possible strategies, especially for mid-sized and smaller municipalities with small budgets.– The uniform assumption that contracting out saves public resources need Social implications market situations and local the budget capacities.– The rationalities of local government procurements are bounded by the local Originality/value road contexts.– This is the first study of manager's perceptions in the Swedish park and road contexts.

Suites of concepts and approaches have been launched during recent years to promote urban nature and greener cities. However, it is doubtable whether tinkering within the current economic and political system can provide adequate solutions. Nature-based Solutions can be seen as a new conceptual approach to the human-ecological connection, and as an outcome of an evolutionary development of socio-ecological concepts. In this Communication, we argue for drawing up inspiration by nature as an outset for the development of more sustainable and inclusive cities, balancing anthropocentric and ecocentric values and acknowledging the importance of the social and governance dimensions in a more balanced socio-ecological perspective. We call this approach Nature-based Thinking.

This study establishes a baseline for green space management in Norwegian municipalities. The aim of a comprehensive survey sent to all Norwegian municipalities in 2017, was to describe green space management and compare municipal differences in terms of place-keeping. Place-keeping, the responsive long-term managementofpublicspaces,isusedasananalyticalframeworktocharacterisethefactorsthatinfluenceNorwegian municipal green space management. The survey assessed place-keeping in terms of policies and strategies, funding, evaluations, management and maintenance as well as partnerships. Although Norwegian green space managers expect budgets to remain stable, they foresee an increase in tasks, more green spaces to manage and more visitors. To maintain the quality of green spaces, managers face difficulties such as incalculable financial challenges and a lack of techniques for evaluating and measuring the quality of green space. Norwegian green space management seems to be largely operational in nature, with limited focus on a tactical level. This is reinforced by a lack of municipal strategies for managing green spaces, potentially based on tactical and operational expertise. Only one in three managers reported having a strategy to maintain green spaces, despite the fact that in the survey, the quality of green spaces was rated more highly when a strategy was in place. Strategic management is suggested as a possible way to ensure quality green space. Individual managers appear to play a key role in the initiation of green space strategies, in reaching out to the political–administrative interface for acquiring sufficient funding, and to facilitate long-term place-keeping partnerships. ; publishedVersion

Despite the acknowledged importance of outdoor environment quality in supporting children's health and well-being, little is known about how contemporary urban open space management caters for children. In this study, Swedish (n = 54) and Danish (n = 25) local governments were surveyed regarding how they manage urban open space for children, e.g., through a child-centered perspective which might include children's perspectives (participation and governance approaches). The results revealed organizational differences and more active consideration of children as urban open space users in Sweden than in Denmark. A general ambition to increase children's participation was reported, but also associated challenges, including budget limitations and lack of knowledge among managers. More ambitious and child-centered urban open space management units work collaboratively and broadly, through governance processes. This includes going beyond conventional structures and perceptions of what are "places for children" and consider all levels of strategic management (policy, tactical, and operational) in developing child-friendly environments within urban open spaces. The large differences between various management units indicates the importance of individual employees' knowledge and dedication, and the value of exchanging knowledge and experiences.

This paper reports on how Nordic practise relates to, and perceives contemporary challenges to urban open space management. The study used a case study approach, via interviews. The studied Nordic cities experience the effects of densification in inner city areas. This is often resulting in higher pressure on existing urban open spaces, but also generating new spaces which tend to be small and fragmented, not meeting the many wishes and demands asked for by the diverse user groups. While budgets are sufficiently allocated in new development projects, it is a challenge to withstand the maintenance budgets, forcing managers to prioritise. Due to primary political interest in inner city areas, there is a risk of managers not prioritising the more peripheral areas, from where resources are often transferred to the newly developed areas. This creates a new type of urban nature, primarily in the urban peripheral areas, with increased amounts of biodiversity and higher amounts of multi-functionality, compared to the smaller and more intensively programmed inner-city areas. Urban open space managers are relying on the existing municipal planning tools, and to varying degrees act strategically in terms of developing own sector oriented plans and strategies.

This paper argues that adopting a stakeholder approach to the study of contracting outcomes produces more rich and rounded representations of the realities of the contracting out of public services. We revisit the research on contracting outcomes, highlighting the public manager perspective as key for gaining deeper, more detailed insights. The public manager perspective is explored in an inductive analysis of answers to open-ended survey questions collected from public managers with contracting experience within the context of municipal park management in Scandinavia. The emerging managerial perspective is summarized in a best-case, worst-case and complex-case scenario highlighting the mix, complexities and trade-offs in a composite set of contracting outcomes. The nature of contracting outcomes as complex and composite rather than unidimensional and clear-cut is one key finding. Furthermore, the importance of some specific outcomes (e.g. learning) complements existing research themes. Our findings sustain the initial argument, demonstrating how the stakeholder approach can produce new insights. A key implication is that future research can benefit from assessing contracting outcomes by providing voice to multiple stakeholders.

This paper argues that adopting a stakeholder approach to the study of contracting outcomes produces more rich and rounded representations of the realities of the contracting out of public services. We revisit the research on contracting outcomes, highlighting the public manager perspective as key for gaining deeper, more detailed insights. The public manager perspective is explored in an inductive analysis of answers to open-ended survey questions collected from public managers with contracting experience within the context of municipal park management in Scandinavia. The emerging managerial perspective is summarized in a best-case, worst-case and complex-case scenario highlighting the mix, complexities and trade-offs in a composite set of contracting outcomes. The nature of contracting outcomes as complex and composite rather than unidimensional and clear-cut is one key finding. Furthermore, the importance of some specific outcomes (e.g. learning) complements existing research themes. Our findings sustain the initial argument, demonstrating how the stakeholder approach can produce new insights. A key implication is that future research can benefit from assessing contracting outcomes by providing voice to multiple stakeholders.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent contracting out practices has led to perceived resource cuts in the Swedish park and road sectors.Design/methodology/approach– E-survey sent to managers in park and technical departments in the municipalities. Response rate: 39.7 percent.Findings– Decreased costs were found in 25 percent of the responding road departments, in 20 percent of park departments. 49 percent of the road departments responded "no change" or "increase" (48 percent parks). Findings indicate that tendering practices tend to be most commonly centered in Swedish municipalities situated in the three metropolitan regions (Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö with suburbs), while such practices are not as common in mid-sized and rural municipalities. In addition, contracting out practices correspond with higher per capita budgets, not with smaller.Research limitations/implications– The research implications are that contracting out tend to occur "where the resources are," while poorer municipalities either have to contract even if it is more expensive, or, contracting out is combined with other provision models. The limitation of the data are that it based on managers' perceptions, while hard data have been impossible to map.Practical implications– The uniform assumption that contracting out saves public resources need to be conditioned with context, and initial resources at hand. Contracting out is one option among several possible strategies, especially for mid-sized and smaller municipalities with small budgets.Social implications– The rationalities of local government procurements are bounded by the local market situations and local the budget capacities.Originality/value– This is the first study of manager's perceptions in the Swedish park and road contexts.

SAMMANFATTNING Projektet är inriktat på entreprenadupphandling av utemiljöskötsel. Vi gör en jämförelse mellan Sverige och Danmark och i görligaste mån mellan upphandlingar som genomförts enligt EU:s inköpsdirektiv (offentlig verksamhet) och upphandlingar som inte omfattas av direktivet (privat verksamhet). Som utgångspunkt har vi formulerat tre trender att följa upp: 1. Allt fler förvaltare, både offentliga och privata, övergår till upphandling av förvaltningen av sina utemiljöer på entreprenad istället för att genomföras i egen regi men det är oklart om denna trend nått en mättnad eller om det fortfarande är en ökande (eller minskande) andel upphandlad förvaltning. 2. Upphandling av utemiljöskötsel från offentliga förvaltare styrs av EU:s upphandlingsregler genom de nationella lagarna Lagen om offentlig upphandling (LOU) i Sverige och Tilbudsloven i Danmark. Tillämpningarna blir allt mer stelbenta efterhand som ansvaret för upphandlingar förs över till centrala upphandlingsenheter eller styrs till sitt upplägg av lokala/kommunala/andra upphandlingsreglementen. Kraven på genomsiktlighet, jämförbarhet och enkelhet ökar varför de kvalitativa aspekterna och kraven blir allt svårare att formulera och ha som utgångspunkt för att få rätt val av utförare och att upphandlingsunderlagen kan användas för att styra mot den efterfrågade kvaliteten i det utförda resultatet. 3. Funktionsupphandlingar tenderar att bli allt vanligare jämfört med moment- och arbetsspecificerade upphandlingar. Projektet har genomförts i tre steg. Det första var en webbenkät till parkförvaltare och fastighetsförvaltare i Sverige (45 park+15 bostad=60 svar) och Danmark (57 park+8 bostad=65 svar). Det andra var en telefonintervju till dem som i webbenkäten meddelat att de var beredda att vara med vid en intervju, 23 i Sverige och 6 i Danmark. Det tredje var en genomgång av svenska förfrågningsunderlag insamlade från en del av dem som medverkade vid telefonintervju och som jämfördes med en genomgång av förfrågningsunderlag från början av 1990-talet (Persson, 1996). De svenska och danska ramverken kring entreprenadupphandling är både likartade och skiljer sig åt. Störst är skillnaden att i Danmark har regeringen gripit in och skrivit avtal med kommunernas organisation om vilken omfattning entreprenadupphandling av kommunal verksamhet ska ha. Det finns även skillnader i hur anställningstryggheten hanteras när man går över till entreprenadverksamhet och att det i Danmark finns en särskild lag om kontrollbud som avges av den kommunala verksamheten vid entreprenadförfrågningar. Av webbenkäten framgår att: – I både Sverige och Danmark är trenden att de kommuner som nu lägger ut en del av sina skötseluppgifter på entreprenad förväntar sig en ännu större entreprenadupphandling framöver. – De svenska kommuner som lägger ut på entreprenad lägger ut en större andel av uppgifterna på entreprenad jämfört med de danska kommunerna. – Färre kommuner lägger ut på entreprenad i Sverige än i Danmark. 6 – Det är bara några få bostadsföretag som lägger ut skötseluppgifter på entreprenad i Danmark, medan andelen bostadsföretag som lägger ut skötseluppgifter på entreprenad är större i Sverige. Av telefonintervjuerna framgår att flödet för genomförande av upphandlingar och entreprenader är relativt snarlikt mellan Danmark och Sverige. Noteras kan att inköpsavdelningar eller liknande är inblandade i princip i alla undersökta kommuners upphandlingsprocesser. En skillnad är att bland våra danska respondenter använder samtliga sig av konsulter som stöd i olika led av processen medan det är mera ovanligt i Sverige. Bland våra danska case är alltid den politiska nivån medverkande i processen, vilket inte är fallet i Sverige. Där är en skillnad mellan upplägget av intervjuerna så frågan om politisk involvering är inte explicit ställd i de svenska. Vidare framgår att synen på funktions- respektive moment- och frekvensbaserade styrdokument är likartad i båda länderna. Helhetstänkande och holistiska styrdokument är mycket ovanliga men huvuddelen av respondenterna menar att det är den bästa formen för daglig uppföljning av entreprenaderna, men samtidigt är styrdokumenten i princip aldrig (med ett svenskt undantag) i sin helhet baserade på funktion och utseende utan föreskriver moment och/eller frekvenser. Både i Danmark och Sverige är respondenterna överens om att det är relationen mellan beställaren och entreprenören som är mest utslagsgivande för vilken kvalitet som levereras genom skötselarbetet. En stor skillnad mellan länderna är att entreprenadupphandling av skötsel är ovanligt inom den danska bostadssektorn. Vi har fått flera exempel på att upphandlingar mött starkt motstånd från boende och boendeorganisationer i Danmark och inte kunnat genomföras. I Sverige är inte detta en kontroversiell fråga utan bostadsföretag av olika slag har utemiljöskötsel på entreprenad i stor omfattning. Av dem som svarat på vår webbenkät är det 14 av 15 bostadsrepresentanter som har entreprenadupphandling. Av de granskade svenska förfrågningsunderlagen (16 stycken) som jämförts med förfrågningsunderlag från början av 1990-talet framgår att det skett en stor förändring i vad som sägs om kontroll och uppföljning. På 1990-talet var den vanligaste formen att beställaren utövade den kontroll hen ansåg lämplig medan det var mycket ovanligt att kontrollen baserades på entreprenörens egenkontroll. Här har skett en svängning fram till idag där förhållandena nu är de omvända. Förutom dessa två renodlade former för kontroll finns en rad olika modeller där beställaren och entreprenören gemensamt utövar kontroll och uppföljning. För de tre trenderna kan konstateras: 1. Övergång från egen regi till entreprenad: Vi har av undersökningstekniska skäl inte fått fram några uppgifter från de beställare som idag inte använder entreprenader, i vilken utsträckning de planerar att göra det. Däremot visar vår studie att för de beställare som idag har entreprenader så räknar i princip alla med att andelen entreprenadupphandlad skötsel kommer att öka de kommande fem åren. 2. EU:s upphandlingsreglers påverkan på kvalitetsstyrningen och skötselutförandet: Det är stor skillnad på de svenska förfrågningsunderlagen från 1990-talet fram till dagens. Det är mer fokus på formalia och på underlag för tilldelningskriterier. Av våra intervjuer framgår att man har starkt fokus på jämförbarhet och kvantifierbarhet och inköpsavdelningar är involverade i alla kommunala upphandlingsprocesser. Respondenterna säger att man idag har svårare att hävda mjuka kriterier då upphandlingsansvariga menar att det ökar risken för över 7 klaganden av tilldelningsbeslut. I vilken utsträckning detta har påverkat den erhållna kvaliteten i det genomförda skötselentreprenadarbetet har vi inte haft möjlighet att följa upp i föreliggande projekt. 3. Ökad användning av funktionsupphandlingar kontra moment- och frekvensupphandlingar: Nej, utvecklingen verkar inte gå åt det hållet utan tvärt om, moment- och frekvensbaserade styrdokument blir allt mer dominerande. En rad behov för fortsatt forskning och utveckling har identifierats där ett exempel är vilken inverkan styrdokumentens uppbyggnad (t.ex. om de baseras på funktion och utseende eller på moment och frekvenser) har för genomförandet av entreprenaderna och det erhållna resultatet. Ett annat exempel är analyser av de överklaganden och rättsärenden som finns från utemiljöskötselentreprenader i Sverige och Danmark för att klargöra hur vanligt förekommande de är, vad överklagande avser och hur utslagen tenderar att bli i dessa ärenden.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the extent of, rationales for and outcomes of contracting out in the local road and park sectors in Norway. For understanding the use of contracting out in local governments, it highlights the relevance of the capability perspective in organisational literature as an alternative to the standard efficiency perspective.Design/methodology/approach– The paper draws on four expert interviews and survey data gathered from park and road managers in Norwegian municipalities in 2015.Findings– The study suggests that Norwegian municipalities primarily contract out park and road maintenance services when they do not have the capability to perform these services themselves. Cost concerns are also highlighted but of less importance. Moreover, lack of competition renders the use of contracting out as a potentially costly and less satisfying arrangement for organising service delivery.Research limitations/implications– While the scope is limited to one country, Norway, future research may benefit from the theoretical perspectives, which have been used.Practical implications– Policy guidelines should support a flexible use of various arrangements for service provision.Originality/value– The dominating view among proponents of marketisation in the public sector suggests that contracting out to private contractors is undertaken to enhance economic efficiency compared to keeping service production in-house. This study suggests that this is not always the case – even in "most likely" sectors such as park and road maintenance.

Societal Impact Statement Globally, cities are planning for resilience through urban greening initiatives as governments understand the importance of urban forests in improving quality of life and mitigating climate change. However, the persistence of urban forests and the ecosystem benefits they provide are threatened by climate change, and systematic assessments of causes of tree dieback and mortality in urban environments are rare. Long-term monitoring studies and adaptive management are needed to identify and prevent climate change-driven failures and mortality. Research and monitoring when coupled with systematic forecasting will enable governments to incorporate climate change resilience into urban forestry planning. Future scenarios in which urban forests are resilient or in decline will depend on the management and planning actions we make today. A nivel mundial, las ciudades estan expandiendo las areas verdes a medida que los gobiernos comprenden la importancia de los bosques urbanos para mitigar el cambio climatico y mejorar la calidad de vida de los ciudadanos. Sin embargo, la supervivencia de los bosques urbanos y los servicios ecosistemicos que brindan se ven amenazados por el cambio climatico y actualmente, son muy raros los estudios sistematicos sobre las causas de la muerte de los arboles urbanos. Se necesitan estudios de monitoreo a largo plazo y de gestion adaptativa para identificar y prevenir la mortalidad en bosques urbanos provocada por el cambio climatico. Dicha investigacion y monitoreo, combinados con predicciones de clima, permitiran a los gobiernos mitigar los efectos adversos del cambio climatico a traves de la planificacion forestal urbana. Los escenarios futuros en los que los bosques urbanos sean resilientes o esten en declive dependeran de las acciones de gestion y planificacion que realicemos hoy. The management of urban forests is a key element of resilience planning in cities across the globe. Urban forests provide ecosystem services as well as other nature-based solutions to 4.2 billion people living in cities. However, to continue to do so effectively, urban forests need to be able to thrive in an increasingly changing climate. Trees in cities are vulnerable to extreme heat and drought events, which are predicted to increase in frequency and severity under climate change. Knowledge of species' vulnerability to climate change, therefore, is crucial to ensure provision of desired ecosystem benefits, improve species selection, maintain tree growth and reduce tree mortality, dieback and stress in urban forests. Yet, systematic assessments of causes of tree dieback and mortality in urban environments are rare. We reviewed the state of knowledge of tree mortality in urban forests globally, finding very few frameworks that enable detection of climate change impacts on urban forests and no long-term studies assessing climate change as a direct driver of urban tree dieback and mortality. The effects of climate change on urban forests remain poorly understood and quantified, constraining the ability of governments to incorporate climate change resilience into urban forestry planning.

The management of urban forests is a key element of resilience planning in cities across the globe. Urban forests provide ecosystem services as well as other nature-based solutions to 4.2 billion people living in cities. However, to continue to do so effectively, urban forests need to be able to thrive in an increasingly changing climate. Trees in cities are vulnerable to extreme heat and drought events, which are predicted to increase in frequency and severity under climate change. Knowledge of species' vulnerability to climate change, therefore, is crucial to ensure provision of desired ecosystem benefits, improve species selection, maintain tree growth and reduce tree mortality, dieback and stress in urban forests. Yet, systematic assessments of causes of tree dieback and mortality in urban environments are rare. We reviewed the state of knowledge of tree mortality in urban forests globally, finding very few frameworks that enable detection of climate change impacts on urban forests and no long-term studies assessing climate change as a direct driver of urban tree dieback and mortality. The effects of climate change on urban forests remain poorly understood and quantified, constraining the ability of governments to incorporate climate change resilience into urban forestry planning.