Season 3 of PodParks has been a year-long exploration of how parks shape cities, communities, and everyday life.

Across this season, we’ve spoken with leaders, practitioners, and emerging voices working in very different contexts, but grappling with shared questions about equity, access, health, and the role of urban nature. From the challenges of building a global organisation, to the practical tools helping cities do better, these conversations have traced how ideas move from vision into action.

In this season finale, host Maria Burnett brings those threads together in a short, reflective audio essay. Drawing on voices from across Season 3, including Jayne Miller, Tim Geyer, Mark Bowater, Michael Boland, Cecil Konijnendijk, Humera Sultan, Cecilia Vaca Jones, and Hannah Chapman-Carr, the episode revisits the moments and ideas that have shaped the year.

Rather than revisiting each conversation in depth, this episode moves quickly through the themes that kept resurfacing: why equity now sits at the centre of urban parks work, how simple frameworks can reveal deep inequalities, and why recognising good ideas matters if we want them to travel.

As the season closes, the focus shifts forward, toward what the next decade of World Urban Parks might require, and the people who will help shape it.

Highlights

• Reflections on the key ideas that shaped Season 3
• Why equity and access have become central to urban parks work
• How simple tools like the 3-30-300 rule and justice mapping are changing practice
• Why children’s freedom to explore matters for healthier cities
• What the next decade of World Urban Parks could look like

Feedback

🎧 Give feedback on this episode here.

Or if you’d like to share your perspectives or stories about this episode, or contact us for any reason, you can email Maria Burnett (host) and the team at research@worldurbanparks.org. 

About PodParks

PodParks is the official podcast of World Urban Parks. Hosted by Maria Burnett, each episode shares real stories and bold ideas from the people making parks, public space, and urban nature more inclusive, innovative, and essential.

🎙️ Meet the PodParks Team

Maria Burnett | Luis Romahn | Vitoria Martín Delgado | Vladimir Yañez Huehpa|  Cynthia Hernández Martínez

🌐 worldurbanparks.org

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