ABSTRACT
In this, the second of two linked chapters exploring public space management policy and practice in English local authorities, detailed interviews with 20 local authorities provide a means to comment on the key challenges and opportunities facing public space managers. The chapter begins with a discussion of the national agenda to set the context. Discussion moves on in a second part of the chapter to examine the innovative practice. In turn this deals with local authority aspirations for public space, management structures and the coordination of public space management processes, stakeholder involvement in these processes, and the key challenges and solutions that the featured local authorities are engaging with. Conclusions recognise that although public space management remains a fragmented area of local government activity in England, a number of authorities are beginning to establish a bottom-up agenda that maps a way forward.
