ABSTRACT
The growth and diversity of parks during the period of this book provide a good opportunity to look at the challenges they presented to those who managed and worked in these parks. This chapter discusses the activities and professional outlook of those employees responsible for running parks on a daily basis. The first section focuses on the administration and regulation of urban parks by an increasingly professional class of managers. The chapter reveals the strains and pressures of parks management in cities with a growing number of recreational spaces and the many skills needed to ensure the effective delivery of public leisure services. The second half examines the working conditions of park-keepers and general labourers and discloses the appeal of these jobs and their often-detrimental effects on the health of those who performed them. The stress of the physical nature of their work was unrelenting and year-round and many workers suffered serious health problems as a result.
