Editing Milton Keynes (section)

===Linear parks===
[[File:NCR 51 MiltonKeynes east.JPG|thumb|A section of linear park, showing cyclists crossing a [[cattle grid]] on [[National Cycle Route 51]] ]]
The [[Floodplain|flood plains]] of the [[River Great Ouse|Great Ouse]] and of its tributaries (the [[River Ouzel|Ouzel]] and some brooks) have been protected as [[linear park]]s that run right through Milton Keynes; these were identified as important landscape and flood-management assets from the outset.{{sfnb|Llewellyn-Davies|Weeks|Forestier-Walker|Bor|1970|p=27}} At {{convert|1650|ha|abbr=on|order=flip}}{{snd}} ten times larger than London's [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]] and a third larger than [[Richmond Park]]{{sfnb|Bendixson|Platt|1992|p=174}}{{snd}} the landscape architects realised that the [[Royal Parks of London|Royal Park]]s model would not be appropriate or affordable and drew on their [[National parks of England and Wales|National Park]] experience.{{sfnb|Bendixson|Platt|1992|p=174}} As Bendixson and Platt (1992) write: "They divided the Ouzel Valley into 'strings, beads and settings'. The 'strings' are well-maintained routes, be they for walking, bicycling or riding; the 'beads' are sports centres, lakeside cafes and other activity areas; the 'settings' are self-managed land-uses such as woods, riding paddocks, a golf course and a farm".{{sfnb|Bendixson|Platt|1992|p=174}}

The [[Grand Union Canal]] is another green route (and demonstrates the level geography of the area{{snd}} there is just one minor lock in its entire {{convert|10|mi|adj=on}} meandering route through from the southern boundary near [[Fenny Stratford]] to the [[Cosgrove aqueduct|"Iron Trunk" aqueduct]] over the Ouse at [[Wolverton]] at its northern boundary). The initial [[park system]] was planned by Peter Youngman (Chief [[landscape architect|Landscape Architect]]),<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/jun/17/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries1 |title=Peter Youngman, Architect of the modern British landscape |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=17 June 2005 |access-date=23 January 2017 |archive-date=2 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202111054/https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/jun/17/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries1 |url-status=live }}</ref>  who also developed landscape precepts for all development areas: groups of grid squares were to be planted with different selections of trees and shrubs to give them distinct identities. The detailed planning and landscape design of parks and of the grid roads was evolved under the leadership of Neil Higson,{{sfnb|Bendixson|Platt|1992|pp=171{{ndash}}174}} who from 1977 took over from Youngman.<ref name="Pevsner 1994">{{cite book |last1=Pevsner|first1= Nikolaus |author-link1=Nikolaus Pevsner  |last2=Williamson |first2= Elizabeth |title=The Buildings of England: Buckinghamshire |series=Pevsner Architectural Guides |publisher=Yale University Press |date=11 March 1994 | page= 487}}</ref> 

In a national comparison of urban areas by open space available to residents, Milton Keynes ranked highest in the UK.<ref name = citizen270420>{{cite news | url = https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/lifestyle/outdoors/milton-keynes-ranks-top-green-space-2551060 | title = Milton Keynes ranks top for green space | author = Clare Turner | work = Milton Keynes Citizen | date = 27 April 2020 | access-date = 29 April 2020 | quote = Research by the [[think tank]] [the] [[Centre for Cities]] shows the varying amounts of space{{snd}} inside and out{{snd}} available to residents in 62 urban areas across Britain. | archive-date = 1 May 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200501110753/https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/lifestyle/outdoors/milton-keynes-ranks-top-green-space-2551060 | url-status = live }}</ref> Milton Keynes is unusual in that most of the parks are owned and managed by a charity, the [[Milton Keynes Parks Trust]] rather than the local authority, to ensure that the management of the city's green spaces is largely independent of the council's expenditure priorities.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theparkstrust.com/our-work/about-us/about-the-parks-trust/|title=About the Parks Trust|work=The Parks Trust}}</ref>