It is vital to have a clear plans for the use of redundant housing land says the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), and says that public space will make or break government ambitions for housing market renewal.

Green spaces can add value to areas of housing growth and renewal, says the document, Start with the Park, which claims the UK’s 27,000 parks can play a role in regeneration and development.

A £1.3 billion underinvestment in green spaces between 1980 and 2000 has led 40 per cent of the nation's parks into decline, it warns.

CABE's Chief Executive, Dr Richard Simmons said, "By 2008 the government will have spent £38bn delivering its sustainable communities plan. It's not just about demolitions in the North and building more homes in the South. It's about creating neighbourhoods that people want to live in. Great parks and green spaces can be can be the making of a place. Poor quality spaces can ruin it."

Case studies in Start with the Park demonstrate how a high quality public realm can be a powerful means of transforming the image of a depressed area. The Ashton-under-Lyne Renewal Area was set up in 1996 to tackle social and economic problems in an area where there was little demand for housing. Small locally led changes have been used to turn around problem areas. In St Peter's ward a small new ‘Doorstep Green' was created where terraced housing was demolished to make way for new, larger homes.

The new green is overlooked by old and new housing, with a series of small linked spaces that are easy to maintain and made residents feel welcome.