Nearly everyone agrees, in principle, that urban greenery is a good thing. Within four months of being elected the Labour government had set up a new Tree Planting Task Force affirming that “Trees deliver huge social, environmental and economic benefits – from absorbing carbon dioxide, cooling our cities, improving wellbeing and helping reduce NHS costs.” and that “there has never been a more crucial time to take action to increase and improve the number of trees across the UK.” In 2020 the previous Conservative government introduced a planning requirement for street trees on every new street and argued that “trees improve quality of lives and are vital to our ambition to reach net zero by 2050.”
However, urban greening still faces many challenges.
- Levels of urban greenery are declining. Between 2001 and 2018 urban greenspace in England declined from 63 per cent of the urban area to 55 per cent.
- New places are less green than old places. Recently created neighbourhoods have up to 40 per cent less greenery than late nineteenth and early twentieth century neighbourhoods.
- Many councils cut down old trees and fail to plant new ones. The most high-profile cases have been Sheffield and Plymouth but private conversations with councillors and officials reveal deep scepticism about street trees in many cases. As one very senior highways official put it to a Create Streets project team, “If it was up to me, I would cut down every street tree. I am only joking.” But was he?
- Access to greenery is not equal in our communities. New analysis conducted for the Create Streets Greening Up report, finds that the ten most prosperous places in the UK have 25 per cent tree canopy cover. The ten least prosperous have 15 per cent.
On this course you will hear the latest research and evidence on the contribution greenery makes to the urban environment: the benefits for people, for the places we live in and for the planet. You will learn what the key blockers are to unleashing an urban greening revolution in communities across our towns and cities and will be given practical advice about how to overcome some of these based on Create Streets’ extensive experience working with councils and communities, and on its landmark research report Greening Up.
There will be an in-depth session looking at case studies from across the UK and France ("the good, the brave and the ugly"). After lunch, for those attending in person, a site walkaround visiting two sites (one green, one “grey”) will be followed by a practical workshop where attendees will start working on an urban greening strategy and design of their own, putting their new-found knowledge into practice.
On the day prior to this course (24 April), there is a course on Nature in the historic built environment: how to make the most of it. If you are interested in attending both courses and would like to book accommodation at Rewley House, please contact res-ctr@conted.ox.ac.uk and mention that your'e booking on to the CWCH course.