Designing new green space in existing urban areas

In established urban areas it is more difficult to create significant new green spaces. That makes existing green infrastructure and creative greening approaches particularly important.

Newly planted street trees in Manchester. Photo by zawtowers

Street trees, the greening of selected streets, building roofs and facades, creating linkages to nearby green spaces, and the de-culverting of water courses all provide opportunities. The impact of these interventions on a range of climatic and other variables can be measured and publicised.

During neighbourhood renewal projects the chance should be taken to increase the green provision of an area. Approaches might include the creation of a new multi-functional green space where restructuring is significant or creative greening approaches such as planting street trees and greening building facades and roofs. In Islington, an innovative approach to incorporating space for a new park in a densely developed area is being taken. A new square is being established over existing rail lines as part of a housing development at Arundel Square.

Some examples of action at the neighbourhood level can be seen in Manchester: Red Rose Forest and the Oxford Road Development Partnership is hoping to combine tree planting and innovative building greening along a heavily used road corridor in the Oxford Road i-tree project. The ‘Green Streets’ project is planting street trees in areas of socio-economic deprivation where there is currently little green cover. The project involves local communities in the planning process and ultimately in watering trees once they have been planted.

Improvements to existing green spaces were a central part of the successful regeneration of Augustenborg in Malmo, Denmark. Green spaces were used to create allotments, play areas and wildlife habitat.

Opportunities at the individual site scale to provide easily accessible and useable new green space for the local area should be explored, particularly in areas where there is a deficiency in access to green space.

Priority: integrate green infrastructure into urban areas
Tags: green infrastructure, public space, neighbourhoods