Green infrastructure benefits

Improving green infrastructure within urban areas is a way of getting more out our green spaces, making them hugely efficient and valuable assets and bringing many benefits to residents.

Better quality of life

Well-designed green infrastructure improves the quality of life of residents by:

• reducing crime (and the perception of crime) through natural surveillance in well-used public spaces
• encouraging community integration through using green spaces for social events
• attracting businesses by ensuring attractive environmental surroundings
• increasing house prices by increasing green spaces.

Areas of multiple deprivation often contain the most neglected and under-used areas of public space. The rehabilitation of a park in a deprived area can act as a catalyst to rehabilitate the entire community.

Healthier residents

Well-designed green infrastructure improves the health of our residents by:

• reducing the urban heat island effect through evaporative cooling, shading and providing corridors for cooler air to flow into urban areas as well as filtering polluted air
• providing safe, easily accessible green routes for walking and cycling
• reducing physical and mental health problems through physical activity and enjoyment of open space and nature

Natural England has demonstrated the benefits of green space for many health problems including cardio-vascular disease, obesity, depression, coronary-pulmonary disease and diabetes.

Stronger local economy

Well-designed green infrastructure improves the strength of local economies because:

• increasing green space can lead to an increase in average house prices in an area
• creating environmentally attractive surroundings encourage businesses to relocate to a place.

Protection from climate change

Well-designed green infrastructure also helps adapt to the effects of climate change by:

• managing surface water runoff to prevent flooding
• storing tidal flood water to reduce the risk of tidal flooding in estuaries
• storing river flood water to reduce the risk of fluvial flooding e.g. through the restoration of floodplains
• creating cooler microclimates and therefore reducing the need to cool buildings
• providing shelter and protection in extreme weather
• providing habitats, corridors and a more permeable landscape to help wildlife adapt to climate change.

Well-designed green infrastructure mitigates climate change by:

• reducing travel through provision of local recreation opportunities
• providing sustainable transport corridors to reduce carbon emissions from vehicles
• supplying biomass or biofuels to directly replace fossil fuels
• supplying timber to replace less sustainable construction materials
• increasing local food production to reduce food miles
• improving carbon storage and sequestration.