By Tony Mulhall
The benefits of green space have been understood for some time. However, recent evidence suggests that the specific arguments in favour of green infrastructure, in the form of parkland, gardens, trees, and planting vegetation on walls, appears to be gaining momentum in the UK and internationally. A growing body of evidence suggests that increasing high quality green space can generate wide-ranging benefits to the three pillars of sustainable development: the environment, the economy and wider society.
The publication of my organisation, RICS', recent information paper, Green Infrastructure in Urban Areas, coincides with two other important documents in this area of policy, the UK National Ecosystem Assessment (UK NEA) and the government's white paper, The Natural Choice: securing the value of nature. The research identifies how green infrastructure can be both understood and delivered, and aims to estimate the value of the natural world by taking account of the economic, health and social benefits we get from nature. In order to improve the environment, economic growth and personal wellbeing, the nation must consider the value that nature can bring.
In urban areas, green infrastructure is one way of achieving these aims. It can best be understood as a network of high quality green spaces woven into the fabric of the city. It includes playing fields, rivers, railway embankments, gardens, parks, green roofs and countless small and large scale environmental features. READ MORE >>
