Tag: urban

Counting on … day 1.150

16th August 2023

The two way relationship between urban and rural is also about enhancing the presence of nature and its natural processes in urban areas. Planting trees, maintaining biodiverse rich green and blue spaces,  making gardens nature friendly, creating wildlife corridors, establishing green edges to roads and pavements, planting more trees, etc.

Further reading – https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/new-report-highlights-the-benefits-of-bringing-nature-into-our-cities-2/

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/why-we-need-green-spaces-in-cities.html

The Green Tau: issue 39

https://greentau.org/tag/gardens/

Counting on …. Day 1.149

15th August 2023

The relationship between urban and rural areas and the protection and enhancement of green landscapes and biodiversity is two way in both directions. Yes those in urban areas need to address their lifestyle and ecological impact to protect both urban and rural environments, but those in rural areas also need to be able to do the same. Yet living ecologically in rural areas can be harder than in urban areas. 

In London, people have access to what is – generally – a good public transport network. This is not a given in rural areas – and not even in some urban areas outside London. 

In London, people have access to milk deliveries, refill stores, markets, charity/ second hand shops – all without the need to drive a car. Indeed in many parts of London people do live within 15 minutes of their local shops, medical centre, post office, schools, cinema, gym, green space, railway station etc.

If we want everyone to be able to live ecologically, protecting and enhancing the environment, then it is important that everyone has access to the necessary services and infrastructure to do so whether they live in rural or urban areas.

Counting on…day 1.148

14th August 2023

People sometimes think of protecting the environment as being about protecting rural landscapes, keeping them remote and unspoilt. But in reality we cannot separate what we do in urban areas from what do in rural areas or what we do in rural areas from what we do in urban areas,  if we wish to care for the environment. Everything is interconnected. The pollution from our urban areas affects the air and soil in rural areas. Pollution from farming affects air and water ways. The carbon emissions from urban areas contributes to the global heating that affects everyone, everywhere. If we want to keep our landscapes green and rich in biodiversity, then we need to cut back on the amount of energy we use to heat our buildings, to cut back our use of  motorised transport, to make more efficient use of water and other resources, to cut back our use of plastics, and ensure that what we recycle forms a closed loop. And do so wherever we live and work.