Greening Up: Why and How to Re-Green Towns and Cities

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', arguing 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 the 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 green spaces in England declined from 63% of the urban area to 55%.
• New places are less green than old places. Recently created neighbourhoods have up to 40% less greenery than late nineteenth and early twentieth century neighbourhoods.
• Many councils cut down old trees and fail to plant new ones. 
• 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% tree canopy cover. The ten least prosperous have 15%.

During 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 gain practical advice about how to overcome some of these. The course is particularly useful for local councillors, BID managers and members of the community looking to bring nature into their towns and places

On the day before this course (07 October), there is a course on Nature in the historic built environment: how to make the most of it. If you book onto this course you will be eligible for a 15% discount on the other. Please email cwhe@conted.ox.ac.uk for further details, and please email res-ctr@conted.ox.ac.uk to find out about accommodation.