Comment Why Birmingham needs a green heart
BIRMINGHAM is a city built on its civic voice and pride. The Victorians left us what is now seen as one of Europe’s greenest cities.
With 571 parks, it is internationally recognised in the same league as Singapore and San Francisco as the UK’s only ‘biophilic’ city.
Another opportunity also beckons with the Commonwealth Games 2022, which promises a green legacy for the city and the region.
But we want to know where the green champions are.
The success of the city seems to be measured in cranes and concrete in the face of global evidence pointing to the fact that the most successful cities also the greenest.
The people of Birmingham vote with their feet daily and in this hot weather the few green places that exist in the city centre (St Phillips, Brindley Place) are full to capacity with people seeking a place to enjoy the sun.
When budget cuts threatened parks budgets, the public opposition was higher than any other issue.
We know from evidence that spending a little time in nature every day can help to reduce depression, and obesity, while speeding up recovery from illness and extending our life.
In fact, living within 1km of green space reduces the risk of 15 major illnesses.
We are also more productive and likely to take fewer sick days when we have access to nature or can view green space from of work.
Birmingham is not alone in having the paradoxical situation of becom- ing more densely populated while witnessing increasing social isolation. This leads to widening health inequalities and social costs due to the deadly triad of inactivity, obesity and unhappiness.
Those in our poorest districts live 10 years less and develop chronic disease 17 years earlier than those in the most affluent.
So cities, including Birmingham, must change quickly and make sure the benefits are felt by everyone not reinforce social isolation.
What the cranes and concrete represent is an unprecedented opportunity to create a green heart in our city that will benefit all of us and attract more visitors – and more investment.
The sites of HS2, Midland Metro extensions, the rebuilding of the Smithfield market area, Digbeth regeneration, HSBC offices, Icknield Port Loop and many more are currently all planned in isolation, with little consideration for the overall green space including the vital connecting corridors such as hedge-lined pathways, tree-lined avenues, green canal tow paths and rivers that allow people and wildlife to travel through our city.
We know the people of Birmingham value our green spaces.
More than 6,000 people have signed the CityPark4Brum petition calling for a much larger park to be included in the Smithfield redevelopment plan.
The Greener Birmingham Coalition, a group of individuals, organisations and community groups working together to protect and improve the green spaces of our city, is calling for a new way of planning city centre developments.
All developments should include nature and green spaces from the early planning stages, recognising that people want to live and work close to nature.
These sites should all be connected, with planners making sure there are green routes between them all enabling people to walk and cycle easily through the city centre, and wildlife to come back to central Birmingham.
Crucially, the people who live and work here should be permanently engaged in how the city is shaped.
Greener Birmingham calls on city leaders to commit to a ‘People’s Summit on Nature’ as a response to the Government’s Year of Green Action in 2019.
We hope to work with city leaders and planners together to make sure Birmingham provides a natural, healthy environment for people and wildlife – and a naturally healthy economy. Greener Birmingham