Exeter shows it has a green heart – and leads the way among cities
TAKE a flight over the Westcountry and one would be pleasantly surprised by how leafy and green some of our largest towns and cities appear from the air.
From parks and gardens to treelined shopping boulevards, our urban areas have a heartening mix of greenery alongside all the bricks and mortar.
And that has now been recognised by researchers who assessed tree cover, vegetation and parkland in city centres and calculated that Exeter is the “greenest” of the bunch in Britain.
The work was undertaken by scientists from the University of Sheffield – renowned as the UK’s greenest city overall with more trees per person than any city in Europe.
But when it came to the greenest heart of a city, Exeter ranked way above Sheffield, and also beat Bristol and Cambridge, among other urban centres, to take top spot.
From Northernhay Gardens and Exeter Cathedral’s lush surroundings to the trees of Southernhay and St Bartholomew’s Cemetery, Exeter’s urban centre certainly has plenty of lush open spaces, as well as mature trees dotted about the city streets.
While it might seem to be merely a cheery accolade, it means much more than that. Green spaces within cities are proven to be beneficial for people’s physical and mental health.
Green surroundings not only offer an uplifting boost to mood and wellbeing, but in urban areas trees and plants also help absorb pollutants and provide cooling shade and humidity in the summer, while soaking up rainfall and cushioning strong winds during winter months. Not to mention their benefits in reducing airborne carbon.
And green spaces and attractive planting are much loved by those who live in cities. In Plymouth, for example, moves to chop down a row of mature trees running along Armada Way have been met with outrage this month. The controversial plans, as part of a city centre regeneration scheme, have been temporarily halted while the concerns are addressed.
A spokesperson for Plymouth City Council has previously said the Armada Way plans would ultimately see the number of trees double, with almost 150 new trees planted, and that many of the existing trees were not suitable for retention.
Whatever the merits or not of the scheme, the anger at the prospect of trees being removed shows just how strongly people feel about retaining greenery even in the heart of a shopping district. Green spaces and trees are highly valued in city spaces, softening the hard edges of urban development and ensuring a connection with the natural world, even in congested conurbations.
As Dr Paul Brindley, senior author of the study from the University of Sheffield’s department of landscape architecture, said: “Green spaces have been proven time and again to boost people’s wellbeing and are essential to biodiversity.”
His report points to something of a north-south divide when it comes to urban greenery, with all five of the greenest city centres being found in the south of England. Good news in this part of the country at least – and something to keep on championing.