Lessons from Lockdown: Green Space is Good
Walks have been a major comfort over the past year and a half. At the height of lockdown restrictions, a canalside stroll offered me a brief escape from the nauseating captivity of my central Birmingham flat. I was thankful for those quaint canals, knowing that elsewhere in the city — and across the country — peace of mind was not so readily accessible.
Months of being cooped up at home seems to have established a consensus: green space is good. You only need to look at the number of pandemic-themed articles extolling the simple pleasures of the outdoors from the likes of the BBC, The Guardian and Financial Times to get this impression. With little else to do, people have sought out parks and public footpaths with new gusto.
The data confirms this. Statistics from Google tell us that parks across the UK were on average 50% busier in the summer of 2020 compared to pre-lockdown levels. And according to a survey from Ramblers, an extra 19% of adults say that access to green space is more important to them now than before the pandemic. So, why is green space — particularly in our cities — becoming a luxury?
Now more than ever, we can see and literally feel the health benefits that green space brings to our lives. The World Health Organisation summarises these as follows: increased relaxation, social cohesion and physical activity, and reduced stress and exposure to various pollutants. But access to nature and the perks that come with it is not a level playing field.
Space discriminates. Trawling through the literary representations of London from the likes of Salman Rushdie and Zadie Smith for my undergraduate dissertation last year firmly shaped this idea in my mind. Gentrification, property prices, gated communities are all examples of how the city is made unequally — green space provision is one more link in the chain of urban inequality.
As Public Health England notes, “the most economically deprived areas have less available good quality greenspace.” Access — or lack of it — is a systemic, intersectional issue. Research from Friends of the Earth suggests that black and Asian people are more than twice as likely as white people to live in areas of England that are most deprived of green space. With less protection from pollution and opportunity to exercise, these groups face a greater risk of ill physical health.
Lockdown has also illuminated the mental health implications of this disparity. Bereft of back gardens and with out-of-town country parks made inaccessible by travel restrictions, many inner-city residents found themselves confined to areas of vast concrete with little or no natural relief. In the most green-deprived neighbourhoods, the psychological benefits offered by a walk in the park could not be afforded.
There are particular problem areas within England on the brink. Field in Trust’s Green Space Index — which grades each region’s green space per person — reasons that London, the North East, North West, the East Midlands and Yorkshire & Humber operate below a ‟minimum standard of provision” for their residents. A closer look will tell you that — outside of London — Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Hull and Southampton have some of the widest green gaps between the rich and poor.
There are economic incentives for closing this gap. Democratising access to green spaces would extend their health benefits to vulnerable groups who need them most, thereby saving huge sums of money in healthcare costs. A National Trust report estimates that a £5.5 billion investment in green infrastructure in the country’s ‟greyest urban communities” would bring £200 billion in physical and mental health benefits. To put this into perspective, that is around 10% of UK GDP in 2020.
Following decades of underfunding which have seen green space fall steadily down the agenda, numbers like these could be key to shifting urban policy. The natural environment fails to measure up against the monetary allure of commercial and residential projects, which overrun the landscape regardless of if residents really want them or not. Every time I step out in Birmingham it seems that there is some lifeless new build coming out of the woodwork. New parks are a much scarcer sight.
How far can cities go in this direction? Urban green space in England has declined by around 8% since the turn of the millennium. But in that time, the urban population has also risen by millions. As our cities continue to sprawl upwards and outwards, let’s not forget to set aside some room to breathe. Perhaps with lockdown bringing the value of natural spaces into sharper focus, now is the time to build towards greener cities which properly cater to the communities they serve.
Fiction and Poetry
Written by Tom Morris
Tom is a recent English graduate currently working in education. Most likely found agonising over his beloved Arsenal, listening to Ready to Die at a loud volume, or poring over Kurt Vonnegut novels. Has very few concrete goals other than a desire to travel the world and experience different things.