The term “greening cities” refers to developing and enhancing green spaces in urban areas. In addition to achieving climate objectives and creating more eco-friendly environments, the object of greening cities is to also improve the health and well-being of citizens.
Looking ahead, there are both opportunities and challenges in developing greener cities. Here are some of the most prominent ones.
Opportunities Provided by Greening Cities
Greening cities provides various opportunities and benefits. These are some of the most critical:
Cleaner Air
As we all know, trees provide oxygen and purify the air. They also reduce global warming by absorbing carbon dioxide. So, by simply planting more trees, we can positively contribute to mitigating climate change and creating cleaner air for citizens.
Of course, developing new green spaces and adding saplings to existing green spaces will enable this. People can develop health problems like asthma and chronic coughs in densely populated areas. Breathing cleaner air can reduce the development of such respiratory issues.
And seeing as trees can absorb up to 20kg of dust and 5.4 metric tonnes of CO2 per year, green cities can significantly reduce their greenhouse gas outputs. More plants, besides trees, in urban areas can also dramatically improve greenhouse gas reduction.
More Efficient and Effective Drainage
Green spaces like parks and woods help to reduce the risk of flooding. That is because they slow down the rainwater drainage. On the other hand, in areas of massive concretization, as is common in cities, the mains drainage has a low absorption capacity, which prevents the correct drainage of run-off water into the ground.
Incorporating plants into existing green spaces and developing new green spaces in cities provides the opportunity for more efficient and effective drainage.
The Return of Wildlife
Greening cities allows wildlife to thrive in urban areas, and there are many good reasons for encouraging certain wildlife into urban environments. For instance, urban rewilding can encourage plant life to thrive. It can also improve people’s moods and reduce their stress levels.
Bringing wildlife into cities, or preventing it from being destroyed, is starting to become important in cities throughout the world.
Physical Activity, Fun, and Mental Wellbeing
With more green spaces in cities, citizens have more opportunities to engage in outdoor physical activities like walking, running, and cycling. They also have the opportunity to socialize with others on sunny days.
Green spaces in urban areas also serve as havens for mental well-being. Studies show that immersing ourselves in nature can alleviate stress, anxiety, and depression while enhancing mood and cognitive function.
Green spaces contribute to mental well-being through various mechanisms, including stress reduction, improved mood, cognitive enhancement, social connection, and physical activity. By incorporating more green spaces into our urban environments, we can create healthier and happier communities.
Food Production
Green spaces can be used for organic food production, too. For instance, in London, there are approximately 30,000 allotments that people use to grow their food.
Growing your own food is good for the environment in many ways. For instance, organically grown food reduces water and air pollution because herbicides are not used, and allotment-grown food does not come with a hefty carbon footprint.
Staying Cool
Heat waves are becoming increasingly frequent in many places around the world, especially in cities where buildings and high-rises block drafts. However, by developing greener cities in addition to other sustainable city planning methods, the opportunity exists to cool down our cities.
That will reduce the need for cooling technologies that consume excessive power and contribute to climate change.
Job Opportunities
Greening cities also provides plenty of job opportunities. These can range from unskilled jobs like gardeners and maintenance employees to more skilled positions such as tree surgeons, ecology biologists, and plant pathologists.
Tree surgeons do things like identify diseases in perennials, and ecology biologists study how living things interact with their environment. People who work in plant pathology study plant diseases caused by environmental conditions or pathogens.
So, if you are looking for a plant pathology job, for instance, the expanded development of green cities could provide you with more opportunities.
The Challenges to Making Cities Greener
While green cities undoubtedly provide many positive opportunities that can benefit both the environment and the cities’ citizens, there are challenges involved with greening cities. Here are some of the major ones.
Budget Constraints
If the world was not ruled by money, it may be easier to implement environmental solutions like green cities. But as things are, budget constraints play a key role in greening cities.
Budgets for parks and green spaces are often already constrained due to the allocation of funds being required in other areas. Continued financial pressure in the years ahead will likely affect the development, maintenance, and quality of green spaces in cities.
Increased Population Density
City populations are continually growing at fast rates. Increased population density will put more pressure on the need to create quality green spaces.
Not least because the need for more homes means fewer houses with gardens. The reduction in private green spaces necessitates more public green areas.
Standards for Green Spaces
Another challenge is creating standards for greening cities. At present, many countries have few or no standards regarding things like the size of parks and their accessibility. Much more must be done to create standards for greening cities that enable them to thrive and provide us with all the opportunities and benefits we have discussed.
