“City Greening” or “Greening cities” describe a variety of actions that city leaders are taking to improve the health and safety of their communities through enhancing local ecosystems. These include planting trees to create shade, making heat waves more manageable. Restoring wetlands or planting rain gardens absorbs rainwater and reduces flood risk. Developing parks and greenspaces absorbs air pollution and creates spaces that people can enjoy. 

The world’s population is increasingly moving to cities. Over half the global population lives in cities, and that is projected to grow to 70% by the year 2050. Cities and urban areas are responsible for almost 75% or carbon pollution and it is often in cities where the impacts of the climate emergency, such as flooding and heat waves, are most severe.

Like all public benefits, city greening must be done equitably and with environmental and economic justice considerations at the core. City greening efforts are often part of cities’ plans to address historic injustices that left low income people, marginalized groups and people of color with far less access to green spaces, for example. This has been extremely harmful for these communities, and urban greening programmes offer an opportunity to change this situation, as well as tackling the climate emergency.

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• Urban Greening: Six Cities Making Room for Nature (BBC Earth)

• One Planet City Challenge (WWF)

• Cities With Nature

• C40 Cities

• The Value of Urban Nature Based Solutions (UK Green Building Council) 

• Five Ways to Make Cities Healthier and More Sustainable (UN FAO)

• 5 Ideas to Green Up Your City (Green Tumble)

• Work with neighbors and people in your local community to make a greening or gardening scheme, planting on unused space directly or encouraging landlords or area managers to green the area. 

• Ask your council what they are doing to increase biodiversity in the area or create more green space

• Look into options to plant on your roof, if you have one you can access.