The city of Birmingham is renowned for its great industrial history, vibrant cosmopolitan communities, an extensive canal system (larger than that of Venice) and, at a push, its football clubs.
But now, possibly to the surprise of many outsiders and even some of its own citizens, England's second city joins the likes of San Francisco, Wellington and Oslo in a global network of “biophilic cities” – urban centres celebrated for their green credentials, their open spaces and their links to nature.
The idea is that nature is, or should be, central to a happy, healthy and meaningful life not only to country dwellers but to those living in cities. Birmingham, the first British city to be invited to join the “biophilic network”, is pledging to work with the eight other cities to find out ways of making sure its inner city dwellers and suburbanites are linked to nature and living organisms.
Once they had worked out exactly what “biophilic” actually meant city councillors welcomed the status. James McKay, the cabinet member whose portfolio includes green matters, said Birmingham was committed to becoming one of the world's most environmentally friendly cities.
“We are committed to ensuring our city has a green future. Birmingham stands to gain a great deal, in what we can learn from these global green cities and being invited to join the network confirms we are headed in the right direction.”
“Biophilia” is a term popularised by the American biologist E O Wilson as a way of describing how, in his words, humans are “hard-wired” to need connection with nature and other forms of life. Wilson wrote: “Biophilia is the innately emotional affiliation of human beings to other living organisms.”
The Biophilic Cities network is aiming to find ways of making sure this need is met in the world's urban centres.
The project's director, professor Tim Beatley, chair of the department of urban and environmental planning at the University of Virginia, said the support for “biophilic” design – from green spaces in workplaces, hospitals and homes, had been growing dramatically.
He said: “Less attention, however, has been focused on the city or urban scale, despite the fact that the planet continues an inexorable trend in the direction of urbanisation. Urban residents need nature more than ever, and much work is needed to find creative and effective means for incorporating it into urban environments.”
Beatley was in Birmingham this week for a conference on urban trees hosted by the Institute of Chartered Foresters – and was pleased by just how green the city turned out to be.
He visited Sutton Park, a national nature reserve and the largest urban park in Europe, and enjoyed tramping around the heathland there. “That's a remarkable place.” Beatley was also impressed by the refurbished canal basins that provide relief from the pubs and clubs of the teeming Broad Street and by some of the city's squares. “I'm pleasantly surprised – Birmingham is a remarkably green city,” he said.
Charities and other organisations working to improve the natural environment in Birmingham welcomed membership of the exclusive biophilic club, which also includes Singapore, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Portland and Vitoria-Gasteiz in the Basque Country.
John Box, chair of the Birmingham and Black Country Local Nature Partnership, said: “Birmingham has a superb network of blue and green infrastructure: parks, canals, nature reserves, rivers, woodlands and open spaces that connect the city centre with the open countryside.”
The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country flagged up initiatives it has led such as the transfer of wild flowers from meadows in Worcestershire to inner city sites including Castle Vale, where they used to build and test Spitfires.
Alison Milward, the trust's vice chair, said: “Birmingham is a city that understands how important the natural environment is to the social and economic wellbeing of our citizens.”
Nick Grayson, climate change and sustainability manager at the city council, said Birmingham faced many and varied challenges ranging from a surprising tendency to be hit by flooding – though it has no major river – and inner city neighbourhoods that turn into “urban heat islands” when the temperature soars.
Grayson reeled of the statistics that show how (literally) green Birmingham is – 571 parks, more than 3,500 hectares of public accessible space, 250 miles of urban brooks and streams. He emphasised the “biophilic” status should not be taken as recognition that Birmingham has done enough – but that it may be going in the right direction.
Birmingham has developed ambitious strategies and targets as it aims to make the city as green as possible. Last year it launched its “green vision” covering topics ranging from planning to transport and energy. It has also pledged to reduce C02 emissions by 60% by 2027 from 1990 levels.
Pat Laughlin, chief executive of the Business Council for Sustainable Development, said: “Birmingham has an ambition to become a world leading 'green' city. Membership of the biophilic cities network will provide Birmingham with the opportunity to learn from and exchange good practice with exemplar cities across the world.
“Birmingham was recognised as the heart of the industrial revolution and can become a centre for the green economic revolution.”
Comments (…)
Sign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion