Access to green spaces: a socioenvironmental issue
These plans are forming in response to concerns that people in England have unequal access to outdoor space at home, with the ONS reporting that one in eight British households have no garden; a statistic most applicable to minority ethnic households.
The UK government has also been the recipient of widespread criticism that environmental targets relating to land, habitat, and natural environment are not being met. Following on from COP15 in December, the government has established legally binding targets summarised in the Environmental Improvement Plan.
These plans include:
- Ensuring everyone in England lives within a 15 minute walk of woodlands, wetlands, parks and rivers.
- Restoring 400 miles of England’s rivers.
- Creating and restoring a minimum of 2,000 square miles of wildlife habitats.
- Placing environmental protection at the centre of all new government policy.
What does access to nature hope to achieve?
By creating and restoring green spaces and wildlife habitats, the government will tap in to a wave of social and environmental benefits. Nature recovery is essential for delivering net zero targets by improving air quality and adapting to climate change. On a social level, the pandemic has demonstrated the positive impact access to open outdoor spaces has on mental health and wellbeing.
Including nature and environment in the planning of future cities demonstrates a progressive step towards combatting climate change. The so-called 15 minute cities of the future outline a series of policy actions designed to improve the health and wellbeing of residents, based on proximity, diversity, density and ubiquity. Ensuring environmental targets align with these policies will mean delivering goals related to biodiversity, land restoration, air and water quality, and green standards.
