Green spaces sought to cool cities

Monday, 24 September 2007 12:00 AM

The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) is today calling for more green spaces and medium density housing to alleviate the effects of a changing environment.

Demands on housing have never been higher in the UK, according to the TCPA, with more people than ever before looking for property.

"We have to adapt the way we build and live in our homes to cope with uncomfortably high temperatures, the strain on water resources, less and less stable ground conditions and, as we have experienced this summer, more flooding," said TCPA chief executive Gideon Amos.

Previous concentration on high-density building to save space has had detrimental consequences according to the organisation.

In response the TCPA is calling for more greenery in urban housing.

"We need homes and gardens with generous tree cover to complement the growing amount of high density development," continued Mr Amos.

"It's through promotion of high density to save land can do much to exacerbate the problems.

"Large canopy trees, green cover and green roofs where there is no space for a garden at ground level can all help to keep summer temperatures in cities cooler and minimise the risk of urban flooding."

The organisation argues a ten per cent increase in existing green cover can keep temperatures below today's levels until the year 2080.

"On the other hand, reducing green cover by ten per cent will see a dramatic increase of over eight degrees (under a high emissions scenario) in high-density area maximums compared with today's temperatures.

"Increases like this would see many cities, particularly in southern England, experiencing temperatures of over 40 degrees on a regular basis and for increasing periods of the summer," concluded Mr Amos.

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