Latest news with #greenSpaces
Fast Company
2 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
As Trump boosts fossil fuels, Cleveland's mayor is making climate action personal. It's working
In the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, Justin Bibb was living in a tight, one-bedroom apartment in Cleveland, Ohio. He couldn't open his windows because his home was an old office building converted to residential units—not exactly conducive to physical and mental well-being in the middle of a global crisis. So he sought refuge elsewhere: a large green space, down near the lakefront, where he could stroll. 'Unfortunately,' Bibb said, 'that's not the case for many of our residents in the city of Cleveland.' A native of Cleveland, Bibb was elected the 58th mayor of the city in 2021. Immediately after taking office, he took inspiration from the '15-minute city' concept of urban design, an idea that envisions people reaching their daily necessities—work, grocery stores, pharmacies—within 15 minutes by walking, biking, or taking public transit. That reduces dependence on cars, and also slashes carbon emissions and air pollution. In Cleveland, Bibb's goal is to put all residents within a 10-minute walk of a green space by the year 2045, by converting abandoned lots to parks and other efforts. Cleveland is far from alone in its quest to adapt to a warming climate. As American cities have grown in size and population and gotten hotter, they—not the federal government—have become crucibles for climate action: Cities are electrifying their public transportation, forcing builders to make structures more energy efficient, and encouraging rooftop solar. Together with ambitious state governments, hundreds of cities large and small are pursuing climate action plans—documents that lay out how they will reduce emissions and adapt to extreme weather—with or without support from the feds. Cleveland's plan, for instance, calls for all its commercial and residential buildings to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. For local leaders, climate action has grown all the more urgent since the Trump administration has been boosting fossil fuels and threatening to sue states to roll back environmental regulations. Last month, Republicans in the House passed a budget bill that would end nearly all the clean energy tax credits from the Biden administration's signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act. 'Because Donald Trump is in the White House again, it's going to be up to mayors and governors to really enact and sustain the momentum around addressing climate change at the local level,' said Bibb, who formerly chaired Climate Mayors, a bipartisan group of nearly 350 mayors. City leaders can move much faster than federal agencies, and are more in-tune with what their people actually want, experts said. 'They're on the ground and they're hearing from their residents every day, so they have a really good sense of what the priorities are,' said Kate Johnson, regional director for North America at C40 Cities, a global network of nearly 100 mayors fighting climate change. 'You see climate action really grounded in the types of things that are going to help people.' Shifting from a reliance on fossil fuels to clean energy isn't just about reducing a city's carbon emissions, but about creating jobs and saving money—a tangible argument that mayors can make to their people. Bibb said a pilot program in Cleveland that helped low- to moderate-income households get access to free solar panels ended up reducing their utility bills by 60%. The biggest concern for Americans right now isn't climate change, Bibb added. 'It's the cost of living, and so we have to marry these two things together,' he said. 'I think mayors are in a very unique position to do that.' To further reduce costs and emissions, cities like Seattle and Washington, D.C. are scrambling to better insulate structures, especially affordable housing, by installing double-paned windows and better insulation. In Boston last year, the city government started an Equitable Emissions Investment Fund, which awards money for projects that make buildings more efficient or add solar panels to their roofs. 'We are in a climate where energy efficiency remains the number one thing that we can do,' said Oliver Sellers-Garcia, commissioner of the environment and Green New Deal director in the Boston government. 'And there are so many other comfort and health benefits from being in an efficient, all-electric environment.' To that end, cities are deploying loads of heat pumps, hyper-efficient appliances that warm and cool a space. New York City, for instance, is spending $70 million to install 30,000 of the appliances in its public housing. The ultimate goal is to have as many heat pumps as possible running in energy-efficient homes—along with replacing gas stoves with induction ranges—and drawing electricity from renewables. Metropolises like Los Angeles and Pittsburgh are creating new green spaces, which reduce urban temperatures and soak up rainwater to prevent flooding. A park is a prime example of 'multisolving': one intervention that fixes a bunch of problems at once. Another is deploying electric vehicle chargers in underserved neighborhoods, as Cleveland is doing, and making their use free for residents. This encourages the adoption of those vehicles, which reduces carbon emissions and air pollution. That, in turn, improves public health in those neighborhoods, which tend to have a higher burden of pollution than richer areas. Elizabeth Sawin, director of the Multisolving Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, said that these efforts will be more important than ever as the Trump administration cuts funding for health programs. 'If health care for poor children is going to be depleted—with, say, Medicaid under threat—cities can't totally fix that,' Sawin said. 'But if they can get cleaner air in cities, they can at least have fewer kids who are struggling from asthma attacks and other respiratory illnesses.' All this work—building parks, installing solar panels, weatherizing buildings—creates jobs, both within a city and in surrounding rural areas. Construction workers commute in, while urban farms tap rural growers for their expertise. And as a city gets more of its power from renewables, it can benefit counties far away: The largest solar facility east of the Mississippi River just came online in downstate Illinois, providing so much electricity to Chicago that the city's 400 municipal buildings now run entirely on renewable power. 'The economic benefits and the jobs aren't just necessarily accruing to the cities—which might be seen as big blue cities,' Johnson said. 'They're buying their electric school buses from factories in West Virginia, and they're building solar and wind projects in rural areas.' So cities aren't just preparing themselves for a warmer future, but helping accelerate a transition to renewables and spreading economic benefits across the American landscape. 'We as elected officials have to do a better job of articulating how this important part of public policy is connected to the everyday lived experience,' Bibb said. 'Unfortunately, my party has done a bad job of that. But I think as mayors, we are well positioned to make that case at the local level.'
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Daily Mail
World's greenest cities revealed - with a surprisingly high ranking for London
A new survey has revealed the best cities in the world for green space - and British people might be surprised by the results. The ranking comes from the team at Time Out who asked 18,500 people from cities around the world to rate their city's green spaces. Each of the cities in the top 20 picks up a rating of 'good' or 'amazing' for its green space and access to nature. Top of the list? Medellin, the second-largest city in Colombia. More than 90 per cent (92 per cent) of locals are happy with the South American city's green spaces. Time Out says: 'It's known as the "city of eternal spring" with consistently high daytime temperatures thanks to a trade-wind tropical climate - however, greenery is how the city stays cool. 'Back in 2016, a scheme to add "green corridors" to Medellin's sprawling (and scorching hot) concrete streets began, and in the first three years of the project, the city's overall temperature fell by two degrees.' Medellin's riverside parks have 280 trees and a whopping 38,052 square metres of green space. Second on the ranking is Boston in the USA where 88 per cent of residents are happy with the city's green spaces. Time Out recommends Boston Common as the city's most 'iconic' green space and the oldest park in the USA. Sydney ties with London in third place with 87 per cent of residents in each metropolis happy with their home city's green space. London has more than 3,000 parks and open spaces to choose from. Richmond Park is the city's largest green space, covering 2,500 acres. And as much as it might seem as though it's dominated by skyscrapers, the Big Smoke is actually 21 per cent covered by trees. That means it technically qualifies as a forest under the United Nations definition that designates a forest as anywhere with 20 per cent tree coverage. Another UK city sneaks into fifth place on the ranking. Edinburgh ties with Austin and Melbourne in fifth position with 86 per cent of residents happy with its green spaces. Holyrood Park is the Scottish capital's biggest green space and spans 650 acres, next to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. THE WORLD'S GREENEST CITIES 1. Medellin, Colombia 2. Boston, USA 3. Sydney, Australia =London, UK 5. Austin, USA =Edinburgh, UK =Melbourne, Australia 8. Denver, USA 9. Abu Dhabi, UAE =Cape Town, South Africa =Chicago, USA 12. San Francisco, USA =Stockholm, Sweden 14. Montreal, Canada =Munich, Germany 16. Mumbai, India 17. Beijing, China 18. Zurich, Switzerland =Ottawa, Canada 19. Brisbane, Australia Source: Time Out Denver, Abu Dhabi, Cape Town and Chicago also make the top 10 with great rankings for their green space. The other European cities to rank among the top 20 include Stockholm, Munich and Zurich. Abu Dhabi recently topped Time Out's ranking for walkability as it's flat with lots of pedestrianised areas. And in the UK it was a seaside city that grabbed the top spot as the country's most walkable.
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Estate home to Button House from Ghosts gets Lottery funding
The Surrey estate which includes the manor house featured in the BBC sitcom Ghosts at its centre has been awarded Lottery funding for its green Horsley Place Trust, which owns and looks after the 400-acre estate near Guildford, has been given a grant from The National Lottery Heritage Grade I listed manor house appeared as Button House in Ghosts, and rooms there have also been used as sets for Enola Holmes, Vanity Fair, and Howard's grant of £233,000 will be used for pilot schemes including testing how the estate could be used to support local people's mental health, the trust says. The schemes will include archaeology on prescription, nature-based volunteer roles, and a project in partnership with nearby Howard of Effingham school helping students to develop their self-confidence, resilience and positive mental director Ilona Harris said: "This grant will allow West Horsley Place Trust to develop our organisational expertise, nurture new relationships, devise a strategic direction for the estate's future and offer people in our community a beautiful landscape to connect with and enjoy." The University of Surrey's Institute for Sustainability will also research who currently uses the estate's green spaces, who is not accessing them, and how people could enjoy them estate, which is made up of pasture, parkland and ancient woodland, includes 72 plant species with conservation status and a wide range of rare species, as well as archaeological features including medieval trust runs a "Buttoneer" fundraising programme, to support conservation of the manor house.
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Darlington Borough Council called 'woke' for green spaces plan
A council's plans to protect and restore green spaces has been approved despite being labelled "woke" by opposition Borough Council has declared a Nature Restoration Emergency to improve the area's depleted wildlife over the next 15 Party councillor Kate Mammolotti said developing the plan would be a "win for nature".But local Conservative leader Jonathan Dulston said the council should focus on improving people's lives and criticised the local authority for using its stretched resources on "areas that will make very little difference". Under the council's plans, it will develop a Nature Restoration Action Plan, which will aim to improve the borough's green spaces by will mean areas of depleted wildlife will receive extra protection through the council's proposals and decisions, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. A 'crucial time' Labour councillor Chris McEwan said the council should "lead by example" by including targeted and site-appropriate measures on council-owned land and communal Dulston described the motion as "daft" and said he was concerned it showed the local authority was not aligned with the public."We are a small council, a relatively small town, but we have lots of people facing inequalities," he said. "The full resources of the council need to be focused on that, not pie-in-the-sky green and woke agendas."Labour's Mary Layton said the plans were not "woke" but would underpin everything the council did for the future of the Green Party leader Matthew Snedker said the motion had been made at a crucial time."We need to strengthen the protection for wildlife and restore our precious natural environment," he said. "Right now, there is significant pressure from house builders and landowners to water down the protections for our natural world." Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
CNN
09-05-2025
- General
- CNN
Ellen Miles is planting seeds of hope through guerrilla gardening
For the first time in history, the majority of humans live in cities — spaces often defined by concrete, glass and a disconnect from the natural world. Access to nature is no longer guaranteed. London-based environmental activist Ellen Miles, 31, is trying to change that. 'Before we urbanized the world, everyone had access to nature all the time.' Miles tells CNN. 'Now, nature is becoming an afterthought.' In 2020, Miles founded Nature Is a Human Right, a campaign advocating for daily access to green spaces to be recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Frustrated by the slow pace of institutional change, Miles says she 'lost faith in the top-down process.' So she took matters into her own hands. Her weapon? Not protest banners or petitions, but seeds and shovels. She became a so-called guerrilla gardener — 'Grassroots planting in a public place, with a purpose,' Miles explains. 'Think of it like graffiti, but with wildflowers instead of spray paint.' This form of urban activism involves transforming neglected or overlooked spaces — cracks in pavements, roadside verges, abandoned lots — into mini-oases for people, pollinators and biodiversity. What began during the Covid pandemic — when parks were shut and access to green space became scarce — grew into a weekly ritual. Miles and her neighbors would meet on Sunday mornings, armed with bulbs and trowels, planting in overlooked corners of the London Borough of Hackney. In the UK, guerrilla gardening occupies a legal gray area: while planting on public land without permission is not technically lawful, authorities often turn a blind eye — so long as it doesn't cause damage, obstruction or a public nuisance. According to the Royal Horticultural Society, guerrilla gardeners should ensure their planting doesn't inconvenience others and be careful to not restrict public access or create trip hazards. It's also important that anything planted is removable, and that the roots won't cause structural damage to sidewalks and buildings. Guerrilla gardening dates back to the 1970s, when the Green Guerrillas, founded by Liz Christy in the US, transformed vacant lots into community gardens. The movement has since spread worldwide, from Ron Finley, the 'Gangsta Gardener' in Los Angeles, to Ta Mère Nature in France, and the Ujamaa Guerrilla Gardening Collective in South Africa. Miles has brought the underground movement into the spotlight on TikTok and other social media. Her upbeat videos demystify the process, showing everything from creating seed bombs to planting moss graffiti — a form of street art where living moss is used to create patterns or words on walls. 'I wasn't a gardener. I was learning as I went along,' she admits. 'But I just wanted the streets to be greener.' As Miles' seeds grew, so did her online following. 'Young people today are very awake to issues like climate change, inequality, and mental health,' Miles says. 'Guerrilla gardening intersects with all of that. It's something you can do with your own two hands and see the impact immediately.' 'A lot of activism can feel intangible,' she adds. 'With guerrilla gardening, you see the results. It's empowering.' And it's more than just symbolic: 'It's been shown that having access to green spaces is as vital to your mental and physical health as regular exercise and a healthy diet,' says Miles. 'We need it around us. We need the phytoncides (compounds plants release into the air) that plants produce. The experience of having plants around us calms us.' A study of 20,000 participants by the UK's University of Exeter found that people who spent at least 120 minutes a week in green spaces reported significantly better physical health and psychological well-being than those who didn't. For young children, access to green spaces has been linked to reduced hyperactivity and improved attention spans. Communities can benefit too: a US study showed that greening vacant lots can lead to lower crime rates. Miles' message is simple: anyone can get involved. 'It's spring now,' she continues. 'Find native wildflowers, scatter them when it's raining then you won't even have to water them.' For those who want to go further, Miles has written a book on the subject and teaches a free four-week online course through the nonprofit Earthed, which has attracted over 300 participants. She advises gardening as a group — community is key. Her vision is bold but refreshingly practical: 'Why aren't all our sidewalks lined with hedges?' says Miles. 'Our buildings could be covered in plants. Our rooftops and bus stops could be buzzing with flowers. It's a no-brainer.'
