Greening the Grey

While city living has its benefits, the urban environment negatively effects mental health, with a higher incidence of mood and anxiety disorders in people living in these areas. While not a panacea, spending time in nature has been found to reduce stress, so protecting and enhancing nature in urban areas, alongside maintaining and improving access to nature, can be good for both wildlife and people.

Inner-city areas can be a challenge for wildlife. Finding food can be a challenge for insects that would then provide food for larger animals, and nesting sites for birds are few and far between. What wildlife habitat there is is often concentrated in small areas like our parks and green spaces, where competition for space, including with people, will be high. If we are to help wildlife we need to find ways to ‘green the grey’. Redevelopment, regeneration and retrofitting of our buildings and public spaces provide opportunities to do this.