Incorporation of nature within a city
Encyclopedia
Over the centuries the roles of rivers as part of the city
has altered many times from the original use for the irrigating
crops in nearby fields, as well as being an essential resource in establishing a permanent settlement.
However when the industrial revolution took place in the 19th century the role of the rivers in cities altered and it became a far more valuable resource
as it allowed not only for the transportation of goods from town to town but also became the basis for the expansion and improvement of the trading prowess of the city. This transportation of goods was done through the construction of a canal network spreading across the country which tamed the rivers sufficiently and so therefore allowed for the movement of goods such as coal
to move from place to place.
Furthermore after the advancement of the railway network which now took over most of the movement of goods throughout the country, this left the rivers and canals of Britain without a role in Britain’s transport network. This allowed areas of the canal and river networks to become polluted through chemical waste and public misuse, which caused difficulties for the animals for which the river and its surrounding wetlands and marshes were their natural habitats.
Yet since the 1950’s there has been a dramatic increase in the number of riverside developments which have not only brought increased money into the area but have also redeveloped and enhanced the natural environment and increased the aesthetic qualities of these areas on the whole.
Further examples of these developments are Bede Island
in Leicester
and the London Docklands.
located between the River Soar
to the West and the Grand Union Canal
to the East. It was a run down area which has suffered from inner city decline
, the site is not easily accessible by road and so was not heavily industrialised. Most of the Bede Island area used to be occupied by scrap yards which led to both noise pollution
and the release of asbestos
into the air. The City Challenge schemes were established in 1993 to help regeneration of the social, economic and environmental aspects of 30 city schemes. The City Challenge partnership has greatly improved the natural environment through the cleaning up of the riversides and making them more attractive, as well as recontouring the banks of the River Soar and the diversifying of wildlife habitats through the planting of shrub
s and tree
s.
life.
The Leicester City Council
are yet again an example of an area which has successfully achieved this and have gained recognition for their efforts at the 2005 Green Flag awards. The strategies used in order to accomplish this include the following:
in the United Kingdom employing up to 50,000 people in its peak. However due to being devastated by bombing during the Second World War and the introduction of containerisation of shipping in the 1970s for which the London docks were ill adapted for. This decline of London as a shipping port has led to the dereliction of the docklands area and also the loss of over 200,000 jobs. However in 1981 the London Dockland Development Corporation was established to help with the redevelopment of the docklands area through the development of new high-class riverside apartments and the conversion of waterfront warehouses into accommodation and new office blocks such as Canary Wharf. Another aspect of the LDDC’s development plan was to increase the attractiveness of the area as a whole through the planting of trees and the implementing of communal spaces to help encourage people to interact with the natural environment.
In conclusion the role of rivers has altered and this is correct as they have changed from being used for agriculture to being a way to transport goods through the canal
networks. However this role has now changed again to a more commercial one as a way of making new houses more appealing through including a riverside view. This shows that in urban areas rivers have always been an important and valuable resource.
Community gardening not only produces Healthy food close to home but also cultivates a sense of community among neighbours. Many surveys indicate that people participate in community gardening because they enjoy the opportunity to meet and make friends. Many community gardens incorporate sociability settings — arbours, picnic tables, benches, and barbecues. The growing sense of community fostered by these modern-day commons empowers neighbourhood residents and strengthens their social, physical, and mental health. A vacant lot transformed into a community garden filled with vegetable crops and blossoming flowers or the vibrant colours of a mural painted on the wall of a dilapidated building instantly, almost magically, transform the image of a rundown urban area.
New York
City is home to a system of about 750 community gardens that have sprouted since the mid-1970s on vacant city-owned lots in low-to-moderate income neighbourhoods. After existing for more than 20 years, many community gardens have come to be seen by community development corporations as a key aspect of “community building.”... Despite this growing recognition of their importance, these gardens have a very tenuous hold on their land. Most have short-term license agreements with the Parks Department’s Green Thumb Program. An ACGA survey conducted in 1997 by Monroe and Santos revealed that fewer than 2% of community gardens are considered permanent by their managers.
Due to this aspect of ‘Nature in the City’ being so effective, the government agencies involved have drawn up plans to further implement Community Gardens, i.e. to create more of them and help them to become permanent.
Their intended actions include:
has over 42 parks and gardens in and around the city such as the Woodlands Park and Bukit Timah nature reserve. The Woodlands Park is designed in traditional Malay/Chinese themes. There is a river that runs through the park and under the council project; part of the river was enlarged to form a lake. There are a number of attractions including a playground and an amphitheatre. The Bukit Timah nature reserve is 12 km from city centre with an area of 1.64 square kilometres. It contains primary rainforest. There are more species of tree in this nature reserve than there are in the whole of North America. There are also other nature reserves, like the Sungei Buloh nature reserve which contains mangrove forests, swamps, ponds and prawn farms. The parks, gardens and nature reserves cover many aspects of nature and are all found in one city.
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
has altered many times from the original use for the irrigating
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
crops in nearby fields, as well as being an essential resource in establishing a permanent settlement.
However when the industrial revolution took place in the 19th century the role of the rivers in cities altered and it became a far more valuable resource
Natural resource
Natural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by mankind, in a natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity and geodiversity existent in various ecosystems....
as it allowed not only for the transportation of goods from town to town but also became the basis for the expansion and improvement of the trading prowess of the city. This transportation of goods was done through the construction of a canal network spreading across the country which tamed the rivers sufficiently and so therefore allowed for the movement of goods such as coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
to move from place to place.
Furthermore after the advancement of the railway network which now took over most of the movement of goods throughout the country, this left the rivers and canals of Britain without a role in Britain’s transport network. This allowed areas of the canal and river networks to become polluted through chemical waste and public misuse, which caused difficulties for the animals for which the river and its surrounding wetlands and marshes were their natural habitats.
Yet since the 1950’s there has been a dramatic increase in the number of riverside developments which have not only brought increased money into the area but have also redeveloped and enhanced the natural environment and increased the aesthetic qualities of these areas on the whole.
Further examples of these developments are Bede Island
Bede Island
Bede Island is an area of Leicester, England close to the city centre, with the River Soar to the west and Grand Union Canal to the east. For many years Bede Island South was a run down area of brownfield land home to Vic Berry's locomotive scrapyard but in the 1990s urban regeneration sought to...
in Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
and the London Docklands.
Bede Island
Bede Island http://www.le.ac.uk/emoha/leicester/bedeislandimagemap.html is a 130,000 square metre site, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) outside Leicester’s Central Business District. It is an area of brownfield landBrownfield land
Brownfield sites are abandoned or underused industrial and commercial facilities available for re-use. Expansion or redevelopment of such a facility may be complicated by real or perceived environmental contaminations. Cf. Waste...
located between the River Soar
River Soar
The River Soar is a tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands.-Description:It rises near Hinckley in Leicestershire and is joined by the River Sence near Enderby before flowing through Leicester , Barrow-on-Soar, beside Loughborough and Kegworth, before joining the Trent near...
to the West and the Grand Union Canal
Grand Union Canal
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles with 166 locks...
to the East. It was a run down area which has suffered from inner city decline
Urban decay
Urban decay is the process whereby a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude...
, the site is not easily accessible by road and so was not heavily industrialised. Most of the Bede Island area used to be occupied by scrap yards which led to both noise pollution
Noise pollution
Noise pollution is excessive, displeasing human, animal or machine-created environmental noise that disrupts the activity or balance of human or animal life...
and the release of asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
into the air. The City Challenge schemes were established in 1993 to help regeneration of the social, economic and environmental aspects of 30 city schemes. The City Challenge partnership has greatly improved the natural environment through the cleaning up of the riversides and making them more attractive, as well as recontouring the banks of the River Soar and the diversifying of wildlife habitats through the planting of shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s and tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s.
Parks
The council attempted to incorporate nature into the city through public involvement schemes. These schemes aim to encourage and educate locals to help maintain existing green spaces, such as parkPark
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
life.
The Leicester City Council
Leicester City Council
Leicester City Council is a unitary authority responsible for local government in the city of Leicester, England. It consists of 54 councillors, representing 22 wards in the city, overseen by a directly elected mayor. It is currently controlled by the Labour Party and has been led by Mayor Sir...
are yet again an example of an area which has successfully achieved this and have gained recognition for their efforts at the 2005 Green Flag awards. The strategies used in order to accomplish this include the following:
- £50 sponsorship scheme where local businesses and the public plant more trees in their nearest park, particularly during tree planting week.
- Asking schools in the community to bring their children along to help plant bulbs and tidy up their green spaces.
- Further incentives to attain and retain titles, such as the winners of the 2005 ‘Britain in Bloom’ competition.
- Park staff has also installed a number of posts and netting enclosures and ridge tile shelters in order to protect many different species of birds during the breeding season.
- Getting locals to participate in festive activities, such as planting flowers and picking their own flower arrangements or to buy a bird (love) nest box, found in the park in the name of their loved ones for Valentine's Day.
- Encouraging people to become volunteer park wardens for their local communities.
London Docklands
The London docklands was until the 1960’s the largest portPort
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
in the United Kingdom employing up to 50,000 people in its peak. However due to being devastated by bombing during the Second World War and the introduction of containerisation of shipping in the 1970s for which the London docks were ill adapted for. This decline of London as a shipping port has led to the dereliction of the docklands area and also the loss of over 200,000 jobs. However in 1981 the London Dockland Development Corporation was established to help with the redevelopment of the docklands area through the development of new high-class riverside apartments and the conversion of waterfront warehouses into accommodation and new office blocks such as Canary Wharf. Another aspect of the LDDC’s development plan was to increase the attractiveness of the area as a whole through the planting of trees and the implementing of communal spaces to help encourage people to interact with the natural environment.
In conclusion the role of rivers has altered and this is correct as they have changed from being used for agriculture to being a way to transport goods through the canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
networks. However this role has now changed again to a more commercial one as a way of making new houses more appealing through including a riverside view. This shows that in urban areas rivers have always been an important and valuable resource.
New York City
Nature and the environment have been incorporated into city life through the use of community garden schemes. Community gardens are plots of land that have been allocated to be used as allotments. In general, institutional response to community gardening has been piecemeal, like a handing out of green band-aids. Public land is made available by municipal governments to both neighbourhood organizations and private agencies who lease it on a temporary basis, usually for one year. Extensive public pressure has compelled some city agencies to extend leases by a few years.Community gardening not only produces Healthy food close to home but also cultivates a sense of community among neighbours. Many surveys indicate that people participate in community gardening because they enjoy the opportunity to meet and make friends. Many community gardens incorporate sociability settings — arbours, picnic tables, benches, and barbecues. The growing sense of community fostered by these modern-day commons empowers neighbourhood residents and strengthens their social, physical, and mental health. A vacant lot transformed into a community garden filled with vegetable crops and blossoming flowers or the vibrant colours of a mural painted on the wall of a dilapidated building instantly, almost magically, transform the image of a rundown urban area.
New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
City is home to a system of about 750 community gardens that have sprouted since the mid-1970s on vacant city-owned lots in low-to-moderate income neighbourhoods. After existing for more than 20 years, many community gardens have come to be seen by community development corporations as a key aspect of “community building.”... Despite this growing recognition of their importance, these gardens have a very tenuous hold on their land. Most have short-term license agreements with the Parks Department’s Green Thumb Program. An ACGA survey conducted in 1997 by Monroe and Santos revealed that fewer than 2% of community gardens are considered permanent by their managers.
Due to this aspect of ‘Nature in the City’ being so effective, the government agencies involved have drawn up plans to further implement Community Gardens, i.e. to create more of them and help them to become permanent.
Their intended actions include:
- Secure more land and create long-term stability for community garden through purchase of land and long-term leases or other agreements.
- Increase support for community gardens through partnerships with other government agencies, neighbourhood groups, and businesses, civic and gardening organizations.
- Integrate community gardens into existing open spaces near areas of higher density residences that do not currently have community garden space, while balancing other open space needs.
- Provide administrative resources and agreements that enable community gardening groups to manage the gardens to the extent practicable.
Parks and gardens
SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
has over 42 parks and gardens in and around the city such as the Woodlands Park and Bukit Timah nature reserve. The Woodlands Park is designed in traditional Malay/Chinese themes. There is a river that runs through the park and under the council project; part of the river was enlarged to form a lake. There are a number of attractions including a playground and an amphitheatre. The Bukit Timah nature reserve is 12 km from city centre with an area of 1.64 square kilometres. It contains primary rainforest. There are more species of tree in this nature reserve than there are in the whole of North America. There are also other nature reserves, like the Sungei Buloh nature reserve which contains mangrove forests, swamps, ponds and prawn farms. The parks, gardens and nature reserves cover many aspects of nature and are all found in one city.