How green is London?

A century or two ago, London had a very different appearance, the most defining aspect being smog, a huge cloud of smoke infiltrating the lungs of residents and visitors, and kicking the wildlife to the curbs. Now, it's a different story: we are spoilt with clear skies and green plains. But just how far has the metropolis come? Just how green is the big smoke?

(Greenwich Park, from the Royal Observatory, overlooking Canary Wharf)

The stats

You probably came here looking for numbers, and numbers you shall receive. According to the London Assembly, there are 3,000 parks in London in total, including the royal parks and Millwall park on my doorstep. They also mention there are 8 royal parks, just in case you were wondering. Intimidating, right?

The same page also confirms that public green spaces make up 20% of the city. Most of that must be made up of Richmond Park – anyone who looks at a map of London would understand. I haven't actually been there yet, but the place is massive! To put it in perspective, I spent at least like 30 minutes walking around Greenwich Park, but I feel like I could seriously get lost in Richmond. How thrilling. Looks like I'll have to take on the challenge as if i'm trying to find a new home in London all over again, something that takes a lot of determination.

Why is nature so important in a city?

… or in general?

At least for me, stepping out into a woodland area or a beach, or maybe even fields for that matter, has me feeling grounded, brought back to Earth by actually being in contact with it. My mind is serene and I know I'm okay. The outside just has so much more bright colours than you might think, you know? Little flowers, wildlife with burnt orange fur… and sharp blue sky and water. It's a completely different work to desks and beds, doors and cups. Being the source of our food and sanity, nature tells me everything is essentially okay and I am left feeling comforted. And if you think about the smoggy streets of 1910s London, full of industrial ambition, it's hard to imagine any wildlife there, right? It's almost as if building all these parks has brought back wildlife. Which makes me think; were there any parks that were already there and were just adopted by the metropolitan during its expansion? Because I have a feeling that Richmond park at least was a bit of countryside that was swallowed up. I'll probably tell you later, because I simply can't find out an answer (well, I can't word it well enough for Google to understand).

But not only is it pretty to look at, plantlife actually reduces the power of pollution, tackling a phenomenon called the 'urban Heat Island effect', as The Natural History Museum discusses. These green heroes – trees, grass, flowers – are becoming strong enough to take on the stereotype that cities are the causes of air pollution. The Earth will probably not be able to eradicate this effect because humans will always build skyscraper office buildings – because they're pretty – but it's nice to know that the unconscious living is taking care of something unbeknownst to us all. I don't know about you but for me, this brings an extra layer of comfort.

Comparisons

Now if we compare London greenery to other cities in the U.K., we may be able to have a little pride. And if I gave off the impression in this post that London is the greenest urban area in the U.K., it's not, your hopes have gone a tad too far. Sheffield University have named Exeter's city centre as the greenest city centre but Sheffield has more trees per person, which could mean one of two things… The only part of London that makes into this conversation is Islington. But we can't be ungrateful for the 20% we have in the capital because if we compare to our past, there's no point complaining.

Before the First World War, green space was on the rise throughout London with the expansion of the metropolis and the sharp increase in inhabitants. However, most were overshadowed by smoke clouds with the increase in factory work during the wars – you can read more about the progression of green space at Londonhua WIKI. Considering that smog was an unavoidable health issue, I don't believe that London should be stereotyped as a heavily polluted area, despite the fact that Fawcett mentions the increasing concern over spaces in the contemporary world.

Excuse my patriotism and technicality…

I got a bit competitive and defensive there, didn't I? Green space is something very important to me and many others because it provides a different world to retreat to in a world so centred around work. They're a gem in our society.

If you would like to celebrate the green spaces within such a hard-working city, Visit London have provided a collection of parks and outdoor spaces you can visit and maybe have a pick-nick, or a photoshoot or something. :)

Anyway, here's a video of ducks feasting on… daisies, I guess.