“Are the government’s plans for ‘garden communities’ as environmentally-friendly as they sound?”
“How could developers be encouraged to build in a way which incorporates nature?”
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The government wants to build, build, build:
“We will build, build, build: build back better, build back greener, build back faster.”
PM Economy Speech: 30 June 2020 – GOV.UK
The ‘planning revolution’ in house building – Vision Group for Sidmouth
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Exeter wants to build ‘garden communities’:
“Garden Communities” for Exeter – Vision Group for Sidmouth
How ‘liveable’ and how ‘green’ is the Exeter Garden City project? – Vision Group for Sidmouth
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But will all these plans be ‘greener’ than previous housing developments?
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Transport for New Homes says that the new ‘garden communities’ will simply create more car traffic:
New garden towns ‘unsuitable’ for cycling and walking | General News
Garden Communities Archives – Transport for New Homes
Car-dependency Archives – Transport for New Homes
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So-called ‘zombie road schemes’ can now be activated together with new housing developments:
New UK housing ‘dominated by roads’ – BBC News
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The government is looking to Ebenezer Howard’s model of ‘garden cities’:
Garden city movement – Wikipedia
Welwyn Garden City celebrates centenary in 2020 – BBC News
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But the reality is rather different:
Garden villages locking-in car dependency, says report – BBC News
Garden towns and villages: Visions and reality
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And these housing policies contradict zero-carbon targets:
Building millions of new homes with a zero-carbon target is a contradiction – Property Industry Eye
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So, for ‘green space’ and ‘biodiversity net gain’, how can ‘green infrastructure’ and ‘building greener’ be put at the heart of new developments?
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The key is ‘building with nature’:
How to Build Infrastructure the Sustainable Way
Building with Nature certification scheme, UK – Inside Ecology
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This week’s Costing the Earth on Radio 4 was in Bristol and looked at the issues:
With an ever greater demand for more housing, and Boris Johnson calling for the country to “build buld bulid” post lockdown, Peter Gibbs looks at current trends in house-building. Are the government’s plans for “garden communities” as environmentally-friendly as they sound? And how could developers be encouraged to build in a way which incorporates nature rather than squeezing it out?
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Emma Campbell.
BBC Radio 4 – Costing the Earth, Build, Build, Build
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