adapting public space to climate change

8/6/2019 Adapting Public Space to Climate Change

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Public space lessonsAdapting public space toclimate change


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Climate change is the most serious threat we ace. Its consequences will remainunpredictable, and initial impacts on the UK are likely to be less grave than in otherparts o the world, but planning now or adaptation is essential.

The uture will bring warmer andwetter winters, hotter and driersummers, rising sea levels, moreooding and other extreme weather.Because o the delayed e ectsrom greenhouse gas emissions, weare locked into signifcant climatechange, regardless o any emissionreductions that we may secure now.

Extreme weather events will bring more unpredictability to our daily lives

S t e p h e n M c L a r e n

About this brie ng

This CABE Space briefngsets out lessons learned bothin the UK and around theworld rom using public spacesto help adapt to the climatecrisis. CABE Space will bepublishing detailed case

studies later in 2008, as parto ongoing work on sustainablecities. You can fnd out more,and sign up or updates, atwww.cabe.org.uk/publicspaceadaptation.

Adaptation projects

n 12th Avenue Green Street,Portland, USAn Augustenborg, Malm, Swedenn Bristol Business Park, Bristoln CitySpace Plan, Chicago, USAn Chiswick Park, Hounslow, Londonn Cleveleys Coast Protection, Lancsn Milton Keynes ood plain orestn Olympic Park, Sydney, Australian River Irwell ood control scheme,Lancashire, and Sal ord strategicood risk assessment

n River Quaggy, Lewisham, London

Adaptation to climate changemeans making towns and citiesmore resilient. Well-designed,exible public spaces are their bestchance to adapt to these threats.Spaces that are so ter, greener, moreorganic and natural will store waterand are critical to modi ying urbantemperatures. Green spaces with a

generous planting o trees link to orma network o ering cooler, cleaner air.

Adaptation demands that we startreally understanding how our townsand cities work naturally. How watercourses through a town, or instance,and so how to manage it.

Urban green spaces orm a naturalin rastructure that is as critical tosupport urban li e as streets, railways,drainage and sewers and justlike these, it is an in rastructure thatneeds investment. At the same time,this will create much more beauti ul,healthier places.

The challenges ahead

Pressure on land rom high densityOur planning policy ramework

encourages higher urban densities.This makes urban areas moree fcient, or instance in their useo resources and the provisiono public services. But it doesincrease pressure on green space. Inparticular, small-scale local spaces,which will make li e in a warming citytolerable, are being permanently lostto development.

Good urban design should providesolutions or the management owater, temperatures and biodiversity.This could mean planning authoritiesneed to set a development rameworkthat prioritises the provision ostrategic good-quality open spaceor social and environmentalreasons, rather than releasing it todevelopment or economic return.

Water managementWater will present di erentchallenges in di erent parts o thecountry in di erent seasons. In the

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Urban green spacesorm a naturalin rastructure that is as

critical to support urbanli e as streets, railways,drainage and sewers and just like these, itis an in rastructure thatneeds investment

south east, with its high populationdensity and lower rain all, harvestingand storage is key to ensuring theirrigation o green spaces during

hot spells. Greenery that hasturned brown ceases to provideenvironmental benefts like air cooling(evapotranspiration). In other areas,or at other times o the year, oodingwill be a major challenge, so e ectivedrainage is needed, perhaps with anetwork o temporary pools and lakes,and an understanding o water owsacross the local landscape and therole o green spaces on those ows.But all across the UK, rainwater hasto be harvested to avoid wastingenergy and generating emissions oncleaning water or irrigation.

Loss o treesTrees have an important role toplay in climate change adaptation.Yet their loss to insurance claimsremains a signifcant problem (inMay 2007 the London Assemblyreported a chainsaw massacre oup to 40 per cent o street trees).An ongoing programme o new

street tree planting is o courseimportant to keep overall numbersup. But new trees also need to beo the right size and stock largedeciduous trees have particularvalue in cooling the air, shadingbuildings in summer (helping withmitigation, cutting the need orventilation and cooling) andcapturing carbon. In London, adviceon the right trees or a changingclimate can be ound at www.right-trees.org.uk.

Guidance or towns andcities

E ective policymaking is essentialor a robust and exible approach toclimate change. Every local authorityis required to assess the need andopportunities or open space in linewith planning policy guidance note 17(PPG17), and to set local standards.This process can also include anassessment o needs or adapting

to climate change, leading to a moreholistic approach to green spaceplanning, design and management.

A green space strategy or greenin rastructure plan based on thisassessment can help protectthe spaces that are critical tocounteracting the so-called urbanheat island e ect. It can alsoproactively identi y the amount ogreen cover needed, make the caseor improving green provision duringregeneration, and rein orce the needor sustainable water supplies.

When it comes to ood risk, planningpolicy statement 25 (PPS25)requires all local planning authoritiesto produce a strategic ood riskassessment (SFRA). This takes alonger-term view over the impactso climate change. In the SFRA setby Sal ord, or example, fndingshave been translated into a set oplanning requirements to guide newdevelopment. For the North Westregion, scenarios indicate thatwinters will become wetter by as

much as 20 per cent by the 2050s,and so its SFRA added a climatechange allowance o 20 per cent topeak river ows.

Understanding what youhave

There is no one-size-fts-all solutionwhen it comes to adapting to climatechange. Decisions must take accounto local circumstances and bebased on good baseline in ormation.Otherwise you could spend moremoney on trees, or instance, but ailto secure the intended benefts ithey are in the wrong place or thewrong variety.

In Greater Manchester, a risk-basedmethodology has been used aspart o its research project intoadaptation strategies or climatechange. The project team drew upurban characterisation maps showingdi erent land uses, then conducted

an assessment o hazard, exposureand vulnerability. Such assessmentscan be used to identi y areas orisk so that adaptation strategiescan reduce exposure (throughood prevention, or example) orvulnerability (by increasing theresilience o buildings) to suchrisks. Developing this kind o anunderstanding is vital i long-termspatial strategies are to remaine ective. Geographical in ormationsystems can be used to overlay

mappings o risks to various sectors,such as in rastructure and locations,including public spaces. This isparticularly use ul or planners inshaping the pattern o new urbangrowth and knowing what to do orexisting urban areas.

The CitySpace planning initiativeadopted in Chicago, USA, isinteresting because it was basedon a detailed analysis o virtually thewhole city. The initiative aims to bringall communities up to a standardo two acres o open space per1,000 residents by 2010. Althoughclimate change was not the driverhere, it is an excellent exampleo a green space strategy basedon sound evidence. The projectstakeholders identifed the greatestopportunities or creating new openspaces and then made key policyrecommendations in the CitySpaceramework plan. As a result, Chicagohas added 40 hectares to its park

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system, created 60 hectares o newopen space in land surroundingschools, leased 4 hectares to creategreenways along inland waterwaysand provided permanent protectionor 40 community gardens.

Funding has come rom a varietyo sources, a signifcant one beingsimilar to the UKs section 106agreements in that it requiresdevelopers to pay a ee or contributea proportionate share o open spaceand recreational acilities elsewherewithin the same community.

Monitoring the di erenceyour changes make

Given the edgling nature o so manyapproaches we are all learning aswe go along it is vital to measureprogress so that we can learn romwhat we do and assess whetheradaptation is working.

In preparation or the River Quaggyood alleviation scheme in Lewisham,south London (pictured above), thestakeholders used baseline surveysto monitor the impact on riverine ora,trees, bats, fsh, birds and mammals.

These surveys enabled workingmethods on site to identi y the keyenvironmental eatures and retainthem where possible.

It was a similar story or theSydney Olympic Park, Australia.In recognition o the ecologicalsignifcance o the site, theOlympic Co-ordination Authorityput in place monitoring and researchprogrammes or birds, salt marsh,benthic invertebrates, mosquitoesand the protected green and goldenbell rog. The OCAs successor willensure that management practicesencouraging the biodiversity o thesite remain a priority or uture site

managers.

In the case o the award-winningCleveleys sea de ence system onthe Fylde coast near Blackpool, theworks were based on UK climateimpacts programme (UKCIP)scenarios. Lancaster University isworking with the local authorityusing cameras to monitor theimpacts o the scheme on the beachand tide conditions. The data willin orm the design o uture seade ence works.

Young parents overlook the wildli e on Lewishams River Quaggy

Given the fedglingnature o so manyapproaches we areall learning as we goalong it is vital tomeasure progress sothat we assess whetheradaptation is working

Creating wider bene ts

Adapting or climate change o tenbrings with it surprising extraeconomic, social and otherenvironmental benefts.

The River Irwell ood control scheme,part o the Sal ord strategic ood riskassessment, is used as public openspace when it is not an active oodstorage basin. The site is home toimproved playing felds and the newSal ord sports village, a state-o -the-art sporting and training acility. Theood storage basin flls via a simpleovertopping side weir, which overtopsin a one-in-15-year ood event.

The Quaggy River ood alleviationscheme has resulted in betterbiodiversity, linking the river with itsood plains. It has created more oa natural riverbed with meandersand areas o deep and shallowwater. Where hard de ences werenecessary, the project team designedin bird nesting and planting boxes,which support and conserve wallcommunities, including humid ernhabitats and Mediterranean species.The scheme also o ers a more


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Case study 1Greening the city

sustainable businessparkland

Chiswick Park, London

Award-winning business parkChiswick Park incorporates alarge area o high-quality openspace, a sustainable urbandrainage system (SUDS) andgreen spaces that help regulateoutdoor temperatures. Buildingsare arranged around a centrallinear water eature, bordered byplanting and timber boardwalks,while canopied walkways andtrees guide people rom the mainentrance to the water eature that

includes a 1.8m-high water all. Thescheme is important because itavours people rather than vehicles,

routing all o the latter around itsperiphery. Adaptations includebiodiversity corridors, buildingswith external shading and abricblinds, and sustainable designorming a large part o the estatemanagement charter. This includesno pesticides, composting on siteand work with the community.The outdoor spaces will proveever more valuable in a changingclimate and the scheme is seen as

a benchmark or other businesspark developments. Rob Shawo Faber Maunsell who helpedcompile this briefng says thathaving an enlightened client wasclearly important. The desire by

a private company to create adecent, publicly accessible spacethat responds to the London Plan

yields multiple benefts. Theyhave created an attractive spacewhich will very likely have knock-on impacts in terms o rent andsales. But, at the same time, theyare creating a public amenity thatpeople will want to talk aboutas their space. It also shows along-term perspective. It will bemore com ortable or users as theclimate changes over the next 30,40, 50 years. A lot o competing

business parks that dont havethe green space, large trees andwater are going to really strugglebecause they will be unpleasantplaces to be in without signifcantair conditioning.

interesting amenity or local peopleand schools.

Augustenborg, a district in theSwedish city o Malm, hassucceeded in an impressivelyholistic approach to regeneration.Importantly, the local communitywas involved right rom the start othe project in 1998. The schemeincludes an open storm watersystem, green roo s, renewableenergy and transport initiatives.And, by improving building aadesand creating a more pleasantenvironment with communal gardens,

play areas and other green spaces,the turnover o tenancies hasdecreased dramatically as haveits unemployment rates.

Working with thecommunity

People obviously want to live in niceplaces, so they have a stake in makingthose places better. But governancestructures need to be set up to allowcommunities to be e ectively involvedin decision-making.

It is interesting to re ect on theexperience o both Quaggy Riverand Milton Keynes ood plainorest. In neither places wereoriginal plans developed inconsultation with local people, andthis resulted in opposition. In thecase o Quaggy, the original channelscheme was rejected and thescheme redesigned with the localresidents be ore the project wonsupport. It included work to peoplesprivate gardens, so the contractoremployed a ull-time communityliaison o fcer to communicatewith residents be ore and during

construction. In the case o theMilton Keynes ood plain orest,the project team ran into signifcantopposition until the team was ableto persuade local people that theconsultation process was aboutgenuine engagement.

The Cleveleys project near Blackpoolis known as the peoples promenadebecause the council regardedpublic involvement in the design andplanning process as undamental tothe schemes success. Community

orums, local interest groups and thewider community were all engaged,and were involved in the competitionheld to settle on the schemesmasterplan in 2004.

Design matters

Climate change presents plannersand developers with complicatedchoices, but their response willa ect how well a town or city canadapt. Good design solutionsshould mean that interventionsenhance the environment andsense o place, rather than eeling

like clumsy inserts in our publicspaces. There is an interestinganalogy with counter-terrorismdesign: public buildings can eitherbe protected by big concrete blocksor slim steel-rein orced bollards.Both do the job.

The Green Streets project inPortland, Oregon, USA, is a modelthat has been copied in 600 locationsacross America. The aim was toredesign existing streetscape andlandscape planters to accommodate

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As well as mitigating climate change, green space plays a vital role in making summers more com ortable

Good design solutionsshould mean thatinterventions enhancethe environment andsense o place, ratherthan eeling like clumsyinserts in our public

spaces

storm water, and the result has beenattractive enough or other authoritiesto incorporate Portlands storm watermanual and design details into theirown codes.

What the commercial managers orChiswick Business Park (see casestudy 1 on page 5) wanted romthe beginning was to make workingat the park enjoyable. This has beenachieved through its environmentaleatures: the park sells itsel onthe social spaces, amenities andaccessibility. It has been care ullydesigned to include retention

lakes as part o its sustainableurban drainage system (SUDS), andbiodiversity corridors or indigenousspecies around the boundary othe site help the developmentintegrate with its surroundings.The o fces are bordered bylandscape and timber boardwalks,canopied walkways and trees. Iteven has a multi-purposeamphitheatre event space. The siteis an important part o the green

in rastructure o a relatively densepart o London, and works as a

public amenity space that is able tocope better with climate change.

Sustaining change in thelong term

Higher temperatures will put morepressure on open space, as itbecomes more central to making li etolerable in a town or city. Small-scalelocal spaces are particularly valuableand will need to accommodate arange o uses. Just as global warmingmeans changes to the way we usepublic space, so how we manage itwill have to change too.

The issue o maintenance becomesmore complex, or instance. In theBristol Business Park, a SUDSscheme that uses permeable pavingto take roo run-o to a collectionpond could have run into problemshad the critical issue o weeding notbeen addressed early on.

Where public spaces are lookeda ter by the private sector becausethey are part o a private estate, orexample at Chiswick Park, there is no

doubt that this can create high-qualityand well-maintained environments.There are potential downsides,however. These public/private spacescan eel less accessible to all and areo ten tightly monitored and controlledor perceived anti-social behaviour,which may deter some people romusing them.

Early days

Researching the case studies onwhich this briefng is based hasconfrmed how new the adaptationo open green space still eels. The

examples here o er some importantlessons, but there are relatively ewto draw rom. Planning and policyrameworks will start to drive this ina more co-ordinated ashion, andregular review o all practice will becritical as experience and awarenesso the issues grow.

Adaptation investment should includemitigation o climate change wherepossible as well. That way, the uturecould be less harsh than somepredictions suggest.


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Checklist

Researchn Understand and quanti ythe existing and uture climatepressures on your networkso spaces and surroundingneighbourhoods through UKCIPscenarios data (see www.ukcip.org.uk/scenarios).

n Gather baseline in ormationto generate robust solutionsthat consider both the risks andopportunities and allow or exibility.

Resourcesn Work in multidisciplinary teamsacross council departments andwith partners to make sure the rightskills and knowledge are brought tothe project.

n Ensure your project has achampion to secure long-termcontinuity, ocus and delivery.

n Use the planning system torelease unding and achieveprogress on the ground.

Further in ormation

ASCCUE (adaptation strategies

or climate change in the urbanenvironment). See www.k4cc.org

Planning policy statement: planningand climate change supplement to planning policy statement 1 (PPS1). See www.communities.gov.uk

Planning policy guidance 17: planning or open space, sport and recreation . See www.communities.gov.uk

Planning policy statement 25:development and food risk . Seewww.communities.gov.uk

TCPA (2007) Climate changeadaptation by design: a guideor sustainable communities . Todownload a ree copy visit www.tcpa.org.uk/publications

UK climate impacts programme.See www.ukcip.org.uk

n Consider orming a managementtrust to sa eguard unding.

n Make sure management andmaintenance is specifed and canbe both unded and delivered.

Engagementn Engage the local community inthe design process to get buy-in tonew ways o using public space.

n Ensure the space meets usersneeds, considering potentialincreased use in the ace o climatechange.

Designn Maximise the space you haveand make the most o vacantor redundant space that couldcontribute more to climate changeadaptation.

n Design integrated solutions oradaptation, or example SUDS,which can combine their drainageunction with other uses suchas recreation and space ordevelopment.

Case study 2Reversing abandonment

CitySpace, Chicago

Chicagos CitySpace programmeaimed to expand the amount oparkland in the city by convertingabandoned and underutilised landinto community gardens, parksand other orms o public openspace. The goal was to li t allcommunities up to the ChicagoPark Districts standard o two

acres o open space per 1,000residents. The scheme identifedthree main areas surroundingschools, inland waterways andvacant plots. Detailed analysis othe whole city identifed levels o

public and private open spaceand where there was a defcit. The

CitySpace partnership worked withover 100 agencies and groups toconvert asphalt school playgroundsinto grass playing felds; createootpaths and turn vacant, untaxedprivate plots into communitygardens. Funding came rom arequirement on developers oresidential properties to pay a eeor contribute a proportionate shareo open space and recreationalacilities elsewhere in the same

community. It came rom adesperate need or regeneration,says Rob Shaw. There was ightrom the area, leading to largeamounts o vacant lots which werebecoming degraded spaces. The

idea was: lets do something aboutit; lets capitalise on development

value rom other development inperhaps the way that Section 106and planning gain works in thiscountry. Lets use that to createspaces that are accessible tothe public and perhaps providemultiple benefts. Its a greatway o improving the economicvalue as well as the social andenvironmental value o a locality,because it starts to look better,it eels better; confdence rises.

And although we didnt reallyexplore this, there is a very stronglikelihood that thats going tobring businesses and peopleback into the area. You start toget a sel - ulflling process.

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As a public body, CABEencourages policymakers tocreate places that work orpeople. We help local plannersapply national design policy andadvise developers and architects,persuading them to put peoplesneeds frst. We show publicsector clients how to commissionprojects that meet the needso their users. And we seek toinspire the public to demand morerom their buildings and spaces.Advising, in uencing and inspiring,we work to create well-designed,welcoming places.

CABE Space is a specialistunit within CABE that aims tobring excellence to the design,management and maintenanceo parks and public space in ourtowns and cities.

Written by David Taylor or CABESpace, based on a paper by RobShaw, Faber Maunsell.

Front cover photo: Mark Ellis andAshley Bingham, ICD Ltd

Produced by Horticulture Week

on behal o CABE Spaceand published in July 2008.Reproduction other than or non-commercial purposes only withthe permission o the publisher.

This publication is available inalternative ormats on requestrom the publisher.

Climate change is a clear and presentreality that means warmer and wetterwinters, hotter and drier summers,rising sea levels and more extremeweather. Even with e orts to cut carbonemissions, change is inevitable soadapting our towns and cities has to bean urgent priority. Thought ully designedpublic spaces o er urban areas theirbest opportunities to adapt, o eringwater storage, cooling and carbonabsorption. This brie ing rom CABESpace sets out the lessons learned inthe UK and around the world rom usingpublic spaces to adapt.

Produced on behal o CABE Space by

adapting public space to climate change

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