The City of London Corporation has unveiled the next phase of its successful ‘Cool Streets and Greening’ programme which aims to help tackle the risk of climate change.
The public realm focussed programme is part of the City Corporation’s ambitious Climate Action Strategy which commits to supporting the achievement of a net zero Square Mile by 2040 and to better the climate resilience of the City’s streets and open spaces.
The programme looks to identify measures for the Square Mile’s streets and open spaces which will combat risks such as flooding, heat stress, biodiversity loss, water shortages and emerging pests & diseases.
The first year of the programme is delivering popular projects including:
– Sustainable drainage and climate resilient planting at Bevis Marks, Jubilee Gardens and Cheapside
– New riverside planters at the City of London School
– Tree planting on Vine Street
– Climate resilient planting at four pedestrian priority sites
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These initial measures are being monitored to see which are the most successful at combatting climate risks.
The second phase of the programme will see similar measures installed at Bank, Crescent, Little Trinity Lane and Moor Lane, and there will be further monitoring installed at the Barbican podium and on Finsbury Circus.
To further progress the programme, a review will be carried out on the existing highway to identify any opportunities to reduce heat absorption, and a City-wide greening and biodiversity scheme to improve the Square Mile’s Urban Greening Factor will be considered.
The City Corporation is working in partnership with the British Geological Survey on the ‘Cubic Mile’ project which will map below ground opportunities for climate resilience measures.
Chairman of the City of London Corporation’s Projects Sub Committee, Keith Bottomley, said: “Tackling climate change requires all of us to act and we are fully committed to playing our part to address this urgent global challenge.
“The measures already planned across City streets and open spaces as part of the first phase of this programme are a good start, but we know there is a lot more to be done.
“By committing to a second year of the Cool Streets and Greening programme, as part of our Climate Action Strategy, we are putting practical measures in place and we are able to closely monitor success to inform future projects.”
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