The critical role of green infrastructure in tackling the recession and climate change is the subject of a conference - ParkCity - being organised by CABE and Natural England on 24-25 March 2009.
Leading international thinkers will make the case for an urgent increase in investment in green infrastructure (the physical environment within and between our cities and towns which provides a network of multi-functional open spaces, including green corridors, waterways, street trees, gardens, formal parks, woodlands and green belt).
The conference will promote a new urban renaissance based on investment in green infrastructure. The opportunities in 2009 revolve around green collar jobs, and a smart, affordable response to climate change. This renaissance will be about investing in communities as if the environment mattered.
The conference, in central London, brings together high profile speakers - including world-renowned architect and designer William McDonough and foremost green infrastructure expert Edward T McMahon; the Mayor of London Boris Johnson; Sir Bob Kerslake, Homes and Communities Agency; and George Hargreaves, lead designer of the Olympic Park for London 2012.
The ParkCity conference is designed for senior practitioners responsible for community development, economic regeneration, public health and planning.
It will show why green assets belong at the heart of every development, every neighbourhood and every service and explore what they contribute to stronger inward investment and improved public health. Urban open space needs new kinds of estate management, for food production or crops for biomass, and better design to provide protection against flooding and overheating.
ParkCity will look at recent experiences in North America, continental Europe and the UK, including the landscape-driven regeneration approach developed for the London 2012 Olympic Park.
For further details, contact: Dominy Bird: Telephone: 020 7070 6772.
The Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) brought together top executives from across the housing, economic and finance sectors in an attempt to tackle the rural housing crisis sparked by the recession. The Rural Experience event was led by Sir Bob Kerslake, Chief Executive of the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).
Delegates had the opportunity to visit villages and a market town to hear directly about the issues affecting people living there. The visit was held in co-operation with Hastoe Housing Association, which manages 3,500 affordable homes in southern England, over half of which are in rural areas. In rural areas, households need at least eight times their income to purchase a house, and even in a recession - house prices would have to fall by as much as 63% to be affordable.
From the Rural Experience event, all of the participants were asked to consider how their organisation can best 'rural proof' their activities to improve the delivery of affordable rural housing, both individually and also through working collectively. In this way an action plan was developed including generating some new, innovative solutions.
