Greening the City: Hardworking Horticulture

This talk exploring how built environment professionals are employing urban greening to improve air quality, water performance and overall quality of life for Londoners is open to NLA members only.

Greening the city delivers a practical role in the public realm. While contributing to air quality, reducing pollution, and improving water performance, urban greening creates relaxing pockets of space, increasing the quality of life for its users. How do we strategically deliver this infrastructure across the city, thinking beyond boundaries to improve cross-borough and cross-sector collaboration?

The 2021 London Plan introduced the Urban Green Factor (UGF) as a means of evaluating the quantity and quality of urban greening provided by a development proposal. But are these measures adequate to deliver hardworking horticulture and truly biodiverse spaces across London?

Urban greening creates cities that are healthier and more sustainable and can also shape the identity of place. To ensure the impact of green infrastructure is lasting, maintenance is key. How can the industry communicate the value of greenery in the public realm for local communities, and share responsibility for its upkeep?

This talk will bring together voices from across the industry to showcase exemplar projects and explore how the approach be more joined up in order to realise ambitions for making our city greener and healthier.