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• The Urbal Fix • Extra Reference Clips • References • The Urbal City • Urbal Policy • UI • • Forum • 'Rurban' describes the bleeding of unsustainable urban consumerism into formerly healthy rural resources. 'Urbal', its polar opposite, describes the only logical cure: The injection of countryside, or more specifically; green productivity, deep into the heart of our cities. | ||
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The Urbal City Suggestions towards the development of Urbal Best Practice. "Join up the green - then maximise productive greenery within it." Within a context of the policies argued here, we suggest the following approach for cities (and indeed towns). Stage One 1) Identify existing public and private green spaces, both within and around the city, including a peri-urban zone at least 60% of the urban area, keeping as close to the city as possible. Assess, holistically, performance and potential for food production, biodiversity (specially soil health), water retention, bio-sequestration, energy generation, active travel, shelter/microclimate, and productive amenity/recreation value. 2) Identify existing green links (i.e veins - just ecological migration, and corridors - including human movement), together with all non-green breaks and barriers between the green zones, green links and countryside which inhibit ecological migration (of soil food web organisms, birds and mammals), and/or restrict actual/psychological connectivity for humans. 3) Identify non-green islands (more than 300m from green). Target the areas where green needs to be introduced. 4) Identify housing more than 500m from outlets selling fresh vegetables and other necessities. Identify areas where new outlets, specially locally-produced food markets, are needed, and identify potential green active travel access routes to these from housing areas. 5) Identify other areas where new green space / green veins / green corridors / fruit and veg production / additional planting (including coppice for local biofuels) / wild areas / parks / green transport corridors can easily be established - including via temporary schemes. 6) Assess local drainage to identify areas where SUDs (swales, wetlands, ponds/lakes, soakaways, tanks and grey-water/reed bed systems etc) need to be retrofitted into the Urbal Masterplan. We have begin researching this process with the Urbal Mapping Project Stage Two 7) Develop - with input from the public - an Urbal Masterplan for the city which prioritises all of the above - from the easy-to-do, like the establishment of new food growing areas or woodland in council-owned mown grass, to the hard-but-necessary, like green links through privately-owned built-up areas and roads. NB this is NOT a prescriptive/interventionist approach. It merely provides a priority road map for negotiated progress. The Urbal Map is an attempt at achieving this democratically. 8) Publish the Masterplan (ditto the Urbal Map), and begin engagement via schools, community groups, local businesess, land owners, third sector bodies and private citizens. When people offer to, or actually begin to, green-up areas that are not currently identified in the Masterplan, give them all encouragement, while assessing and adapting the plan as necessary (on the principle that green is good, and these initiatives may suggest new routes for green links). Allocate time and resources to problem areas, providing advice, support, motivation, and where necessary incentives to encourage up-greening, while keeping options open for the final routes of green veins to avoid conflict and negativity. (It will be important that the Urbal initiative does not become mired in nimbyism). Benign guerrilla tactics may be necessary where landowners cannot be contacted or fail to respond. This exercise could be combined with other sustainability initiatives such as insulation retrofit, re-cycling, active travel, point-of-use generation etc, though it will be important not to confuse or dilute the Urbal message.. 9) Maximise green growth and productivity in the designated areas - i.e.food production (via private, commercial and shared concerns), biodiversity (specially soil health), water retention, bio-sequestration, energy generation, active travel, shelter/microclimate, and productive amenity/recreation value), and ensure ecological and human connectivity throughout - introducing new soft ground, temporary green, planting and low-impact management where necessary, while keeping biomimicry, carbon negativity and local community involvement as first priorities. Re-prioritise existing resources when possible, e.g. children's food-related projects in lieu of conventional playgrounds. Minimise removal of green growth, and the release of carbon by machinery and structures. 10) Develop and encourage motivational and rewarding distribution, skilling and sharing strategies, such as veg collection and delivery (ideally leg or assisted-leg-powered), street champions, veg markets and swap/share systems, plus capture/storage/conversion of food surpluses (e.g. juice, wine, biofuels etc), seed, bio-control species and compost sharing, disability support, polytunnels, etc. 11) Encourage local employment and local services. Discourage high carbon travel. Liaise with and synergise with other local sustainability and green initiatives. All this will require education and skilling (roles for schools / colleges / health services), motivation (roles for local horizontal media and businesses) mentoring / engagement and systems (roles for local experts and street / city champions) and incentives (role for local authorities and corporates). These will be co-ordinated and facilitated via The Urbal Institute.
Key areas for research / resolution. 1) Domestic pet issues (horse pasture, dog / cat carbon paw-print, cat predation). 2) Bioremediation/isolation of polluted soil. 3) Soil food web / ecological connectivity over/around roads and non-green areas. 4) Green wall, green roof and temporary green productive systems. 5) Low impact deconstruction systems. 6) Viable rate-rent / barter models to help resolve land ownership/stewardship issues. 7) Mininisation and mitigation strategies for litter, vandalism and security issues
The Urbal Institute A machine for delivering the above here
Food The best overview of the issues that we have seen to date quoted here
.. more to follow. Please contact Tom Bliss with your thoughts, criticisms and suggestions - or if you want a DVD to show to a group. • Top of Page •
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