OUR SOUTH WEST Home Page    Millennium Archive Home Page

Urban habitat

Wildlife is not confined to the countryside, but can also be found in urban areas – in parks and gardens; on walls and roofs; around factories and on old waste tips; beside canals and docks. Biodiversity in urban areas is important in its own right for its ecological value, but also brings other environmental, social and economic benefits.

Trees can help to clear up airborne pollution, working on practical conservation projects can pull local communities together, being able to see natural landscapes has been shown to help people recover more quickly from illness. People in urban areas benefit from daily contact with wildlife, the quiet enjoyment of nature provides a break from the stresses of modern city life and can increase people's feeling of well-being and pride in their local area.

It is very difficult to estimate the amount of urban habitat in the South West region. Using the widest definition it would cover all of the main villages, towns and cities. The area of land covered by 'urban habitat', in its narrowest definition – ie designed and industrial landscapes is also very difficult to calculate. No complete data set of major urban habitats in the South West is currently available.

Wildlife

The remaining green spaces in our urban landscapes, not unsurprisingly, face constant pressure from a whole host of directions. Finding and maintaining a place for wildlife within our towns and cities is indeed a challenge.

Pollution, and the way land is managed, ranging from over-management, incorrect management, insufficient management or even complete neglect, all cause problems alongside the ever-present threats of development.

Alongside these there is great pressure on local green spaces from often hundreds of different groups that would like to use this precious land for activities ranging from horse riding, through jet ski-ing to cycling, motor racing and orienteering to dog walking.

The problems for urban sites are often exacerbated by their small size and by their intensive use by people.

There is much enthusiastic activity in our towns and cities to ensure that urban wildlife maintains its place alongside competing interests. Much can be achieved by appropriate planning at the local level.

Local Authority Nature Conservation Strategies, for example, for Greater Bristol, covers Bristol and the surrounding urban area, and Gloucester City; Gloucester also has developed its Local Agenda 21 initiative 'Vision 21', which sets out an agenda for local government action.

Many Local Government Plans include nature conservation policies and some urban sites may be designated as Local Nature Reserves, SNCIs, CWS, SSSIs, or SPAs.

Beyond planning, initiatives such as the development of community forests are progressing in the region eg Great Western Community Forest, Forest of Avon.

At a very local level the Countryside Commission's Millennium Greens Initiative (to create 70 new greens across the South West) is also underway.