© SAVE THE CITY GARDENS  - GAUTHIER DE CROMBRUGGHE

Why Save The City Gardens?

Having spaces for kids to play in is an important reason for families to carry on living here in the city. Green areas provide space and a healthy balance in the city. They contribute to biodiversity in the city and fulfil an important social function. The inner city’s gardens create natural screens between houses and when we have heavy rain they act as a buffer which protects us from water damage. Research has shown that inner city gardens are disappearing at a frightening speed.


         
         


These inner city gardens are mostly bought to be used as building land or as spaces for public amenities. Why are we allowing these city gardens to disappear when there are so many thousands of square metres of vacant buildings? Decisions allowing these gardens to be turned into building land are made too swiftly at a local or regional level. The search for alternatives is abandoned all too quickly.


Doesn’t this show too little respect for city dwellers?

Must they always go to parks to relax in the city?

Must city dwellers always have a view of walls and shut windows from their own back windows?


Although cities are a haven for mankind, nature also has its place. It makes the city more habitable and enhances the environment. Roughly one-third of the green space in our cities consists of private inner city gardens, so residents have an active role to play in protecting the flora and fauna of our cities. Inner city gardens are indeed relatively green and contain a wide diversity of plants. The presence of vegetation differs from one area of the city to another, a lot in some places, very little in others. It depends on the type of buildings, the neighbourhoods and their locations within the inner city.


 

City vegetation has many benefits, and not just on an aesthetic level. City gardens act as pollution filters, by limiting CO2 emissions and reducing noise pollution, for example. In summer, trees provide much-needed shade and create a natural barrier against wind and dust. Different creatures find protection and nesting sites, as well as a route through the city that benefits biodiversity.


Trees in the city have to cope with less than favourable living conditions, such as a lack of space for healthy root growth, higher temperatures than in the countryside, infestations by insect, fungi or other parasites. Despite this, they manage to adapt.


Inner city gardens certainly contribute to biodiversity in the city, but they have a major social impact. That’s why it’s so important to protect them.


 

Home

Our story starts here

Why?

Here’s why our city gardens are important.

Save The City Gardens

Here’s who we are and what we do. We’ll also tell you what we want to achieve.

Help us

Here’s how you can help us. Here’s where you’ll find more information about us.

Alive

Here’s the Save the City Gardens’ photo album and friends

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