Geochemical impacts of urban greening

Geochemical impacts of urban greening: making the evidence work for decision makers

Aims and Objectives

The use of green infrastructure elements (e.g. living walls, bioswales, roof gardens) in cities is increasingly encouraged. These features provide a very diverse range of benefits, from improved mental health to flood mitigation, aesthetic appeal to pollutant removal. Their value tends to lie in multiple modest impacts across a range of issues, rather than a single discrete benefit. To properly evaluate urban greening schemes, the sum of all benefits (plus any dis-benefits) must be considered. This requires a highly interdisciplinary evidence base in which research from all relevant fields is equally accessible and usable for decision makers.

This project aims to improve inclusion of the air and water impacts of urban greening in this evidence base. This will be achieved by learning from the approaches taken by other disciplines, especially public health, environmental economics and ecosystem services. We will consider how geochemical evidence can be presented more effectively to decision makers, in a manner aligned with that from other disciplines. Key findings and recommendations for future research directions will be presented in a publication alongside a review of the existing geochemical evidence. The project will also facilitate creation of an interdisciplinary community of York researchers interested in urban greening, by hosting a workshop and initiating networking opportunities.

Project Outputs

This project brought together researchers and professionals with an interest in the impacts of urban greening from across University of York and external organisations in our region. Academic participants included experts in atmospheric chemistry, health and wellbeing, ecology, environmental economics, climate, landscape horticulture, and planning policy and decision making. Contributions were also made by representatives from Local Authorities, institutional Estates Departments and garden managers.

Through small meetings and a larger workshop, new connections were made and existing links reinforced. The project, and especially the workshop, provided an opportunity for cross-disciplinary conversations around air quality and urban greening, encompassing technical, societal and political considerations, and the identification of research gaps.

The workshop was preceded by an enjoyable walking tour of the Heslington East campus, led by University of York Grounds Manager Gordon Eastham. Gordon highlighted aspects of the soft landscaping that provide ecosystem services, including bioswales and the Micro Forest. The tour stimulated thoughts on ‘real life’ aspects of urban green infrastructure beyond disciplinary silos and provided an informal networking opportunity.

Through literature review and consultation with project participants, an overview of current evidence on the impact of green infrastructure on air quality, and the pathways by which this information reaches decision makers was synthesised. Two experimental field sites run by the University of Sheffield were also visited. The insights gained will be shared with the atmospheric science community with the aim of informing future research development and knowledge exchange activities.

The project facilitated interdisciplinary interactions that would not otherwise have taken place. So far, it has directly led to collaboration on two separate research proposals being considered, the first at the workshop, and the second through a series of cross-linked, post-project meetings between members of WACL, SEI-Y, Environment and Geography, The University of Sheffield and a local business partner. While ultimately these did not go forward, it is hoped that further opportunities for collaboration will arise.

Principal and Co-Investigators

Principal Investigator

Rosie Chance, Wolfson Atmospheric Chemistry Laboratories, Department of Chemistry

Co-Investigators

Professor Alastair Lewis, Wolfson Atmospheric Chemistry Laboratories, Department of Chemistry

Dr Sarah Moller, Wolfson Atmospheric Chemistry Laboratories, Department of Chemistry

Professor Piran White, Department of Environment and Geography

Professor Julia Touza-Montero, Department of Environment and Geography