Taking a nature led approach can stop ‘insipid’ developments

In a recent Government report, Levelling-up Secretary Michael Gove said that new housing developments are often let down by ‘poor landscaping or indifferent or insipid urban character’.

 He proposed the establishment of a new school of design to help deliver a higher quality approach to placemaking developments in the future.

 Is this the right approach or do the skills already exist, but they are not being utilised by those creating the developments?

 The majority of large residential developments are still created from a 20th Century model of dominant road networks, poor pedestrian connectivity and a bland, standardised approach to public open space.

 It is time to introduce a better-connected landscape that creates sustainable communities, enhances biodiversity and combats climate change through a resilient, integrated nature-led landscape.

 So how could a wilder, nature led approach be instrumental in bringing about these changes and help to put a stop to ‘insipid’ residential development? Could re-connecting people with nature have a major impact on the social and natural eco-systems of our communities?

 One of the key principles of nature-led design is that humans have an innate connection with nature, and that being surrounded by nature can have a positive impact on our physical and mental well-being. Over the course of the last century we seems to have lost this connection, none more so than in the bland streets and cul-de-sacs of our suburban communities.

 A well thought through and fully integrated green and blue infrastructure can re-establish this connection that both enhances our communities and provides vital, bio-diversity gains for our eco-systems. A dynamic, wilder, green and blue infrastructure network is essential for maintaining and enhancing the health and well-being of both our human and natural communities.

 ·         By stopping mowing the grass and clipping the shrubs in our public open spaces, a richer, more diverse world can be created.

·         A wilder approach to green infrastructure can help to reduce the impacts of stormwater runoff through increased planting, improve air quality, and provide a diverse range of habitats for a wide range of species. It can also provide important health and well-being benefits for the communities that live and work there through parks, woodland walks, orchards and wildflower meadows.

·         Removing the standardised practice of piped drainage in our developments can create a more diverse, natural solution to drainage design.

·         An integrated blue infrastructure network of naturalised water bodies, swales and waterways plays a vital role in not only regulating drainage but also, improving water quality and providing important habitat for aquatic species and the adjacent spaces. In parallel with a wilder green infrastructure, the blue infrastructure network also enhances the wider landscape providing important health and wellbeing benefits for the surrounding communities.

By following the simplicity of this approach and letting nature back into our lives, not only can we help combat climate change, but we can fundamentally change the quality of developments through richer, more diverse habitats, sustainable drainage solutions that enhance placemaking and improved health and well-being for our communities.

Perhaps a better approach would be to urgently bring forward policies that bring developers and design professionals together to promote the need for fully integrated nature led systems that tackle climate change and help create the rich and vibrant communities of the future?