Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
4﻽5
Environmental Restoration and Revitalization
Another important recent trend in the move to greater adoption of green principles
has been the cluster of policies that restore and revitalize the natural environment
in urban areas. This a result of urban municipalities adopting greater environmental
responsibility in their actions. Until very recently the creation of most new urban
growth areas was preceded by decisions to level and clear the land, unless parks
were developed, or where the local topography was too difficult to build upon, be-
cause of its steep slopes, ravines, or areas prone to flooding. So natural woodland
was lost, marshy areas were drained, rocks were removed, rivers and streams di-
verted or modified, while the effect of the developments on local climates and local
fauna and fauna were ignored. Also, roads and parking areas were sealed by the use
of concrete or asphalt to make it easier for vehicular traffic, which has the negative
effect of increasing run-off rates in rain storms, resulting in the need for extensive
storm pond areas to prevent flash-flood problems. Hence the original natural envi-
ronment was transformed into artificial urban areas, places that obliterated, or at
best had little respect for, nature. However, in the last two decades the adoption of
policies based on ecological principles has led to several major types of change that
are designed to ensure that more of the natural environment is not simply preserved,
but respected, and even regenerated.
One of the first changes came from the modification of existing harmful mu-
nicipal practice s. Many urban governments have now recognized that they adopted
environmentally negative practices in the past, such as the heavy use of pesticides
on green, open spaces. Such approaches have been replaced by the use of more
ecologically friendly products to prevent indiscriminate and unnecessary poisoning
of existing green areas and the wildlife. In addition, new attempts have been made
by many cities to use tree conservation methods to maintain existing mature trees
and to replace them when they die. Many also increase the arboreal stock by adding
trees throughout the urban area, by providing free trees to householders in select
communities on condition they look after them. The adoption of these new vegeta-
tive policies , often called Neighbour Wood programmes, has also helped environ-
mental improvement in many cities, improving the look of areas that did not have
many trees or other vegetation. Moreover, most arboreal policies today ensure that
a variety of species is planted—unlike the almost mono-cultures of tree-planting in
the past—to ensure that there will be greater diversity in urban areas. Even greater
changes have taken place in areas about to be converted to urban uses. Instead of the
past practices of clear-cutting and levelling, many cities have adopted new regula-
tions to preserve as many of the existing features of the natural environment as pos-
sible, even though as much as 80 % of the land may eventually be developed. For
example, existing woodland areas, however small, are incorporated into the green
space allocation of newly developed areas; ponds and marshy areas are often kept as
small ecological reserves with walkways and signage to identify local birdlife and
plant species. Previously, areas difficult to develop, such as steep hills or ravines
and small valleys, were often left behind by developers and became derelict lands.
Now, city regulations in most western cities ensure that developments conserve
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