Green space in cities can bring considerable health benefits for communities, but access is unequal

After amassing a large amount of property in Chile, the Tompkins Conservation would donate millions of acres to the government to maintain as national parks for wildlife conservation and sustainable land use. This was the largest act of “wildlands philanthropy” in history. When the Tompkins started buying land, locals were at first distrustful, but now they’re concerned the government won’t be able to maintain the properties. Thanks to the Tompkins Conservation, wildlife, like the South Andean deer, are being reintroduced and forests have recovered.

By participating in the decision-making process, Mexico City residents successfully convinced the government to build a public park instead of an office development. The Parque Imán is 2.4 hectares, includes 163 trees, and the green space can potentially benefit up to 200,000 residents of some city boroughs. While there are some concerns about the soil quality in the park due to the adjacent asphalt plant, the park shows how participation from residents and transparency from the government allowed the public space to be built.

Collaboration between the Hmong community, researchers, and park authorities in northern Thailand has allowed them to work together to restore the forest in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park. Between 1997 and 2013, they used assisted regeneration to restoring 33 hectares of forest, which also increased the area’s natural flora and fauna. Because of their efforts, their approach is being implemented in tropical forests around the world, including Cambodia, Madagascar, and Tanzania.

The Street Moves initiative in Sweden is pushing local communities to become the designers of their own streets’ layouts and look at urban planning through the lens of the “one-minute city.” Through a public-private partnership, residents in four sites in Stockholm can help determine how much street space is used for parking, outdoor dining, and children’s play spaces. The goal is to increase participation in the community, address climate resilience, and create a more livable city.

TARU, an Indian thinktank, has found that Indians cities have combined decentralized action and "multi-stakeholder engagement" in public policy to respond to problems of scarcity in water and power as well as climate change-related natural disasters. Municipalities are putting responsibility for improving local lives at the grassroots level; integrating disruptive technologies from the private sector; and fostering collaboration between government and citizens.

Washington State could pass one of the toughest restrictions on water bottling operations in the United States, thanks to activists who raised environmental concerns over a bottling facility that wanted to open in a town. Their advocacy is modeled after a similar legal fight in Oregon, where environmentalists, Native American tribes, and labor unions came together behind the campaign. Their success could provide a plan for similar efforts in other communities.

Air pollution is a huge problem for China, but surprisingly, the Air Quality Index in several cities is improving because of a variety of experimental projects that are being rolled out and a number of clever pollution solutions from around the country.

The nonprofit Black to the Land Coalition is working to expose more members of BIPOC communities to outdoor activities and the healthy benefits that come with being nature. They have partnered with other organizations to help alleviate costs and they’ve done activities like archery, camping, and kayaking. “We’re creating opportunities for Black and brown people to engage in natural spaces beyond the playscapes and basketball courts,” says one of the founders. “We’re taking on the outdoor world, period.”

Wales’ One Planet Development Policy allows people to live a more sustainable lifestyle by using only the resources on the land where they reside. For one family, they get their electricity from their own solar array, heat from firewood, and food from their gardens and livestock. Each year, they must prove that they are using only their “global fair share” of resources. So far, 46 farms have signed on to the program and the lessons learned from the experiment are helping to inform the government’s actions on other policies like housing.

As London starts to implement its plan for boroughs to implement sustainable urban greening strategies, officials look to Malmö as a guide after the Swedish city used a green space factor (GSF) as a way of calculating green space requirements for new developments. The GSF system allows governments to integrate biodiversity-focused incentives into their urban planning, while allowing designers and architects to respond to local needs.