West Gorton, Manchester, needs more green spaces, according to residents that responded to a survey conducted for GrowGreen on their uses of existing open spaces in the neighbourhood. Designing effective nature-based solutions relies on the involvement of local people. It’s important to ensure their preferences for green space are taken into account, so that the...

From 27th to 29th November, a conference of villages and cities for sustainability, called Conama Local, took place in Valencia. More than a hundred presenters from public administration, business, universities and civil society from different European countries met at Las Naves – the city’s Centre of Innovation, to share initiatives, solutions and projects to create...

There are many reasons why we need our cities to be green: to improve citizen health; to reduce flood risk; to keep us cool in ever hotter summers; to provide homes for wildlife; to clean the air we breathe, the list goes on. So, if there are so many benefits, why aren’t all our cities...

The Science Centre World Summit was recently held in Tokyo, from 15–17 November. The Summit is a global meeting of professionals from science museums/centres and their networks, and takes place every three years. At the first Summit, in Belgium in 2014, the Mechelen Declaration was developed as an action plan for the international science museum/centre...

It’s 8.30am on a Monday morning and I’ve just walked into the headquarters of the World Bank in Washington DC. You’re quite right, this is rather unusual for someone whose job is to help Manchester to meet its climate change targets. ‘But Jonny, this is an amazing opportunity to show the great work that Manchester...

Getting local people involved in designing and implementing Nature Based Solutions to improve their city’s resilience to climate challenges is a key part of GrowGreen. Manchester recently hosted its own Climathon, the world’s biggest climate change hackathon, to find Nature Based Solutions to Manchester’s most pressing climate issues. A team of 6 Landscape Architect students...