We love London but let’s face it, sometimes it feels overcrowded and polluted, especially during the summer months.
But being green and being a high-octane metropolis is a difficult act to balance. To celebrate World Environment Day on June 5th, we thought we’d round up 10 green facts about city living and give London a pat on the back for once.
#10 Plenty Of Green Spaces
We bet you didn’t know that London has 35,000 acres of public green spaces – that’s 40% of its surface area – making it one of the greenest cities of its size in the world. (Source: City of London.gov.uk)
Alexandra Park, London Borough of Haringey, N22 © Ewan Munroe#9 Some Amazing Royal Parks
There are eight Royal parks in London covering 5,000 acres (Source: The Royal Parks), which is the equivalent of 5,000 football pitches!
#8 Fantastic Allotments (If You’re Lucky Enough To Get One!)
And there are between 21,000 and 25,000 allotments in London, which works out at about 16 allotments per 100 households. No wonder there’s always a waiting list! (Source: Our Life)
#7 Wildlife Centres Hidden Down Residential Streets
The Centre for Wildlife in Peckham was originally an old council depot but is now transformed beyond recognition. It is an award-winning visitors’ centre demonstrating innovative environmental building techniques, which provides a base for school parties. You would never even know it was there! Worth a visit and you can even bring home some Peckham Honey from their very own hives! For more information click here.
#6 The London Underground
We Londoners have always been forward thinking when it comes to going green and taking public transport. The Tube may be hot and cramped but it’s also over 150 years old and in 2011/12 we made 1.171 billion journeys on it. (Source: The Independent).
#5 A Congestion Charge Reducing CO2 Emissions
London is one of only a few cities in the world that has a congestion charge. Others include Singapore, Oslo and Stockholm. Transport for London claim the scheme immediately reduced traffic in the heart of the capital by 15% and led directly to a 16% reduction in CO2 emissions from traffic. (Source: Transport for London)
#4 Cycle Hire Scheme (Boris Bikes!)
In the first twelve months after London’s cycle hire scheme was launched, over 6 million journeys were made across the capital. (Source: The Guardian)
(Oh, and take a look at this awesome video showing the real-time behaviour of the ‘Boris Bikes’ on a day in 2010 when the tubes were on strike!)
London Hire Bikes animation from Sociable Physics on Vimeo.
#3 Black Cabs Are Going Green
Meanwhile, Boris has just announced new plans to turn our iconic black cabs green. The six-seater Metrocab pictured below is the first taxi to be powered entirely by electricity. (Source: The Telegraph)
#2 Edible Bus Stop Gardens
Perhaps the greenest public transport in the city are London’s Edible Bus Stops, a genius idea that started in South London and which are now dotted around the city. For more information visit http://www.theediblebusstop.org
#1 A Garden Bridge Across The Thames
And by 2017 we should be able to cross the Thames by taking a stroll through a lush planted garden designed by Thomas Heatherwick. Check out http://www.gardenbridgetrust.org for more updates on the project.
Our commitment to keeping London green
Removals can be a pollution-heavy and wasteful business – just think about the big, gas-guzzling lorries, the mountains of cardboard boxes and the miles of bubble wrap.
Here at Alexanders we work smarter than that. We reuse packing material as often as we can, use hire crates instead of cardboard boxes whenever possible and we even send our team out on public transport when they make site visits.
We can’t do much about the vans (although we do always turn off engines when we’re loading and unloading) so we make a monthly donation to the Border Green Energy Team to partly offset our carbon emissions.
Read more about our eco policy and find out what you can do for World Environment Day.