What is a Nature Town or City
Nature has the power to transform our towns and cities, making them greener, healthier places to live and work. Here is what a ‘Nature Town or City’ could look like for people, communities and at town or city-scale.
A recipe for success
Click through the images to discover some of the ingredients that come together to make a Nature Town or City. Then scroll down to discover more about each one.
Acting for nature
Communities are stronger when they’re empowered to act for nature.
In Nature Towns and Cities volunteers care for green spaces, and neighbourhoods come together to bring nature closer to home.
Expand the arrows to discover more about how people are playing their part.
Community plots include spaces like kitchen gardens, raised beds in public areas and shared green spaces on street corners. They bring people together and help nature grow.
The plants and flowers that grow in community plots attract wildlife, increasing urban biodiversity. These spaces give people a chance to get hands-on with the natural world through food growing and gardening.
Community plots are a place for diverse neighbourhoods to grow green skills and spend time together on common ground.
Tree guardians are people who help plan, plant and care for trees in urban neighbourhoods.
Research shows that trees bring lots of benefits to towns and cities, helping to improve air quality, reduce flooding and create homes for wildlife.
People like them too, with most urban dwellers saying that they make their streets better places to live.
Tree guardianship helps grow these benefits across towns and cities, giving locals a sense of ownership over their patch of urban forest and more people the chance to enjoy the green giants on their doorstep.
Green volunteer networks are organisations that bring groups carrying out work for nature together – to connect, share knowledge and make things happen.
Volunteer groups and networks bring passionate people from all walks of life together. With diverse skills and experience, they play an essential role caring for green spaces and making them more accessible to others.
When supported by local councils, networks become a joint force for nature across whole towns and cities, turning neighbourhoods into healthier and happier places to live.
Building with nature
Nature is integrated into daily life, making this a great place to live, work and invest.
In Nature Towns and Cities green features counter the effects of climate change, connect people to wildlife and help nature thrive.
Expand the arrows to discover how green and blue space sit at the heart of their plans.
Wildflower verges include roadside spaces like grass and tree-lined central reservations. They act as corridors for wildlife, connecting parks and open spaces through built-up areas.
The pollinator-friendly plants found on wildlife verges help nature to recover and increase biodiversity.
Wildlife verges can also combat effects of climate change like flooding, as longer grass and soft soil slows rainwater runoff.
Plus, they look nice, adding much-needed colour and vibrancy to our morning commutes and city strolls.
Street trees can provide social, economic and environmental benefits for generations of people.
They offer cool shade on hot days and homes for urban wildlife, store carbon and help prevent flooding by soaking up rainwater.
Trees are good for our health too, reducing air and noise pollution and giving us touchpoints with nature through the seasons.
Urban green giants bring economic benefits too, ranging from care or maintenance jobs, to creating more attractive environments that businesses want to invest in.
Pocket Parks are small slices of unused, undeveloped or derelict land that have been transformed into urban green spaces by their local communities, often in collaboration with conservation organisations or councils.
They might be smaller than a tennis court or cover up to 0.4 hectares (an acre) of an urban estate.
Pocket parks might be small, but they make a big impact. They offer green and vibrant spaces where people can play and experience the joy of plants and wildlife.
They are also a rallying point for communities entrusted with their long-term care.
Better by nature
Nature is near, making people healthier, happier and better connected.
In Nature Towns and Cities local services prescribe green activities, with time spent outdoors saving healthcare costs long-term.
Expand the arrows to discover more about how nature is helping people to feel better in the outdoors.
Urban therapy gardens are a way to bring the healing power of nature to people without access to their own green space.
They give people in towns and cities access to much-needed plants and nature, to improve their physical and mental health, communication skills and resilience.
Health professionals can even direct people to community groups offering nature-based activities for health in therapy gardens. This is known as green social prescribing (GSP).
Greenways are safe and accessible nature-friendly pathways that connect urban people and wildlife to places like parks, housing estates and historic sites.
As nature’s arteries, urban greenways provide lots of benefits to people and nature.
Verges and planting offer homes for new and existing city wildlife, with flowers that soften city views and ensure butterflies and insects can thrive.
As traffic-free routes, they’re a safe space for city-dwellers to get active whilst reducing traffic congestion. They even mitigate the impact of climate change as crucial ‘carbon sinks’.
Multi-purpose parks give access to high-quality, nature-rich green and blue space in the heart of towns and cities.
Research shows that time in nature improves health and wellbeing, but the majority of urban households don’t have access to a decent green space nearby.
Multi-purpose parks have features like play equipment, open fields and wooded areas, sports courts and boating lakes. As a ‘one-stop-shop’ to the outdoors, they give more people the chance to access and enjoy time in nature.
Victorians first recognised that access to green space in towns and cities can support public health. Many heritage parks and gardens remain at the heart of local community culture today.
Nature pays its way
Nature is growing the local economy and creating jobs.
In Nature Towns and Cities investors are supported to give back to the local area. Private money flows into green projects that benefit people and wildlife, and save health and climate adaptation costs.
Expand the arrows to discover more about the urban green economy.
Habitat banks are areas of green or blue space that have been restored or created with funding from a private investor.
The biodiversity improvement is measured, ‘banked’ and sold to developers – who are required by law to help improve natural habitats. The sale covers site maintenance costs for 30 years and pays the funder back with interest.
Habitat banks are just one of the innovative ways that towns and cities are funding natural spaces. They are a way for investors to meet corporate and social responsibilities and grow the value of a savings pot.
These finance models have the potential to generate millions of pounds for better quality green space that people and nature can benefit from.
Rain gardens are shallow planted areas that collect rainwater, reducing the amount that runs off into drains.
They help reduce the risk of flooding in wetter seasons and store water to help plants and flowers survive times of drought too. This makes them a good option for investors looking to build climate resilience in local communities.
In turn, these plants and flowers attract and provide homes for wildlife like insects and birds.
Rain gardens also bring colour and softness to urban streets, offering small moments of connection with nature that lift peoples’ spirits day-to-day.
Ranger apprenticeships help inspire the next nature champions in towns and cities.
They open up new opportunities in urban areas, giving people a chance to learn new and different skills like species conservation and wildlife surveying.
Many participants go on to secure paid environmental jobs. The apprenticeship helps them on their journey to become self-sufficient whilst benefiting the natural environments they work in and supporting the local jobs economy.
Younger apprentices also bring new perspectives that help places understand what’s needed from urban nature now and in the years to come.
This is a Nature Town or City
Each of these ingredients helps fundamentally change how nature is integrated into urban communities. We believe nature is a need-to-have, not a nice-to-have. The scale of the challenge is huge, but the payoff is worth it.
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About Nature Towns and Cities
Nature Towns and Cities is a coalition of organisations committed to bringing the benefits of nature and green space to everyone in the UK.
Find out more
Become a Nature Town or City
Places across the UK are getting official Nature Towns and Nature Cities status through our accreditation scheme, showing their commitment to transform urban landscapes for people and nature.
Make it official
Resources to bring nature into every neighbourhood
Browse highlights from a library of the latest evidence, case studies, guidance and expertise to help local authorities, community organisations and their partners to drive change.
Resource highlights