Five frameworks
The programme is split into 5 frameworks:
- A New Governance Model for Birmingham’s Green Space: Under Joseph Chamberlain, Birmingham was seen as the birthplace for modern municipal government, it was at this time that the city’s parks took pride of place amongst its newest city assets. 150 years later we are living in very different times, and the city’s green spaces now need to respond to global climate and ecological emergencies, as well as the current COVID-19 pandemic. To do this effectively Birmingham now needs to take the lead again and change its current governance approach to put nature at the centre of its decision-making.
- Environmental Justice: We know that people living in more deprived areas have poorer health and wellbeing, poorer educational outcomes, poorer access to work, and suffer more from the impact of climate change. These are the same groups of people who are struggling more from COVID-19 and have less access to good quality green space. This thread connects the impacts from climate change, ecological decline and the COVID-19 pandemic to environmental justice. We know that green space offers huge benefits to health and wellbeing and by making sure those in more need of it, can access it, we will go some way to achieving environmental justice.
- A Healthy City: Birmingham aspires to be a healthy city as well as a green city. In the great Victorian era, city parks came out of the 1848 Public Health Act. This recognised the overwhelming health benefits of the natural environment on all people’s lives. Our Healthy City Framework will re-connect these agendas once again in Birmingham so that we clearly link health and wellbeing to green space nature, helping our residents to live healthier lives.
- Sustainable Finance: Any change or improvement we make to parks and green spaces has to be financially viable. Our new finance framework will re-calculate all the benefits green space brings to the whole city. We will look at ways to bring extra money in where possible. By focussing on money and budgets, we will grow a greener future with confidence.
- Citizen Involvement: The world's greenest cities make it very easy for their citizens to make a difference through contributing their ideas, their endeavour, and their time. Birmingham needs such a support system for its citizens and under FPA we intend to create such a platform - where everybody's voice can be heard.
Our Frameworks are large in scale and aim to fundamentally change the way we operate in the long term, but we are also using pilot sites to test proposals on a smaller scale in four key areas: Children’s (Dawberry Fields Park, Cotteridge Park); Employment and Skills (Ward End Park); Health and Wellbeing (Witton Lakes); and Housing (city-wide).
