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Public conversations on climate crisis
How to enrich and protect green spaces in dense urban communities?
In order to maintain a healthy balance within big urban cities, there is the need for large and of good quality green spaces. The problem with the quantity of the green spaces in Bucharest is quite popular - there are just a few, bearing in mind the number of population living here. The city was on the verge of infringement because of pollution. Lack of green spaces is part of this problem.
But the discussion about quality is the complicated one. For decades, local public administration saw good green spaces as those with lawns and perennial flowers. These kind of spaces are water intensive, require considerable public funds in maintaining and are very low protectors of biodiversity. The more natural, the better for all habitats.
Natural Park București Association was the first to propose and to advocate for green spaces that are just that - green spaces. Fostering for all sorts of insects, birds, frogs and other forms of life, these spaces are both beneficial for the health of the citizens and of the creatures that live in the city.
After having established the first natural park within an urban area, Natural Park Văcărești, the association succeeded in having the first locally protected area - Petricani meadow.
These two spaces are as close to the nature as it can be. Guidelines into how to deal with local climate crisis are abundant in explaining why this is the best solution for communities.
(Photo source: Natural Park București Association)
How climate change affects us differently. Mainly based on social class
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Foundation published a study focusing on the heat weaves in Bucharest. The report is three-folded. The first section focuses on the current meteorological parameters and the possible future temperatures for Bucharest (both optimistic and pessimistic scenarios are presented).
The second part of the report focuses on how the activity of local administration in Bucharest responds to the local manifestation of the climate crisis.
The last section describes the daily lives of the urban poor and precarious workers in times of extreme heat. This section depicts how these people experience heat weaves and which are the coping mechanisms in order to make the heat bearable.
The report Bucharest under heat weave is available here.
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