VIRTUAL Manchester Livable Cities
Abstract
Background: As cities grow denser, availability of green urban space is becoming increasingly contested, leading to negative environmental and health impacts. Pocket parks have grown in popularity as nature-based solutions, alongside increasing interest in promotion of modes of transport other than private vehicles. Methods: This project considers the feasibility and potential benefits of adaptive reuse of redundant multi-storey car parking, using the city of Birmingham (UK) as a case study. Three years of public parking occupancy data were analysed (2022-4); semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 environmental, policy and public health experts; GIS mapping was used to estimate changes in urban nature supply under various new greening scenarios, and to illustrate potential impact. Results: Results suggested that Birmingham city centre is currently oversupplied with parking; even the busiest car park studied only reached full capacity 13% of the time, and 40% of car parks never reached full capacity over the study period, suggesting minimal projected income loss for car park operators. We estimated that greening of existing multi-storey car parks could increase Birmingham’s urban nature balance by 14%, an increase from 3.5 to 4.0 m2 per capita; conversion cost of all 8 car parks was estimated as £2,633,250 – £5,687,820. Stakeholders interviewed were supportive of urban greening, recognising potential benefits for physical and mental health, community cohesion, urban heat management and biodiversity but felt costs and political factors were barriers. Conclusion: Given appropriate financial support, converting multi-storey car park rooftops to green space might help address the urban nature deficit.
Bryony Dennison holds an MRes in Urban Sustainability and Resilience from UCL and an MSci in Natural Sciences from the University of Exeter. She has an interest in sustainability and climate change, and is a published author in the ecological magazine Viridis.