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Search the Public Notice PortalWith more than 90 parks and gardens, Glasgow revels in its reputation as the Dear Green Place, the literal translation of its name from Gaelic.
However, an expert in urban overheating believes that Glasgow needs more tree cover and green spaces to better protect residents from the ravages of climate change.
Glasgow is projected to experience similar heat levels to London in the future, with the city likely to experience an increasing number of heatwave days and long-lasting periods of extreme night-time summer temperatures in the 2050s and 2070s.
Rohinton Emmanuel is Professor in Sustainable Design and Construction at Glasgow Caledonian University and pioneered the inquiry of urban overheating in tropical cities.
He believes that more tree coverage - especially in the city centre - as well as better ventilated buildings and climate conducive public spaces, will better equip Glasgow to deal with more frequent and intense heatwaves in the future.
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Prof Emmanuel told The Herald: “Glasgow’s top two climate risks are flooding and heating. I think planting more trees is good solution because it could address both aspects. Of course the problem of course is land and the availability of land, especially in the city centre, so we have to look at other solutions.
“We have to think about how public spaces could be shaded by things surrounding them such as trees or other structures to increase refuge. Buildings take a long time to climate-proof but in the meantime public spaces could be climatically comfortable so people could gather there and spend time there when it is too hot. And if they are tree-covered and shaded areas that might provide some respite.
“Because we are still a cold-climate city it takes a very long time to establish green spaces. Unless we take action now, given how long it takes for urban spaces to be developed, I think we’ll be unprepared for heat risk.
"Change has to start now otherwise we’ll be caught out and development rights will have already been awarded and buildings built on vacant land where the possibility to cool the city, especially in the city centre, might diminish.”
Prof Emmanuel believes that challenging the validity of Glasgow’s 'Dear Green Place' nickname could be a useful tactic to prioritize the need for more urban green areas in the city.
“Maybe Glasgow’s 850th anniversary is a good time to remind people how little greenery there is in the city centre, apart from Glasgow Green.
“Everybody knows that Glasgow is known as ‘The Dear Green Place’ but it’s not so green right now. That would be a useful starting point for a conversation.”
It follows research by conducted by Glasgow Caledonian University in 2020, co-supervised by Prof Emmanuel, which argued that, without an equal spread of green infrastructure, the negative effects of climate change will disproportionately impact the most vulnerable in society, especially those in deprived areas of Glasgow, with the north east of the city being highlighted in particular.
At present, about 18 per cent of Glasgow’s land area currently has tree canopy cover, with Glasgow City Council working towards its target of 20% of Glasgow City having tree canopy cover by 2034.
Prof Emmanuel added: “Glasgow Green itself is great but it’s also about distributing these benefits to as many places as possible so more people have access to green spaces.
“In our report we looked at the correlation between deprivation and the lack of greenery and there is a strong link. The least-deprived areas had the most greenery and the reverse is also true.
“The data is publicly available so that could provide a starting point for intervention, showing people how a lack of greenery coexists with deprivation.
“Glasgow needs more trees and in the right places.”
