Urban Green Space Threatened By Higher Density?

New regulations requiring higher density housing have some worried about the threat to urban green space in the UK.

1 minute read

June 18, 2007, 12:00 PM PDT

By Nate Berg


"With such reductions in land-take in mind, the UK government now recommends that all new housing is built at 30-50 dwellings per hectare, more-or-less double the current density. That's an average of more than one household in an area the size of a tennis court."

"This will pack a lot more people into the same space than we currently do. It is perhaps the single most important piece of housing legislation for decades, yet it is not well known and the potential consequences of it have not been widely debated."

"There are significant downsides to the alluring vision of the compact city. Evidence from the UK tells us that green space is one of the first casualties of high density urban development."

Friday, June 15, 2007 in BBC

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