The London Borough of Croydon commissioned Arkwood to undertake a quality assessment of 116 parks and open spaces and to develop a Corporate Natural Capital Account that compared the quality and provision of green infrastructure with the incidence of health inequalities across the borough.
Client and Contract Period
London Borough of Croydon
November 2018 to July 2019
Project Objectives
The London Borough of Croydon is seeking to forge a strategic relationship between greenspace and wellbeing. The open spaces assessment and CNCA provided the council with an assessment of the current quality of its green infrastructure assets and the value of benefit flows delivered by these assets. In parallel, Arkwood undertook an analysis of health statistics for five main disease groups known to be positively impacted upon by access to the natural environment. By mapping the level and quality of provision against areas with significant health inequalities, the study was able to propose where the council might target its resources. The natural capital account quantified the value of these benefit flows in terms of avoidable health costs, providing the council with an economic rationale for investment in green infrastructure.
Issues Challenges and Outcomes
The Croydon CNCA was a ground-breaking project that assesses the relationship between green infrastructure and health. Acquiring and assessing consistent data required an assessment of health statistics at GP-level. Croydon Council’s work on harmonising parks and wellbeing strategy is on-going. The council secured further funding from the GLA to model specific health coasts and outcomes as an annexe to this report. This project won a Horticulture Week Custodian’s Award in 2019.
Services
- Project Management
- Landscape strategy and natural capital accounting
- Environmental economics
