There are urban areas of England where no one lives within a 15-minute walk of nature, government data shows, as ministers scramble to meet their access to nature targets.
While the data shows 80% of people live within walking distance of green or blue spaces such as a river, park or woodland, it also reveals a disparity between rural and poorer urban areas.
Everyone will have to have access to green or blue space under the government’s environmental improvement plan, published at the end of last year.
Sounds like their fix is ‘tear down some buildings to put more parks in towns’ but it is also solved by introducing more trams, metro trains, and better bus services, allowing people to travel to nature spots. And also mitigating the huge lack of mobility people face in english towns.
Surely it’s worse in rural areas as it’s all farmland? At least towns have parks
I have lived in 7+ rural places. All of them have had some combination of nature reserves, forestry commission woodland, recreation grounds, open access land, walkable riverbanks and, of course, the usual footpaths and bridleway network within 15 mins walk.
I really don’t know how common that is but it has always been my experience.
I suppose that is probably true, but then most urban areas will also have places too. I guess just finding areas where you can’t walk somewhere within 15 mins only means that there is somewhere in the UK that applies to. But it could be rather rare.
whats the point, we’ve already eliminated the wildlife.


