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Case study

A greener London

London as a National Park City

All GCSE geography courses require an understanding of strategies aimed at making urban living more sustainable and improving quality of life in UK cities. This article considers another way in which London is striving to become more sustainable.

In July 2019, London became the world’s first National Park City. While there are thousands of National Parks around the world, there has never been one in a city before. It’s important to be clear that London can’t be officially named a National Park because official National Parks are rural areas only. However, the London National Park City movement is an organisation trying to change this. Its aims and the projects taking place are great examples of ways in which people are working together to make London more sustainable.

The UK is home to 15 official National Parks, each with amazing landscapes, habitats and wildlife. These are spread across the UK and include the New Forest, Peak District and the South Downs in England; the Cairngorms in Scotland and the Brecon Beacons in Wales. The first National Parks in the UK were designated in 1951 with the aim of protecting areas of beautiful countryside from over-development.

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Previous

A cleaner London

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Longitude and latitude