As part of Savills ongoing partnership with Property Week for the Climate Crisis Challenge, I had the pleasure of discussing my thoughts on green cities with Liz Hamson, editor of Property Week.

We covered many themes such as the slow streets movement, 15-minute cities and a circular economy, which could all have a very positive impact on the environment as well as people’s wellbeing. Regulation will play a critical part in enabling these ideas to become reality and there are examples of cities that are already benefitting from such changes.

A particular area I believe we will see become increasingly topical and important is air pollution in cities, especially during this pandemic as it can be very damaging to heath. In London, the Ultra-Low Emissions Zone has made a big difference over the past four years and significantly improved air quality.

Other cities in the UK may look (and some are already) to introduce a similar zone to tackle their air quality. However, 99 per cent of London still has pollution levels above the World Health Organisation’s recommended limit, which is much tighter than the UK target, so more needs to be done.

While many of the concepts discussed focus on walking and cycling, there is also a need to improve public transport. Electrifying the railways is crucial to meeting the UK’s net zero target and reopening railway lines and stations will help provide an alternative mode of transport to cars for longer distance journeys.

Overall, I am hopeful for the future of both cities and tackling the climate crisis. Covid-19 has demonstrated our ability to adapt to change and innovate when needed. Many countries and cities are now using a green recovery as their basis for coming out of an economic downturn.

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Read more: Cities are key to a green recovery