Eco Anxiety and what to do about it

Today's Costing the Earth on Radio 4 looked at a growing phenomenon: 

Eco Anxiety

Costing the Earth

Is the future of the planet making you depressed? Do you feel paralysed, unable to imagine the happiness of future generations? 

As global governments fail to respond to the existential crisis of climate change it’s understandable that some people seem unable to conjure up a sense of hope, understandable that dozens of young British women have joined the Birthstrike movement, refusing to bring more children into the world. 

Verity Sharp meets the eco-anxious and asks if they are ill or simply more perceptive than the rest of us.

BBC Radio 4 - Costing the Earth, Eco Anxiety

As a mental health condition, it is gaining ground:
Radio 1 & 1Xtra Stories - Me & My Eco Anxiety - BBC Sounds
Eco-anxiety: Do you have climate change anxiety? What is the mental health condition and how to deal with it | London Evening Standard

With this recent piece from BBC Three:

'Eco-anxiety': how to spot it and what to do about it

Feeling overwhelmed by the existential challenge of climate change? You’re not alone

Dave Fawbert

27 March 2019

The headlines detailing extreme weather events seem to come at you day after day. Your social feed - and just stepping outside - alerts you to record temperatures being set. And yet, still, some people in positions of power deny its full impact.

Meanwhile, an academic paper on climate change - that is so grim it apparently resulted in people going to therapy - has gone viral, with some reports suggesting it has been downloaded more than 110,000 times.

In the words of the 16-year-old Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg, who founded the school strike for climate movement in 2018: “Adults keep saying, we owe it to the young people to give them hope. But I don’t want your hope, I don’t want you to be hopeful, I want you to panic.”

Climate change: Are you suffering from ‘eco-anxiety’? - BBC Three

Do we learn to live with it - and act on it - or do we try to 'cure' this condition? 

Here are some thoughts:
Eco-Anxiety Isn’t New, and It’s Time to Deal with It
How to cure the eco-anxious | Wellcome Collection
Amazing Tips To Deal With Eco-Anxiety
Climate change: are you suffering from eco-anxiety, what is it, and how can we feel less stressed about environmental damage. 

And here are a few more:

Have Anxiety About The Future Of Our Planet? Here's How To Cope

By Meg Lazaros

2 May 2019

There's a term for what I (and many others) feel: "Eco-anxiety" is described as worry, depression, or anxiety that is triggered by an awareness of the environmental woes we face. According to a recent poll, nearly three-quarters of millennials experience it to some degree after reading or listening to the news. And hot damn, for those who feel it, we can tell you it is real. Like real, real. Like sit-on-the-couch-and-wallow-about-the-impending-doom real. The International Psychoanalytical Association has officially recognized climate change as "the biggest global health threat of the 21st century."

The good news? There are ways to combat these feelings other than having a good cry or screaming at the top of your lungs (which, for the record, can be satisfying sometimes too). Here are a few that I've found helpful...

Eco-Anxiety: How To Turn Fear Into Action

Meanwhile, in dystopia-land:

Futures Forum: Utopia/Dystopia: looking forward to the end of the world

Futures Forum: 'Utopia for Realists' >>> Don't Despair: Big Ideas Can Still Change The World

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Ash dieback in Devon

Trees are seen as increasingly important in the fight against climate change:
Futures Forum: Climate change and deforestation
Futures Forum: Planting billions of trees to address the climate and natural environment crises together

The Forestry Commission celebrates a hundred  years:
Futures Forum: Forestry Commission: centenary event "Evolving the Forest": Wednesday 19th - Friday 21st June at Dartington Hall

And the Sidmouth Arboretum will be bringing a week of events:
Futures Forum: Tree Week > 20th - 25th May

We need to look after our trees:
Ash dieback | Devon Wildlife Trust
Ash dieback | Environment - devon.gov.uk
East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - Ash trees need your help

As reported by Devon Live - with good news: 
Tree planting scheme to replace trees lost through Ash dieback - Devon Live 

And not so good news:

Tree disease will cost Devon £30million a year as county worst hit

"The consequences of tree diseases for people really haven't been fully appreciated before now."

Neil Shaw

Head Of Digital, Live And Trending For PlymouthLive, DevonLive And CornwallLive
06:42, 7 MAY 2019

An invasive fungal disease killing ash trees will cost the British economy nearly £15 billion in total, a study has warned, and Devon will be the worst hit county in the country. Ash dieback which is lethal to European ash trees, originated in Asia and is thought to have been brought to the UK on imported ash trees some years before it was first identified in Britain in 2012.

Now experts have calculated a multi-billion pound bill for the disease, with the costs expected will be more than £7 billion in the next 10 years alone. The biggest cost will be from the loss of benefits that woods and trees provide, such as clean air and water and storing carbon dioxide, the study published in the journal Current Biology found. Clean-up costs, such as felling dangerous trees on roadsides, railway lines and in towns and cities, will cost some £4.8 billion, researchers from the University of Oxford, Fera Science, Sylva Foundation and the Woodland Trust said.

Much of that burden will fall on local authorities, with an estimate the worst hit, Devon County Council, could face total annual costs from roadside ash trees of more than £30 million, vastly higher than the average council tree budget. There will also be costs of replanting, research and loss of profits to the forestry sector. The total bill is estimated to come in at £14.8 billion over 100 years, with half of those costs, £7.6 billion, falling within a decade.

The researchers also issued a stark warning that there are 47 other tree pests and diseases that risk costing £1 billion or more if they become established in Britain.

They have called for a nationwide replanting scheme could reduce the overall cost of ash dieback by £2.5 billion by ensuring that lost benefits are replaced.

A greater focus on and investment in biosecurity and sourcing of safe plant material is needed to keep new diseases out, they warn. And far tighter controls on imports of all live plants for planting should be introduced, as this is the largest pathway through which tree diseases come into the country, they urged.

The cost of dealing with ash dieback, which is expected to kill 95% to 99% of native ash trees, dwarfs the annual value of the import and export trade in live plants to and from Britain which totalled around £300 million in 2017.

Dr Louise Hill, from the University of Oxford and lead author of the study, said the number of invasive tree pests and diseases were increasingly rapidly, mostly through human activities such as plant trade and climate change.

"Nobody has estimated the total cost of a tree disease before, and we were quite shocked at the magnitude of the cost to society. We estimate the total may be £15 billion - that's a third more than the reported cost of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in 2001. The consequences of tree diseases for people really haven't been fully appreciated before now."

Dr Nick Atkinson, senior conservation advisor for the Woodland Trust and co-author of the paper, said: "When ash dieback first entered the country, no one could have fully predicted the devastating impact it would have on our native habitats. To see how this has also affected our economy speaks volumes for how important tree health is, and that it needs to be taken very seriously."

To avoid further economic and environmental impacts, more needed to be invested in plant biosecurity measures, including better detection, interception and prevention of pests and diseases entering the UK, he urged. He added: "We need to learn from past mistakes and make sure our countryside avoids yet another blow."

A spokeswoman for the Environment Department said: "Since ash dieback was identified in 2012, we have invested more than £6 million in ash dieback research and £4.5 million to strengthen border security. We currently have some of the strongest import controls in Europe."

She said the Government was funding research to make ash trees resistant to the disease, supporting replanting with other tree species, and helping local authorities manage the disease. "We will continue to do everything we can to protect our trees from pests and diseases, as set out in the Tree Health Resilience Strategy published last year."

Tree disease will cost Devon £30million a year as county worst hit - Devon Live
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Social prescribing > gardening rather than drugs

"Social prescribing is a way of linking patients in primary care with sources of support within the community to help improve their health and well-being."
Social prescribing: less rhetoric and more reality. A systematic review of the evidence | BMJ Open
NHS England » Social prescribing
Home | The Social Prescribing Network

Health, in other words, is a social issue.

It can involve getting us to move a bit more:
Futures Forum: Active by Design Summit: Sustrans "discuss the massive gains that can come from increasing physical activity levels in cities."

It can be about better design of our environment:
Futures Forum: Landscaping for Health

It can mean getting some fresh air in nature:
Futures Forum: Hug a tree > it's good for you
Futures Forum: "Green care"  >>> nature-based interventions for mental health care
Futures Forum: Take a walk: it's good for you!

It can be about learning to cope:
Futures Forum: Resilience and Salutogenesis: "Environment, health and resilient cities: what constitutes salutogenic environments?"

It should be all about community:
Futures Forum: 'Down to Earth': using sustainability to improve people’s mental health

It could be about a spot of gardening: 

‘My doctor prescribed me gardening rather than drugs. It has made a big difference to my mental health’

Karen Litton had been suffering with depression for eight years when she was introduced to garden allotments next to Vale Community Hospital

Paul Gallagher

Friday March 29th 2019

Karen Litton had been suffering with depression for the last eight years when a friend introduced her to the garden allotments next to Vale Community Hospital in Dursley, Gloucestershire.

The area was a wasteland until Down to Earth, a local not-for-profit organisation that supports people in growing and harvesting their own fruit and vegetables, teamed up with local doctors to introduce a social prescribing scheme that allows patients to tend their own allotment – instead of receiving medication.

“My friend was prescribed an allotment herself and told me how good it was for her,” says Karen. “I then saw my GP and asked for a referral. It’s very good for me because I suffer with depression, which can be quite isolative, whereas here I feel part of a group, I meet lots of new people.”

The allotment is also somewhere Karen, 53, can bring Hope, her seven-year old Yorkshire Terrier poking her head out from Karen’s jacket where she enjoys sheltering to stave off the rather cold and windy weather on the day i visits the gardens.

“I’ve put in broad beans, leeks and garlic – and also have rhubarb that came with the allotment. Being here also helps build my knowledge of weeds and plants and flowers, not that I remember them all the time! There’s so much to learn. I’ve been doing it for a couple of months so I’m beginning to get to know people’s names and building a group of friendship really.”

Non-medical treatments

Social prescribing – non-medical treatments which have health benefits – forms a key part of the NHS long term plan, launched in January by Theresa May and NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens. Within five years over 2.5 million more people will benefit from social prescribing according to the plan, which promises over 1,000 trained social prescribing link workers will be in place by the end of 2020/21. Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said he wants the “balance shifted” from drugs to social activities to improve the nation’s health.

Down to Earth founder Amanda Godber spent three years leading the £25,000 Dursley project – from the design to the funding, which is almost entirely charitable rather than from NHS budgets – through to its recent launch. Of the 51 raised beds, each measuring 16 feet by 4 feet, five are currently used by patients with plans to increase that figure to 15. The only thing that is banned are potatoes – and trees. Amanda has already spotted on this morning. “That’ll have to come out,” she says.

“One of the reasons shy it works so well is that it’s become an extension of someone’s garden, which is really good. When people think about it as a garden – that’s a lovely place to be.”Dr Simon Opher, of the Walnut Tree Practice in

Dr Simon Opher, from The May Lane Surgery, in Dursley, has worked on the project in conjunction with Down to Earth since the outset and is delighted with the results. As well as growing cabbages, cauliflowers, leaks, or almost anything they fancy, patients can make a cup of tea, chat and bond with other people. Most patients using them are over 50 with some around the age of 30. They tend to visit up to three times a week.

“It’s not actually a therapy, it’s getting people to do different things,” Dr Opher says. “It’s trying to demedicalise what we’re doing. I think it’s generally true that we’ve all got a bit too medicalised, so if you’re a bit isolated you tend to go to your doctor rather than talk to your neighbour – then the doctor medicalises you by potentially giving you tablets. This was a different response to that. It’s not saying that medicine doesn’t have a place, it’s saying that sometimes you can look to do different things to make people better as well.”

There are several factors behind the increasing number of people who say they are socially isolated, he says, including a reliance on cars, the “slight breakdown” of local communities, and the way organised religion has stopped attracting quite so many people to weekly gatherings.

“This is a way of getting people back together and doing something positive. One thing about the allotments is that they don’t do any harm – you can’t get any side effects! Well, apart from getting a bit chilly,” Dr Opher laughs.

Changes to diet

An evaluation of the Dursley project found that not only did patients enjoy being prescribed an allotment to care for, but that it also made them think more about their diet. “That was an interesting outcome, because if you start growing your own food you start saying ‘this is really fresh and it tastes better’, it promotes a more healthy eating,” Dr Opher says.

The only downside seems to be the finite number of people who can prescribed an allotment. “If it gets really popular we might be in trouble,” he adds.

Social prescribing is for anyone with a physical or mental health diagnosis. A patient is prescribed an allotment for up to a year. If they want to keep it on longer there’s a nominal charge of £11 per year to keep going – or hand it back for someone else to enjoy.

“I think it’s about people missing that link with nature as well,” says Amanda. “About being outside in the fresh air with a group of people who have similar interests. It’s a really good move from the government by encouraging it, otherwise we go and get medication which doesn’t need medicalising. It’s good to have a reason to get up and go out the door.”

Karen says she has noticed the benefits to her mental health already. “When I’m down here, I forget about my worries. I can be part of a group, talking to people. People who just accept you for what you are rather than what diagnosis you have. That’s really important.

“If I didn’t do this I might not be doing anything on a Thursday, maybe not even leave the house.”

'My doctor prescribed me gardening rather than drugs. It has made a big difference to my mental health' - inews.co.uk
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Plastic bags or cotton bags?

You would have thought that 'paper is better than plastic' - but it depends on what you're measuring:
Futures Forum: Plastic bags or paper bags?

The problem is that plastic bags are clearly a killer at sea:
Futures Forum: Campaign to eliminate plastics from the sea
Futures Forum: "The golden shores of Bali are being lost under a mountain of garbage"
Futures Forum: Indonesia showing the way to deal with plastic pollution > the CLEAR campaign

So, whilst the environmental impact of alternative materials should be questioned, it's the immediate impact of plastic which is so obvious:
Futures Forum: Blue Planet II > How plastic is slowly killing our sea creatures, fish and birds

There are of course other plastic pollutants out there besides shopping bags:
Futures Forum: "Bring back bottle deposits to stop plastic pollution in our oceans" >>> Surfers Against Sewage to deliver petition to Parliament tomorrow
Futures Forum: Cotton buds, shotgun wads, plastic toys, and Lego washed up on a Cornish beach give "a shocking insight into the scale of global ocean plastic pollution"

However, the question is whether banning plastic shopping bags actually goes far enough - not whether 'there's no point' or that it's even 'harmful to health', as discussed in this piece today by the free-market think tank the Foundation for Economic Education:

Plastic Bag Bans Won't Help the Environment, But They'll Cause More Foodborne Illnesses

Plastic bags are less than one percent of all litter.

Tuesday, April 02, 2019

Image Credit: Pixabay

 

Hans Bader

New York lawmakers have followed California’s lead and decided to ban grocery stores from giving customers plastic bags. They hope shoppers will use their own cloth bags instead. This ban on plastic bags will harm shoppers in multiple ways.

As Daniel Frank sarcastically notes, “Reusable tote bags” can “cause food poisoning but at least they’re worse for the environment than plastic bags.” He cites Jon Passantino of BuzzFeed News, who observes, “Those cotton tote bags that are so trendy right now have to be used *131 times* before it has a smaller climate impact than a plastic bag used only once.” Yet, there are progressives who want to ban plastic grocery bags in favor of reusable cloth bags.

Plastic bags are less than one percent of all litter. Moreover, alternatives like cloth and paper bags are in many cases worse for the environment than plastic bags, and far worse for public health. That was illustrated by a 2011 legal settlement between plastic bag makers and an importer of reusable bags, ChicoBag. The plastic bag makers sued ChicoBag for its use of false claims about the recycling rate and environmental impacts of plastic grocery bags in its promotional materials. (Those false claims are also the basis for municipal bans and taxes on plastic bags.)

Plastic bags are “less than 0.5% of the litter stream,” according to the head of the National Black Chamber of Commerce.

Under that settlement, ChicoBag was required to discontinue its use of its counterfeit EPA website and make corrections to its deceptive marketing claims, which had included sharing falsified government documents with schoolchildren. It was also required to disclose to consumers on its website that reusable bags, in fact, need to be washed.

Reusable bags “are a breeding ground for bacteria and pose public health risks — food poisoning, skin infections such as bacterial boils, allergic reactions, triggering of asthma attacks, and ear infections,” noted a 2009 report.  Harmful bacteria like E. coli, salmonella, and fecal coliform thrive in reusable bags unless they are washed after each use, according to an August 2011 peer-reviewed study, “Assessment of the Potential for Cross-contamination of Food Products by Reusable Shopping Bags.”

Among the inaccurate claims that ChicoBag could no longer make after the settlement is one that contrasted the environmental impact of plastic versus reusable bags. Contrary to ChicoBag’s previous claims, a study done for the U.K. Environmental Agency showed it would take 7.5 years of using the same cloth bag (393 uses, assuming one grocery trip per week) to make it a better option than a plastic bag reused three times. See “Life Cycle Assessment of Supermarket Carrier Bags,” Executive Summary, 2nd page.

As an earlier report on the subject noted (see p. 60):

[A]ny decision to ban traditional polyethylene plastic grocery bags in favor of bags made from alternative materials (compostable plastic or recycled paper) will be counterproductive and result in a significant increase in environmental impacts across a number of categories from global warming effects to the use of precious potable water resources. … [T]he standard polyethylene grocery bag has significantly lower environmental impacts than a 30% recycled content paper bag and a compostable plastic bag.

As the UK Environmental Agency pointed out in July 2011, a

cotton bag has a greater [harmful environmental] impact than the conventional [plastic] bag in seven of the nine impact categories even when used 173 times. … The impact was considerably larger in categories such as acidification and aquatic & terrestrial ecotoxicity due to the energy used to produce cotton yarn and the fertilisers used during the growth of the cotton (see p. 60).

Similarly,

Starch-polyester blend bags have a higher global warming potential and abiotic depletion than conventional polymer bags, due both to the increased weight of material in a bag and higher material production impacts (see Executive Summary).

As Environmental Protection noted in 2010:

Reusable grocery bags can serve as a breeding ground for dangerous food-borne bacteria and pose a serious risk to public health, according to a joint food safety research report issued by researchers at the University of Arizona and Loma Linda University. The study — which randomly tested reusable grocery bags carried by shoppers in the Los Angeles area, San Francisco, and Tucson, Ariz. — also found consumers were almost completely unaware of the need to regularly wash their bags.

“Our findings suggest a serious threat to public health, especially from coliform bacteria including E. coli, which were detected in half the bags sampled,” said Charles Gerba, Ph.D., a University of Arizona environmental microbiology professor and co-author of the study. “Furthermore, consumers are alarmingly unaware of these risks and the critical need to sanitize their bags after every use.” The bacteria levels found in reusable bags were significant enough to cause a wide range of serious health problems and even lead to death — a particular danger for young children, who are especially vulnerable to food-borne illnesses, he said.

The study also found that awareness of potential risks was very low. A full 97 percent of those interviewed have never washed or bleached their reusable bags, said Gerba, who added that thorough washing kills nearly all bacteria that accumulate in reusable bags.

Plastic bags are “less than 0.5% of the litter stream,” according to the head of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. That low percentage is confirmed by EPA data. (See, e.g., EPA, Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 2009 Facts and Figures, p. 53, showing that the entire category of plastic sacks, wraps, and bags—including trash bags as well as grocery bags—together account for only a little over one percent of all municipal solid waste, and only a small fraction of overall plastics.)

This article is republished with permission from Liberty Unyielding. 

New York's Ban on Plastic Bags Won't Help the Environment, But It Will Make People Sick - Foundation for Economic Education
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"A city is not a park" @ Radio 3 > "What would change, psychologically, socially, emotionally, if we covered the concrete and brickwork of our towns and cities with vines, plants and vertical gardens?"

Putting a bit of green up some ugly concrete is known as covering something up:
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: greening the grey >>> "Is the trend for foliage on buildings a fig leaf for poor design?"

However, 'greening the grey' might be quite effective - on many levels:
Futures Forum: Vertical forests... vertical gardens...

As explored on this evening's 'the Essay' on Radio 3: 

A City Is not a Park

The Essay

Des Fitzgerald tracks the relationship between the modern city and its green environs. Drawing together psychological research with urban history and literature it asks: what would change, psychologically, socially, emotionally, if we covered the concrete and brickwork of our towns and cities with vines, plants and vertical gardens? A city is not a park but should it be?

Des Fitzgerald is a sociologist at Cardiff University who is researching health, illness and city living. The Essay was recorded at the Free Thinking Festival with an audience at Sage Gateshead.

New Generation Thinkers is a scheme run by BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council to select 10 academics each year who can turn their research into radio.

Producer: Torquil MacLeod.

BBC Radio 3 - The Essay, A City Is not a Park

For a little more, see also:
Futures Forum: Greening Grey Britain
Futures Forum: Greening grey Britain @ Radio 4's Costing the Earth
Futures Forum: Greening grey Britain > tackling pollution and flooding

And:
Futures Forum: A sensory garden for Sidmouth
Futures Forum: "Greening grey Britain for health and happiness" >>> a sensory garden for Sidmouth

And finally:
Futures Forum: Vertical farming
Futures Forum: Vertical farming > "the most technically advanced indoor farm in the world" unveiled
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Forestry Commission: centenary event "Evolving the Forest": Wednesday 19th - Friday 21st June at Dartington Hall

The Forestry Commission is celebrating 100 years: 

In September 1919 the Forestry Commission was founded to restore the nation’s woods and forests following the First World War, and the passing of the Forestry Act.

We are now England’s largest landowner and look after over 1,500 forests. We deliver internationally renowned research in sustainable forestry and help other landowners make their woodlands more productive, better for wildlife, and prepared for the challenges of a changing climate.

Celebrating 100 years of forestry | Forestry Commission England

And there's a very interesting-looking seminar at Dartington Hall later on: 

Evolving The Forest

Wednesday 19 June - Friday 21 June 2019
Dartington Hall, Devon

Book now

This symposium will draw together a wide variety of voices to explore a heritage of woodland and forest and look to their future. In celebration of the Forestry Commission’s centenary it looks back at the last 100 years and looks forward to the next.

The event will draw on the wisdom of foresters, environmental managers, policy-makers, scientists and other experts; it will hear the voices of artists, designers, writers and philosophers; and learn from others around the world about their own cultural connections to trees, and the wood that produces some of the world’s most beautiful objects.

Forest Research's contrbutions include a presentation by Chris Reynolds on 'Alternative species for resilient forests' in which he will explain how Forest Research are reviewing and testing new tree species for forestry in the UK. This will include some early results from recent field trials.

Also, with Karen Price from from Westonbirt Arboretum, Liz O'Brien will be holding an interactive workshop on 'How to Hygge a Tree' in which they will be exploring techniques for using trees and woodland for positive wellbeing.

Evolving The Forest - Forest Research
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How sensory walking trails give access to nature for the visually impaired

Sidmouth has its therapeutic and sensory gardens:
Futures Forum: Therapeutic garden project begins at Sidmouth Victoria Hospital
Futures Forum: A sensory garden for Sidmouth >>> official opening

In Pennsylvania, they have a walking trail through a nature reserve for the visually impaired:

File:Flickr - Nicholas T - Pool Wildlife Sanctuary (8).jpg - Wikimedia Commons
New sensory walking trail gives access to the visually impaired - mydoorsign.com

The state of Georgia has a 'braille trail':

Braille trails help the visually impaired enjoy nature

Getting more people outside and experiencing nature is a wonderful thing.

August 14, 2017 By Ryan Brower  

Nature is undeniably one of the most therapeutic and necessary components of human existence that we can experience. And everyone should have the freedom to experience it.

But not everyone can access nature the same way. Take for instance the visually impaired. Something as simple as the most basic hiking trails could prove quite difficult without the proper infrastructure in place, which is why the online community Nature For All was started. The organization is on a mission to help the visually impaired find nature experiences near them.

Braille Trails: Helping the Visually Impaired Experience Nature - YouTube

One example of these experiences are Braille trails: hiking trails that offer guide rope and signage with Braille so the visually impaired can walk unassisted.

Evan Bernard founded Nature For All after he came across a Braille trail that had been vandalized. He wanted to create more opportunities for the visually impaired to be able to enjoy nature independently.

“I was 11 years old when I started getting involved with Braille trails,” 19-year-old Bernard says in the above video. “I couldn’t believe that anyone would vandalize a trail and take away the opportunity that the visually impaired so seldom have to go out and experience nature.”

Nature For All currently has a database online that includes over 200 Braille trails and sensory gardens from 35 countries. Getting more people outside and able to experience the wonders of nature is always a great thing, and Braille trails are one more way to broaden the outdoor community.

Braille trails help the visually impaired enjoy nature | Adventure Sports Network
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Will the 'Future Places' programme for Greater Exeter "enhance people’s lives, improve community wellbeing and create sustainable environments"?

Exeter is facing huge expansion:
Futures Forum: How to sell the Greater Exeter Strategic Plan and its 2,661 new homes a year > offer a 20,000-capacity sports stadium

It's all about housing:
Futures Forum: What's wrong with the Greater Exeter Strategic Plan > "Huge housing growth does not appear to correlate with very modest job growth."

We won't know exactly how much, though, until after the elections in May:
Futures Forum: How much housing and industrial development will happen in East Devon under the Greater Exeter Strategic Plan? >>> We will only know after the upcoming District Council elections in May

We do know that this will impact on East Devon:
Futures Forum: East Devon is taking a disproportionate share of development >>> “Because we have the land and we are good at it”
Futures Forum: A new East Devon local plan will have to implement the strategy set out in the Greater Exeter Strategic Plan by 2023

Especially on those places immediately adjacent to the city:
Futures Forum: Save Clyst St Mary > "Village Life -vs- Future Development"

This is because East Devon is now de facto part of something called 'Greater Exeter':
Futures Forum: The Greater Exeter Strategic Plan and 57,000 new houses

The VGS news pages have been keeping an eye on the wonderful things happening to the city itself:
Liveable Exeter “highlights the property crisis while trying to solve transport challenges”
A better connected, more ‘liveable’ Exeter
Exeter Vision 2020: ‘sustainable development’?

It seems the same wonderful things are going to happen to the conurbation: 

Future Place

The Future Place programme run by the Royal Institute of British Architects(RIBA), Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), Local Government Association(LGA), Homes England and Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) - is a joint, two-phase initiative which will unlock place-making potential at local level through quality in design, future thinking, and knowledge sharing. The programme has been designed to promote best practice and the potential of innovative delivery, design and funding models, cross-sector collaborations capacity building, and knowledge sharing at a local level.

Greater Exeter

By 2040 Greater Exeter wants to be recognised as a global leader in sustainable living and one of the most active, healthy and accessible cities in England

Future place | architecture.com
Future Place Greater Exeter | architecture.com 

It's made quite a story:
Five English regions get expert support for place making | News | Architects Journal
Exeter recognised for ambition and vision to create a great place for the future | The Exeter Daily
Five places win professional body recognition for quality plan-led placemaking | Planning Resource

Looking at the project, there are questions, however:

> Will 'knowledge sharing' actually involve speaking to the already-existing populations? 
Futures Forum: District Council to consider government's latest forecast for minimum number of new homes to be built in East Devon > "Planning for the future will ensure we are not subject to the whims of others."

> How will 'need' be measured?
Futures Forum: Future housing needs and requirements in East Devon

> Will mistakes over bad design for other large-scale projects be taken into account?
Futures Forum: An ever-expanding Cranbrook: "There are significant issues to resolve around how services and facilities are to be provided in the town in the future and how these are to be paid for."

> Will being 'recognised as a global leader in sustainable living' mean doing more than just contributing to the traffic gridlock?
Futures Forum: Exeter is now the slowest city in the UK
Futures Forum: Gridlocked Devon >>> 'Devon Live' to debate "some of the major travel problems facing the county." >>> and to investigate "the attitude of local authorities to sustainable travel and highlight some of Devon's pollution hotspots"

> Let alone properly contributing to quality of life?
Futures Forum: Air pollution, traffic congestion and development >>> Building a new shopping centre to the west of Exeter "would cause traffic chaos"

> Will independent thinking be taken on board - in order to 'enhance people’s lives, improve community wellbeing and create sustainable environments'?
Futures Forum: "What would a zero carbon city look like?" > Transition Exeter: talk and discussion: Friday 1st March

And as East Devon is 'part of' Greater Exeter, the District Council feels it can pat itself on the back, as this press release from today shows: 

'Future Places' recognition for East Devon

When this content has been created

14 March 2019

'Future Places' recognition for East Devon

East Devon, as part of Greater Exeter, has been recognised as one of only five 'Future Places' to support future development of the area.

The Greater Exeter area has been recognised as one of five places in England that has the vision and ambition to create great places for the future.

Greater Exeter was named as part of the Future Place programme.  This initiative is intended to unlock placemaking potential through quality in design, future thinking and knowledge sharing. 

The area will receive training and expert advice in helping to develop the Liveable Exeter Vision, which will see 12,000 new homes built within the city between 2020 and 2040, as well as supporting the wider programme of development across the Greater Exeter area.

The prestigious initiative is run by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), Local Government Association (LGA) and the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).

The capacity building programme is based on three pillars: promotion, expert advice and training.  The initiative will support the Greater Exeter partnership – made up of Exeter City Council, East Devon District Council, Mid Devon District Council and Teignbridge District Council, supported by Devon County Council – in helping to develop the vision for the future development of the area. 

As a joined up area, Greater Exeter has a population of 480,000 people. By 2040 it wants to be recognised as a global leader in sustainable living and one of the most active, healthy and accessible cities in England. 

In its announcement, RIBA said: “All five Future Places are determined to deliver meaningful change which will enhance people’s lives, improve community wellbeing and create sustainable environments. While each place is very different, they all work in collaboration with public, private or voluntary sector partners to develop and advance innovative placemaking strategies.”

The five ‘Future Places’ selected are:

• Bradford
• Greater Exeter
• Great Yarmouth
• Gateshead
• North Northamptonshire

Cllr Ian Thomas, Leader of East Devon District Council said:

This is great news both for East Devon and for our partners in the Greater Exeter area.  The support available through the Future Places  programme will help us not only to develop our ambitious vision for the future but also ensure that this is delivered on the ground, helping to create the high quality places that all our residents can enjoy in the future.

Exeter City Council Leader Pete Edwards, said:

This is great news for Exeter and the Greater Exeter area and will help us raise the standard of design quality and deliver a transformational housing programme across the city. 

Cllr Jeremy Christophers, Leader of Teignbridge District Council, said:

This is fantastic news for Teignbridge and its partners within the Greater Exeter area. We have a strong track record of working together for the good of our area by providing the homes they need so communities remain sustainable in the future. 

Tristan Peat, Forward Planning Team Leader, Mid Devon District Council, said:

This announcement is fantastic news and will help the Exeter, Teignbridge, Mid Devon and East Devon councils work together to help achieve better outcomes for everyone across the Greater Exeter area.

Councillor Rufus Gilbert, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills, said:

This is good timing as we have just come to the end of our consultation on the Exeter Transport Strategy, which has ‘greater places for people’ as one of its three key themes. This means thinking about how walking, cycling and attractive urban public transport will support the vitality of the city and enable people to lead more healthy and fulfilling lives. I’m sure this programme will help us develop these ideas further in the context of growth for the city.

RIBA President Ben Derbyshire, said:

Local Authorities play a vital role in creating happy, healthy and sustainable communities, and I am pleased to support their initiative, investing in public engagement and collaborative planning to design the best possible environments. The commitment, despite financial and political barriers, is highly commendable, and I look forward to working with all five over the next phase of the programme, learning the lessons as they develop their vision to and celebrating their success.

The RIBA is allocating a RIBA Client Adviser (all of them RIBA Chartered Architects) to help each selected area develop their vision.

14 March 2019 - 'Future Places' recognition for East Devon - East Devon
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