A Fair City – What does that mean?

When Birmingham adopted the City of Nature Plan in 2022, it was already an ambitious vision.

It recognised something that many places were only just beginning to understand: nature is not simply something to protect. It is fundamental to our health, our economy, our resilience and our quality of life.

The plan introduced ideas such as Environmental Justice, bringing together access to green space, health, deprivation, flooding and urban heat into a single picture of fairness. It challenged us to think beyond managing parks and towards creating a greener, healthier and more equitable city.

Almost Five years on in 2026, those ambitions remain just as important. What has changed is not the destination, but our understanding of the journey. As we have worked alongside communities, volunteers, schools, businesses, researchers and partner organisations, one lesson has become increasingly clear.

The challenges facing our city are complex, and understanding them has required us to look more deeply than ever before. We have brought together evidence, research, lived experience and countless conversations to help us see the whole picture. Yet, rather than making the vision more complicated, something rather unexpected has happened.

The more we have understood, the simpler the purpose has become. Fairness is about more than providing opportunities. It is about creating the conditions in which everyone can participate.

Access matters.
Feeling welcome matters.
Removing barriers matters.

But perhaps most importantly, every person should have the opportunity to play their part.

Children discovering nature for the first time.
Young people exploring green careers.
Volunteers sharing their time and experience.
Residents caring for the spaces on their doorstep.
Professionals bringing their skills to improve places and inspire others.
Older people passing on knowledge built over a lifetime.

People with different abilities, cultures, experiences and perspectives helping shape the city together. Nature thrives through diversity. So do communities.

Perhaps that has been one of our greatest lessons over the past five years. Good plans begin by helping us understand complexity. Great plans help us rediscover simplicity. Not a simplicity that ignores the challenges, but one that grows from understanding them. Because, in the end, the purpose is not simply to know more. It is to care better. To become better stewards of the places we share and the future we are creating together.

Looking back, we can see how far Birmingham has travelled. Looking ahead, we can also see there is still more to do.

The City of Nature Plan was never intended to be a document that sat on a shelf. It was always intended to be a shared journey that continues to grow as more people become part of the story.

Perhaps that is one of the most encouraging things we have learned over the past five years. The more people recognise the part they already play, the stronger the City of Nature becomes. The destination remains the same: a fair, green, healthy, involved and valued city. But together, we are discovering ever better ways of getting there.

To ensure that the natural environment of Birmingham supports a Fair City outcome Birmingham City Council must make sure every citizen has access to quality green space wherever they live and that there is fair access to training and green jobs and their workforce reflects Birmingham’s diverse communities.

To do this – together we will need:

• Quality green spaces close to where people live, through the adoption of the Birmingham Future Parks Standard process (F1)
• To Identify up to 400 more public green spaces (F2)
• Green spaces that are managed to ensure they are appealing to our diverse communities (F3)
• Green spaces that are accessible for those with additional needs and those who may need support (F4)
• A training and employment showcase of opportunities in the ‘green sector’ (F5)
• A green space workforce more reflective of Birmingham’s diverse communities (F6)
• A Children and Young People strategy with City of Nature as part of that (F7)
  

The Fair City Handbook – Delivering the City of Nature Plan

The Fair City Framework defines the actions required to deliver environmental justice across Birmingham’s parks and green spaces. These actions ensure that all citizens have fair access to nature and that Birmingham’s green infrastructure supports health, climate resilience, and inclusive economic opportunity.

These actions are delivered through the Future Park Standard management system and supported by the Involved City Framework (refer to Involved City Handbook IC1–IC5).

Each action contributes to Birmingham’s long-term goal of ensuring that all parks meet the Future Park Standard and that environmental inequality is reduced across the city by 2047.