The Ragged Optimist 15
Trees, trams, and you need a trip to Margate
The world feels a little more hopeful every week, doesn’t it? Here in the UK, we have a bunch of grown-ups in charge again, making careful steps (if not as bold as everyone would like) to put the country back together. And then there’s the good old US of A.
We can't have a newsletter about hope without mentioning Kamala Harris, who said this week, "We know when we organize, mountains move. When we mobilize, nations change. And when we vote, we make history."
In response to my thoughts on tourism infrastructure in last week's edition, Keith from Voltage Poetry Project mentioned trams. Well, I'd love to see trams return to the Isle of Thanet, but these in Leeds and Bradford are so ugly. Can't we have something like these in Marseille, with a bit of chic and style? When not making music, Keith runs the Bay Trust, who manage the gardens in this week’s photo gallery.
Calmer by Flare Audio are dead simple, but I can't live without them - they help manage my tinnitus. Well designed, and they're from Lancing. When I was a teenager, my mum used to rent a basement flat on Lancing seafront - literally the seafront, the living room doors opened out onto the beach. It had previously been the holiday home of The Crazy Gang. Then Gez and Laura bought it, and demolished it to build a beautiful eco-home. Rambled a bit, but - Lancing’s lovely, visit if you get a chance.
Nine million people can breath easier, after the roll-out of the Ultra Low Emission Zone across London has had remarkable success after six months. Roadside NO2 concentrations are 53% lower in central London, and there are 90,000 fewer old vehicles in the city every day.
Trees also remove traffic pollutants from the air. And they improve road safety, as drivers reduce speed in tree-lined streets.
In my work with empty shops, I found research that people will travel a greater distance to visit a greener town centre, and will spend more time there once they arrive. Shoppers will pay more for parking, and then spend 9 to 12% more in a town centre with trees.
Trees can also reduce crime. Public open spaces with trees have higher footfall and longer dwell time, which increases casual surveillance. Trees also reduce mental fatigue; people work better and take less time off if they can see trees, hospital patients have better recovery times if they can see trees, and green areas reduce mental fatigue.
And now, a new study shows that trees remove more methane from the air than previously thought - which could have a huge impact on climate change.
I get my regular tree fix at Ellington Park in Ramsgate, a restored Victorian Park which has just won another Green Flag Award.
A disease that was once endemic in 21 countries looks set to become the second-ever human disease to be eradicated after smallpox.
Bar Pandora is the stage name of experimental alt-pop artist and producer Charlie Tophill, taken from a literary café in La Latina, Madrid. She's created Brownfield, which takes the form of an aural walking route following the River Sherbourne through Coventry, for a new exhibition at The Herbert. "The compositions are made up entirely of ‘raw’ (untuned) samples collected from places where the natural world bursts through to eclipse the grey sounds of the city."
Here in Margate, Dreamland - that was originally going to be a heritage amusement park, with a plan to create skilled STEM jobs through ride restoration - has become an outdoor gig venue with a few rides on the side. It's created some tensions. Obviously, being able to see great bands is a good thing, but it is in the middle of a residential area and it's very seasonal, so doesn't provide proper jobs. So it's interesting to see the exact same bands playing the Piece Hall in Halifax, where 50% of the profit goes to the heritage trust restoring it, and local businesses are benefitting from the large crowds.
It's First Friday again this week. I've taken inspiration from the book Dreamland by Rosa Rankin Gee, which is set in a dystopian near-future Margate, and pulled out a bunch of themes from the book - Margate architecture, gentrification - to create a big game and a bunch of stuff to see and do. Under it all is the climate crisis and threat of rising sea levels, but my activities are all run through with ragged optimism (of course). It’s at Marine Studio, 17 Albert Terrace, Margate this Friday, 6-9pm. Please come and say hello.
By the way. You know what is good at mitigating against flood risk? BEAVERS!
Optimistic, jolly, informative and Monday morning makes it a great start to the week.