Greening walls and changing perspectives

Another day, another green wall. This one's in Regent Street. It's what's called a second generation green wall, set slightly away from the wall to provide a layer of insulation/cooling and to make it easier to maintain. It's fed by rainwater not tap water, which is good because London has less available water per person than Sudan, Syria, Istanbul or Jersualem.

I've been trying for more than a year to get Camden's Housing Department to green a housing estate like this, but so far nobody's listening. Or, to put it another way, as Frank Zappa memorably said: "The mind is like a parachute - it doesn't work unless it's open."

Fortunately some students from the Central St Martin's School for Art & Design are doing a project on whether greening housing estates like this can change indicators like anti-social behaviour, fear of crime, and deaths among the elderly from excessive heat or cold. Hopefully their work will help build a consensus for action. If not, then I'm sure I can persuade one of London's greener councils, Islington, Sutton or Richmond, to test the theory out!