Andy Clayden

STREET TREES AND STORMWATER MANAGEMENT

Abstract Urban trees play an important role in the urban hydrological cycle. Yet little consideration has been given in the UK either to the increasing pressures that act to reduce urban tree cover or the opportunities that might be provided by land-use planning policies to increase it. Research in North America, particularly by American Forests (2007), suggests that urban tree cover may be directly equated to stormwater volumes and, therefore, to the costs of providing engineered structures for stormwater management. Tree planting policies have been justified on the financial benefits associated with their stormwater management function alone, notwithstanding the broader spectrum of benefits they provide within the urban environment. This paper presents preliminary research aimed at transferring these findings into a UK context. Two residential morphology units (RMUs) have been defined within the city of Sheffield, for which current levels of tree cover have been accurately quantified. Current tree cover levels are relatively low, but approaches to integrating more trees into these two landscape types are outlined.

Design with Microclimate: The Secret to Comfortable Outdoor Spaces

findings in their concluding chapter (Chapter 15). The volume undoubtedly makes a very valuable contribution to our understanding of participatory landscape protection, planning and management; it shows that we have made some progress but that we also have a long way to go. Perhaps the one unfortunate aspect of this publication is its (very) steep price tag; this will likely place it out of reach of many who would otherwise have found it to be extremely useful. Given its cost, the book would also perhaps have benefited from a stronger theoretical discussion of the challenges of participation, rather than a predominant focus on case studies. Whilst the editors’ introductory and concluding contributions serve to situate the case studies within their wider context, the publication did leave me with a slight sense of frustration in that the case studies raise many interesting questions that remain somewhat unexplored. This criticism is, however, perhaps unfair—given that this is a first publication on the subject, the case studies at least allow for an identification of these various dilemmas. Perhaps the next step would be to critically analyse the identified influences on participation— which range from the role of multiculturalism and democracy, to the development of effective administrative and political structures, to the relevance of social and personal dynamics—in a more general manner. In the meantime, however, this book is certainly a very valuable addition to the landscape literature.

Woodland burial: Memorial arboretum versus natural native woodland?

Abstract This study explores the case of natural burial and the motives for the adoption of trees as memorial objects to replace traditional grave markers. It specifically explores a single woodland burial ground and two distinct communities who are connected to the site; bereaved people and pre-purchase holders. Natural burial has developed in response to changing ideals, values, and shifts in attitude towards death in contemporary Britain. Examination of memorial tree selection and the emotions expressed about the chosen plant suggests that the adoption of trees as grave markers is the result of the symbolic and sensory qualities that they offer as objects of memory and their perceived natural qualities and environmental benefit. This study demonstrates the value placed on trees for their perceived permanence and presence and the way in which they may embody aspects of personal and cultural memory, thereby facilitating and sustaining relationships beyond the grave. It also explores the motivations for choosing natural burial and the significance of the memorial tree and its connection with the grave.

Improving Residential Liveability in the UK: Home Zones and Alternative Approaches

This paper reports the results of research into two recently completed retro-fit home zones. The findings illustrate how different factors, which include design quality, community consultation, funding and street typology, may impact upon the potential of home zones to meet their objective of improving liveability. Experiences of working with two Sheffield residential communities in the re-design of their street are also reported. The Sheffield case studies illustrate the potential of alternative design solutions which do not require the construction of a shared surface and which may, in certain circumstances, be more appropriate to the design context and in addressing community needs.

Some European approaches to twentieth-century cemetery design: continental solutions for British dilemmas

Abstract When considering British cemetery design, it is the grand schemes of the early nineteenth century which are widely understood to be the finest design examples even though not all are still in use as cemeteries and in spite of the fact that many have been severely neglected and vandalized. They provide us with a legacy of what can be achieved when appropriate resources are available and where there is a will to create something of distinction. Unfortunately in British twentieth-century cemeteries this view has rarely been adopted. This is in contrast with continental Europe where there continues to be a strong tradition of high standard design and maintenance. This paper selects five inspiring examples which help to illustrate how different design approaches respond to social change, changing attitudes towards nature, landscape context and as a place for burial. Each of these schemes is evaluated and some conclusions are drawn which may help to contribute to the debate on cemetery design.

Landscapes of the dead? Natural burial and the materialization of absence

This article questions the emphasis on presence within material culture studies, using the example of a new burial landscape where the UK’s now conventional mortuary culture is often missing. The authors ask how the absences initiated by a death are articulated or materialized when body disposal and memorialization occur outwith a delineated boundary and identifiable buildings, a grave marked with head and kerb stones, and an embalmed body in a hardwood casket. Exploring data generated through an ESRC-funded project, the article examines tensions between the Natural Burial Movement’s goals and the practices of particular natural burial ground owners, managers and bereaved users. These practices, the authors argue, reflect the layers of competing orientations towards the landscape and nature that those involved in natural burial are heir to. In this way, the article draws out the ambiguities and contradictions implicit within the social practices that constitute natural burial and the landscapes within which it occurs.

Natural Burial: The De-materialising of Death?

This chapter describes a research activity designed to explore public understandings of the concept of natural burial and asks how people might make sense of embodied experiences of the materialities of the natural burial ground. As both a concept and a practice, natural burial is particularly prevalent within the United Kingdom with around 250 sites now in existence, compared with 25 in Germany, 13 in the United States and 2 in the Netherlands.1 That said, uptake of this burial option represents a small proportion of the United Kingdom’s overall disposal choices and what the public and indeed providers understand by the term ‘natural burial’ remains unclear. The data presented here enable us to address this question as part of an ESRC-funded project2 which explores the cultural, social and emotional implications of natural burial and explores its potential links with the professionalisation of death and dying, a revival of Romantic values, ecological concerns and the claiming of a distinctive identity through bespoke disposal. As the data indicate, answers to these questions are by no means mutually exclusive.

A comparative study of environmental cognition in a real environment and its VRML simulation (Virtual Reality Modelling Language)

The paper investigates the acquisition of environmental cognitive knowledge in a real world and its desktop VRML simulation. It focuses on the effect of design background and gender on spatial cognition in both displays. A post-rest-only control-group design is used examine to what extent a desktop VRML simulation provides users with cognitive data that is comparable to real world experience. Results indicate that there is a between-group agreement and disagreement depending on the typology of space. Participants using desktop VRML could provide cognitive distance estimations that are equivalent to their counterparts in real world. Design background did have a significant effect on spatial cognition in real world, however it did not show a remarkable effect in desktop VRML. Gender has affected height estimation in the real world, however it did not show any effect in desktop VRML.

Churchyard and cemetery in an English industrial city: Sheffield, 1740–1900

Accounts of nineteenth-century burial practice in England borrow heavily from French historiography, which describes the way that scientific agendas drove a shift from traditional churchyard use to secular, municipal cemetery management. A challenge to this meta-narrative uses the example of Sheffield. In this highly industrialized city, the nineteenth century did not see a dichotomized translation from churchyard to cemetery; the Church Building Act (1818) was more effective in meeting burial demand than the 1836 General Cemetery; the formal closure of churchyards did not always lead to a cessation of burial; and by the centurys end, church burial provision remained substantial.

Living with the dead

The visual survey has provided a valuable insight for the research team into the many different ways in which bereaved people interact with graves. In a burial context intended to promote nature and the creation of a collective memorial landscape into which the identity of the individual is ultimately subsumed, we have observed many different strategies that try to preserve the location of the grave and identity of the deceased. These include mowing the grave space, marking its boundary with small stones or temporarily with cut hay gathered on site. The regular photographic diary made it possible to trace these stories as they were played out over time.