Outside my flat there used to be a path that ran alongside the local reservoir. The narrow footway was a good place to spot herons and it was surrounded with brambles so thick that two people could barely walk side-by-side. After heavy rain the path would fill with mud and I’d have to delicately pick my way between vast puddles on my way to the shops. It was a little slice of nature right in Inner London.
A couple of months ago, workers in high-vis jackets arrived, tore down the brambles, leveled the muddy path, and replaced it with a tarmac dual-use path for pedestrians and cyclists. On my local Facebook group people lamented the loss of another pocket of urban nature. “Let’s pave over the whole entire world then shall we? Where next do you reckon? Mount Fuji?” bewailed one resident. Others pointed out that the new path made the reservoir much more accessible to people on foot or bike—sure the new path might feel less natural, they said, but if it gave people more options for walking and cycling then the whole area would benefit.
Curated by Arun
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