Urban Enviroment
My local urban environment is within Glasgow and just a 10 minute walk from Glasgow City Centre. I live in a small area called Royston which consists mainly of tenement like buildings and four in a block houses which are densely packed.
The area is built mainly along a long, busy main road and a hill passes through the area. The roads are wide and have lots of speed bumps as well as 5 sets of traffic lights throughout the main road which are mainly pedestrian crossings. There is not much green space as it is so close to the city centre most space has been built on or used for other purposes. The area has good transport links such as 3 buses which come regularly and have routes throughout the city and there is access to 3 different parts of the motorway all within minutes of the area. As a result of the motorway access the main road can become heavily congested as people head towards the motorway during peak times such as between 8am and 9am.
Royston has 3 schools 2 of which are Primary school St. Roch’s Primary and Royston primary and the third is a secondary school St.Roch’s Secondary. There is a library, youth centre and 3 community centres which are used for different purposes in regards to the community such as clubs for the elderly and after school clubs.
Royston has little industry however Glasgow as a city is hugely industrial and many people travel here for work. From the factories throughout the city involved in manufacturing goods to the offices or shops in the city centre. Royston does not have a sports centre however there are centres close to the area such as Springburn leisure centre which has a gym, library, swimming pool and sauna and is part of the Glasgow Life clubs.
On researching the air quality I found that my area has low air quality and it is therefore safe to carry out normal outdoor activities without worrying about the risks caused by pollution.
Climate Change
The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 has impacted me as I consider the environment and the impact of my decisions more frequently. After the carrier bag charge was introduced, I became aware of the amount of plastic bags i previously wasted and how that affected the environment. I now re-use carrier bags to do my part in preventing waste.
I am familiar with the 2050 target which is achieving an 80% reduction including emissions from international aviation and shipping. To help achieve this in future I will consider the amount I use transport and buy the majority of my food from local sources.
I have not previously measured my own carbon footprint so was shocked to find it being 154% and my total annual carbon emissions to be 15.5 tonnes. I feel this could be due to the amount I use my car throughout the week as I need to travel 35 miles to and from university. This could be decreased if i opted for public transport such as the train instead of driving every day. My travel takes up 47% of my carbon footprint which reflects what I have referred to. The other aspects which are food, home and stuff are all under 20% which is ok however could be reduced and reducing these would make a huge difference. My carbon footprint is around 5 tonnes more than the average person and in the future I aim to be below average by shopping locally and making more use of public transport.
