Title and Audio Clip

Inspiration and Topic

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1) GLOBAL BODIES

(2 mins 32 secs, 4.6 MB)

IF MY BODY WERE A CITY, WHAT WOULD IT BE LIKE?

This poem was inspired by a workshop on sustainable living carried out with young people aged between 15 and 16 years. We were talking about the need for parks in their neighbourhood and one pupil commented that there are no green spaces or trees to 'help her neighbourhood breathe'. That started the idea: 'my body is a city, the green spaces my lungs...'

Topics: Urban Pollution, Waste, Transport, Human Action

2) PARK BENCHES

(3 mins, 5.5 MB)

ARE BUILT ENVIRONMENTS IGNORING TEENAGERS?

A common complaint from workshops I've seen involving teenagers is that they have less and less to do in their neighbourhoods. They see new developments built with no youth clubs, under 18 facilities, woods, sports grounds etc, they are not allowed to skate or bike but are then labelled 'lazy', 'hooligans' etc. This poem is about that feeling, especially inspired after talking to a youth leader in the Thames Gateway area.

Topics: Youth Consultation, Local Amenities, Transport, Leisure

3) LOOK AROUND

(2 min 39 secs, 4.9 MB)

WHAT CAN THE UK LEARN FROM ABROAD?

This poem was written after a Shape East Masterplanning seminar, inspired in particular by a talk on Eco-Towns by Will Cousins and a presentation discussing European Masterplanning by Nicholas Falk, URBED. The idea that the UK is not in the lead in terms of sustainable development and should and could learn from other countries caused a lot of conversation! To see the seminar page, including the European Masterplanning presentation, click here.

Topics: Sustainable Energy, Green Initiatives Abroad, Environmental Policy

4) TOO MANY MEN

(1 min 10 secs, 2.1 MB)

OVER POPULATION OR OVER POLLUTING?

This poem was inspired by a debate which was raised during lunch at one of Shape East's seminars on Climate Change. On one side was the view that there are too many people for built environments to cope with sustainably, on the other side was the view that it was not the number of people, but rather the levels of consumption which was the problem. This poem follows the second approach, as it is this side of the argument which seems to get less attention in the UK press. To see the seminar page, click here.

Topics: Sustainable Living, Population Growth, Waste, Consumption

5) HOUSE

(2 mins 33 secs, 4.7 MB)

HOW DO WE MAKE A HOME SUSTAINABLE?

Building a house is so much more than putting up four walls and a roof! This poem brings together a number of the ideas for sustainable housing gathered from Shape East's conferences, site visits and tours, in particular a 2009 visit to Watford's innovative Building Research Establishment (BRE) a talk on the hemp insultation used in Adnam's Brewery, Tibby's Triangle, by Ash Sakula Architects and a Zero Carbon Living conference.

Topics: Sustainable Building, Eco-Build, Energy Saving