- 'This could be the holy grail to replace palm oil' - research team, BBC News (Sep 18, 2023)
- Edinburgh is a hotbed of community self-empowerment - with the Edinburgh Tool Library showing the way, The Daily Alternative (Mar 14, 2023)
Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. It is located in Lothian on the Firth of Forth's southern shore.
Edinburgh is Scotland's second most populous city and the seventh most populous in the United Kingdom. The official population estimates are 488,050 (2016) for the Locality of Edinburgh and 1,339,380 (2014) for the city region. Edinburgh lies at the heart of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland city region.
The city is known for the Edinburgh International Festival and the Fringe, the latter being the world's largest annual international arts festival. Edinburgh's Old Town and New Town together are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. W
Networks and sustainability initiatives[edit | edit source]
Community resources[edit | edit source]
Climate action[edit | edit source]
- Net Zero Edinburgh, added 12:42, 10 November 2021 (UTC)
Environment quality[edit | edit source]
Open spaces[edit | edit source]
Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust
Community energy[edit | edit source]
Cycling activism[edit | edit source]
Since 1999 the percentage of all trips in Edinburgh made by bicycle has risen by an eighth, however travelling by bicycle still accounts for less than 2% of all trips taken by Edinburgh residents, with bicycle use lower than in many other European cities such as Amsterdam or Paris. Like most cities cycling is seen as a clean, environmentally friendly method of transportation, which needs little space, the provision of few, inexpensive facilities as well as a means of attempting to cut down on traffic congestion.
At present there are around 75 km of off-road cycleways in the Edinburgh area, with a similar length on on-road cycleways in the city. Greenways, which are the car-free bus corridors on the main radial routes into the city centre double up as cycle lanes.
Many improvements in facilities for cyclists in Edinburgh can be attributed to Spokes, the Lothian Cycle Campaign, formed in 1977. Attempts to make Edinburgh more "cycle friendly" have been made, particularly by Spokes. Some cyclists remain unconvinced that the promise of a "Model Cycle-Friendly City" has been achieved.
Food activism[edit | edit source]
The Food Assembly - Edinburgh - Leith Food Assembly
Reduce, reuse, repair and recycle[edit | edit source]
The Edinburgh Remakery is a social enterprise that teaches repair. The shop sells refurbished computers and furniture, and hosts workshops where people can come along and learn how to repair their own things. There's a big vision behind it: "we want to generate a repair revolution. This means changing the way people use and dispose of resources, encouraging manufacturers to build things to last and to be fixable, and making sure the facilities are in place to allow people to repair and reuse."
Sharing[edit | edit source]
Social inclusion[edit | edit source]
- The Welcoming, added 14:45, 11 November 2021 (UTC)
- The Welcoming, ashden.org
- Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty
Sustainable transport activism[edit | edit source]
Given that Edinburgh is a small, relatively walkable city, travelling by foot is a common means of transport for the majority of citizens who live, work or visit the city. Like most urban zones, pedestrian density is at its highest in the commercial core of the city, where the majority of shops, businesses and offices are located, with pedestrian density tailing off rapidly through the inner city to the suburbs. In Edinburgh, pedestrian density is at its highest around Princes Street, George Street, Rose Street, the Royal Mile, the North and South Bridges as well as George IV Bridge. These are the areas where the majority of city centre shops are located, as well as bars, restaurants, pubs and tourist attractions such as the Scott Monument, Edinburgh Castle and the Holyrood Palace.
Unlike Glasgow, most of the city centre is not pedestrianised, with the exception of Rose Street (parallel to Princes Street), which is pedestrianised along its length. A section of the Royal Mile - one of the main tourist streets in Edinburgh - from the junction of George IV Bridge (Melbourne Place) to the junction with North Bridge, is pedestrianised through the use of automatic bollards which only give access to authorised vehicles. This is an area with pavement cafes and bars with tables outside.
Edinburgh Trams is a tramway in Edinburgh, Scotland, operated by Edinburgh Trams Ltd. It is a 18.5-kilometre (11.5 mi) line between Newhaven in Leith and Edinburgh Airport, with 23 stops.
First discussed in 1998 and designed over the next decade, construction began in June 2008, and after encountering delays it opened on 31 May 2014, between Edinburgh Airport and York Place. The scheme had an initial estimated cost of £375 million in 2003, but by May 2008, when contracts were signed, the cost had risen to £521 million. The final cost after delays of line from Edinburgh Airport to York Place was thought to be £776 million. Lord Hardie’s report revises that up to a best estimate of £835.7 million.
After running for two years, the scheme had achieved pre-tax profitability (excluding maintenance and infrastructure costs) and exceeded the original ridership targets. It has run at an operating loss since 2018 (e.g. − £9.4 million in 2018). On 14 March 2019, Edinburgh Council voted to approve the extension of the existing line from York Place to Newhaven, with the York Place stop being replaced by Picardy Place. The extended line began operation on 7 June 2023. Lord Hardie’s Inquiry Report says that the final costs, including the extension cannot be known until details of the Newhaven extension have been released but it will be more than £1.04 billion.
The Union Canal was opened in 1822 and provides an inland waterway link from Edinburgh to Falkirk and from there to Glasgow via the Forth and Clyde Canal. It is currently owned by the public corporation Scottish Canals and chiefly used for leisure purposes.
News and comment[edit | edit source]
2022
- When Edinburgh's Canongate community resisted a crass urban development, they deployed a "working-class cosmopolitanism", The Daily Alternative (Jul 28, 2022)
- More flowers, fewer cars: the rewilders turning parking spaces into parks, The Guardian (Jun 22, 2022) — Across the UK and Europe, the ‘parklet’ movement is gaining pace, transforming dead spaces where cars used to be into pockets of green
2021
2025 vision for George Street unveiled, Feb 24[1]
2018
Edinburgh University divests from all fossil fuels, Feb 6[2]
2017
Every town needs a remakery, Mar 15[3]
2016
Final route for new Edinburgh cycle path given go-ahead, Dec 17
Edinburgh Tool Library: Creativity, Community, and Cutting Resource Use, February 8[4]
2015
Edinburgh's new Food Assembly launches in Leith, October 19[5]
Community-owned solar panels to be installed in 25 Council buildings throughout Edinburgh. May 25[6]
MSPs Mounted Electric Bikes to Launch eCycle - Edinburgh Colleges' and Universities' Green Transport Initiative, March 31
Campaigners hail Edinburgh's 20mph speed limit plan, March 11[7]
2014
Edinburgh Trams passenger service to begin May 31, 2014[8]
Resources[edit | edit source]
Maps[edit | edit source]
Past events[edit | edit source]
2017
Jun 17 - 18 The Power of Food Festival, weekend Festival celebrating community gardens in Edinburgh. Its purpose is to encourage greater societal wellbeing, environmental sustainability and social inclusion through the promotion of community food growing.
2016
Jun 9 - 19 Edinburgh Festival of Cycling
See also[edit | edit source]