Glasgow, a Generation Restoration role model city, provides a model for urban reforestation, boosting biodiversity, managing water, and supporting climate resilience. Its projects restore damaged land, expand open space, and reconnect habitats, and it is a pioneer of innovative tech and living lab projects.

About the city

Glasgow is Scotland’s largest and most populous city and home to about one-third of the country’s population, with a city population of approximately 600,000 residents, and a metro area population of approximately 1.7 million residents. Located in the center-west of the country on the River Clyde, Glasgow is a port city with an oceanic climate, with mild summers and cold, rainy winters. As the largest contributor to Scotland’s economy accounting for over 30% of the country’s GDP, Glasgow’s economy was formerly dominated by industrial activities, and today the main industries in the city include manufacturing, technology, and services. 

Local challenges

Glasgow faces climate challenges related to increased temperatures, changes in rainfall patterns, and coastal hazards. Overall, Glasglow is projected to see increases in extreme weather events across climate hazards. This includes increased temperatures, with more frequent and extreme heatwaves. Furthermore, the city is expected to experience variable rainfall patterns, including heavier winter rain and reduced summer rain. In spite of Glasgow’s inland location, sea level rise and coastal erosion along the River Clyde pose threats, while increased likelihood of urban flooding is also projected. Glasgow also struggles with various pollution issues from its industrial past, including soil contamination from former industrial sites, as well as air quality issues.

How the city leads in restoration

Glasgow leads in restoration through its numerous strategies and programs that are centered around nature-based solutions (NbS), embedding nature into city governance at multiple levels. Its innovative policies and initiatives can provide a model for other cities seeking to center nature into urban planning, based on rigorous science and extensive community participation and co-design of solutions. 

Guiding Glasgow’s NbS initiatives is the city’s Forestry and Woodland Strategy, which aims to increase the level of tree canopy cover in the city to 20% by 2034. It directs tree planting efforts to strategic locations to support climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation, while also improving ecological connectivity, increasing carbon capture, and contributing to water management. The strategy’s success is measured through various metrics, including tracking the increase in tree canopy cover, monitoring biodiversity levels, and assessing community engagement through surveys and participation rates in related activities. 

The strategy promotes community engagement by involving residents in tree planting and maintenance activities, fostering a sense of ownership and pride among community members. Important collaborations include schools and community groups, which not only increased the number of trees planted but also provided opportunities for education about the importance of environmental stewardship. These experiences have shaped the approach by emphasizing the need for community involvement and education as key components of the strategy. 

Similarly, Glasgow’s Open Space Strategy seeks to make the city more livable by using its open spaces to enhance public health, wellbeing, biodiversity, and long-term climate resilience. Guided by an associated Delivery Plan, the strategy sets out clear standards for open space provision and identifies where new or improved green areas are most needed. An accompanying open space map and audit assess the quantity, quality, and accessibility of public spaces across the city, supported by indicators such as community engagement and biodiversity enhancement. Together, these efforts have helped strengthen residents’ connection with nature through initiatives like tree planting, habitat creation, and the development of new recreational areas. Early outcomes suggest growing community use and appreciation of green spaces, reflecting the strategy’s broader goal of fostering a healthier, more resilient urban environment.

Glasgow advances urban NbS and livability through innovative planning tools. One such important spatial planning initiative is the Glasgow Environmental Digital Twin project, which is a digital model of the city that reflects Glasgow’s environmental landscape. Using GIS data to capture information such as forest cover and vacant and derelict land, the digital twin model has facilitated a more informed and interactive approach to urban planning and environmental management, supporting monitoring of land use, forest cover, and other important metrics. The tool is being integrated with Glasgow’s other strategic plans, including the Forest and Woodland Strategy and the Open Space Strategy. It is envisioned that the model will evolve into a comprehensive and publicly available tool, enhancing transparency of environmental management decisions among the public.

At the same time, innovative projects advance climate resilience and support biodiversity, while also making the city more accessible and livable for its residents. The GALLANT project, a collaboration between the Glasgow City Council and the University of Glasgow, is using Glasgow as a living lab to trial new sustainable solutions throughout the city. The overarching aim is to deliver social priorities of the UN Sustainable Development Goals while remaining within the planetary boundaries of a 1.5°C world. The project does this through five solution areas, including addressing flood risk through transformation of urban land to facilitate water storage, halting biodiversity loss by restoring and connecting habitat patches across Glasgow, regenerating derelict and polluted land through restoration of these sites for community and ecological use, facilitating active travel and inclusive mobility throughout the city, and developing sustainable low-carbon energy solutions at the community scale. 

Another innovative project spearheaded by Glasgow is the Every Tree Tells a Story (ETTAS) project, which seeks to foster a deeper connection between people and nature by collecting, recording, and sharing stories about trees around Glasgow and other places. The project has engaged a wide variety of Glasgow citizens through innovative civic engagement activities, such as creatively designed postcards inviting people to share their stories about trees. The project has helped raise awareness about the importance of trees and encouraged people to appreciate and engage with their natural surroundings more actively.

Highlight impact metrics

  • Improved air quality through tree planting and green infrastructure, as Glasgow’s expanding green corridors and woodland strategies help buffer airborne particulate pollution and reduce emissions
  • Enhanced biodiversity, with ecological restoration (woodlands, waterways, habitat patches) supporting species richness and ecological connectivity across the city 
  • Soil restoration and pollution reduction achieved through regeneration of derelict and contaminated land
  • Health & wellbeing benefits, as NbS create cleaner air, cooler neighborhoods, increased access to green/blue spaces, and encourage active travel and recreation
  • Greater access to high‑quality open space, particularly in historically underserved areas such as Possilpark, Govan and Dalmarnock, supporting equity in green access
  • Safer, more livable neighborhoods, thanks to placemaking, reduced car dependency and better-designed green/blue routes

Role Model City

City Map

Ecosystem Types

Forests, Peatlands and Urban areas

Climate, Biodiversity, and Pollution Risks Addressed

  • Extreme temperatures
  • Sea-level rise
  • Extreme precipitation / flooding
  • Coastal erosion
  • Habitat destruction
  • Species loss / extinction
  • Ecosystem degradation
  • Air pollution
  • Soil contamination

Restoration Techniques Applied

  • Ecological connectivity
  • Floodplain restoration
  • Parks & green spaces
  • Pollution control
  • Tree planting
  • Urban forests

Beyond restoration

In addition to its substantial work on urban NbS, Glasgow has catalyzed numerous innovative policies and programs, with emphasis on carbon neutrality and enhancing city livability. 

Glasgow has set an ambitious target to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2030 and is working towards this through a climate action plan, “An Integrated Net Zero Routemap for Glasgow”, with tree planting and open spaces playing a crucial role in capturing carbon and enhancing biodiversity. This is done in partnership with the city’s Parks, Planning, and Sustainability department, which is integrating NbS into the net-zero strategy, with significant community participation in these initiatives. Progress towards net-zero is being tracked through several metrics, including the Science Based Target Initiative, which assesses mitigation actions with internationally recognized methods. The Glasgow City Council collaborates with the Scottish Climate Intelligence Service and ClimateView to provide a public online platform displaying progress, actions, and plans. This transparency helps the community see their impact and the city's steps towards net-zero. 

Another innovative policy is Glasgow’s “Play Sufficiency Assessment”. This initiative, spearheaded by the Glasgow City Council, actively involves children in the evaluation of outdoor play spaces. This initiative has encouraged children to engage more with nature and their surroundings. By inviting children to discuss and assess the outdoor play spaces near their homes, the project has fostered a sense of ownership and responsibility towards these areas. The involvement of children has also highlighted the importance of accessible and inclusive play spaces, leading to improvements that benefit the entire community.

What other cities can learn

Glasgow provides the following advice for other cities looking to advance restoration:

  • Glasgow’s investment in blue green infrastructure shows that cities can tackle flooding, biodiversity loss, and climate risks simultaneously, creating parks, wetlands and restored watercourses that protect communities while enriching urban nature.
  • By embedding resilience into everyday decision making and empowering residents, Glasgow demonstrates that climate adaptation succeeds when communities are active partners, not passive recipients.
  • Glasgow proves that well connected green spaces are not luxuries, they are essential infrastructure that supports health, wellbeing, biodiversity, and neighborhood regeneration.

Further resources