Hackney in east London is committed to reaching net-zero emissions by 2040 but some residents are up in arms about initiatives to reduce car use. Dezeen spoke to Jon Burke, the councillor charged with delivering the controversial programme.
"My mission is to completely transform, in the limited time that I've got, the way in which the borough functions across my portfolio areas to bring us in line with the finite limits of the planet," said Burke, who is the council's cabinet member for energy, waste, transport and public realm.
A former civil engineer appointed to the role by Hackney mayor Philip Glanville in 2016, he claimed the borough has "established the leadership position" among urban councils for its ambition.
Burke's job is to ensure that the Hackney, which is one of the 10 most deprived boroughs in the country, meets the ambitious decarbonisation targets it set following its declaration of a climate emergency last year. Zero emissions by 2040
These involve a 45 per cent cut in emissions against 2010 levels by 2030 and delivering zero emissions by 2040, which is ten years earlier than the UK government's target.
This will be achieved through measures including investment in renewable energy, the UK's largest urban tree-planting scheme, encouraging electric-car use and reducing vehicle journeys.
Barnabas Road in Hackney, one of the council's new low traffic neighbourhoods
The latter has proved particularly controversial, with planters and bollard...