Urban Natural Burial
Ann Sharrock, Landscape Architect Ian Fisher, Senior Lecturer, Manchester Metropolitan University
There is a unique confluence of issues within dense urban environments: the lack of burial space and its location, the availability of green space as a community resource and urban microclimate extremes. This paper proposes natural burial in an urban context occupying a network of spaces that through their association would generate respect and responsibility, providing secular spaces of escape and contemplation and community focus as well as investing the landscape of death with a new cultural significance and encouraging a greater social acceptance of death. As biocentric mediators they would absorb pollution, reduce the urban heat island effect, create resilient habitats, manage storm water run-off and in some cases provide biomass for local use. Burial space and location The debate over land use and availability and new space for burial sites is of global dimensions, but in England it is becoming a critical issue due to the increasing proportion of the population who are in the latter quarter of their lives. ‘Almost half of England's cemeteries could run out of space within the next 20 years, a BBC survey suggests. And a quarter of 358 local authorities responding to the BBC said they would have no more room for burials within a decade.’ 1 This situation is compounded by restrictions on reusing existing graves and the taboo on discussing alternative approaches. In 2011 there were 556,229 deaths in the United Kingdom, and while the majority of those were cremated (74.4%), many of the latter are increasingly followed by a formal burial.2 There will always be a significant minority of people who wish to be buried, perhaps for religious reasons. This choice, however, should be respected without pressure being applied to select cremation, which has occurred in the South of England3. Cemeteries are different from churchyards. Churchyards are traditional places of burial that have been available for centuries. These sites, mainly owned by the Church of England, are generally smaller than cemeteries and located next to churches. Cemeteries, large tracts of land originally located on the urban fringes, came into common use from the 1820s, and are mostly owned by local authorities. They have the quality of a vast manicured garden, an idealised version of nature and while they are designed with glades for privacy, they offer an anonymous, unemotional experience. In addition their location makes them an unlikely resource for those who need their spirit refreshed or some quiet contemplation. Natural burial is a process whereby bodies or ash from cremation are interned in the ground to allow the remains to recycle naturally. No chemicals, or those that are only environmentally friendly, are used within the process. In England, the first natural burial site was opened in 1993 in Carlisle. There are now 270 registered sites, managed by either local authorities or private companies. Natural burial sites are generally on the periphery of urban areas, as the expectations of ‘green meadows’ or ‘sylvan woodland’ are an inherent part of
the decision to bury green. However, to a degree this makes them socially exclusive as they are often situated in areas not easily accessible to inner city dwellers. In his 1997 report, The Cemetery in the City, Worpole argues that the burial ground is a vital cultural landscape because it is one ‘where the cycles of nature and time are so clearly evident – in the weathering of the headstones, in the fading of the letters carved in sandstone, in the lichen growths …’4 While the cycle of life and continuity represented by the lichen covered headstones in Victorian graveyards is not a feature of natural burial, this metaphor is apparent in the regenerative quality of nature in the dynamic woodland with its whips, lofty oaks and seasonality. The Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee Report on Cemeteries reported back in 2001 that ‘ways have to be found to ensure that local, accessible burial space is provided. Local authorities should address this need in their Development Plans.’5 This proposal is based on a reprogramming of the relationship between the non-secular activity of burial and the reterritorialisation of space subsequent to this act to provide what would become a secular surface. In many ways this reprogramming is already in the human conscience through the preservation of cemeteries as places of historic interest; for example Highgate cemetery in North London. The natural burial site would become part of the Urban Infrastructure as it supports essential services within the city and performs culturally, socially and ecologically. Green Infrastructure Cemeteries and graveyards are considered part of the Green Infrastructure, which includes ‘established green spaces and new sites and should thread through and surround the built environment and connect the urban area to its wider rural hinterland. Consequently it needs to be delivered at all spatial scales from sub-regional to local neighbourhood levels, accommodating both accessible natural green spaces within local communities and often much larger sites in the urban fringe and wider countryside.’6 As the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), advocated in 2007, we should be designing for the living, not just the dead7, and they advised that local authorities should include burial grounds in their green space strategies so that finance can be allocated for horticulturalists and maintenance workers, proper landscaping, visitor facilities and specially designated walks to encourage exploration and exercise. The value of existing cemeteries and graveyards should undoubtedly be realised. And in addition, this paper is proposing that land use plans direct future cemeteries away from the community fringe and encourage incorporating burial facilities into appropriate temporal un-programmed spaces, awaiting development. In other words to reframe death spaces as places that provide services to the living. These would be reintroduced at a local scale, mirroring albeit with much more stringent control, what the situation was at the start of the 19th century. It is proposed that these sites would be, although not exclusively, finished with trees as the key green infrastructural and remembrance element.
Climate change and urban microclimate extremes Trees fulfil a number of key requirements in this process. They are the most efficient in absorbing PM10’s, gaseous and other particulate pollution, as well as increasing humidity, providing shelter, reducing peak run off flows, enhancing the potential for other biocentric systems and psychologically providing anthropocentric benefit. They can also provide a commercial return through purchase of the tree by a bereaved family. In addition in some locations there may be gains from the timber via coppicing or clear felling. There are also indirect economic gains such as increased land, property and rental value associated with urban trees. Trees also define the site as a place of passive recreation. The stigma of death and its associated bereavement places a special context to these spaces. The fact that there are no formal reminders of the paraphernalia associated with death, addresses issues of people’s natural hesitancy to enter cemeteries, but equally the knowledge that this is a place of remembrance would generally influence users in their response to the site. The research by Doris Francis has shown that those who visit graves are far more numerous than we had ever expected, and therefore the role of the burial ground in enabling people to come to terms with their loss, or of celebrating the identity of someone who is dead, is an extremely important one.8 Strategically a network of green infrastructural spaces of a substantial density (the minimum size would be ¼ acre or 1011 m2) reflects current research in the best approach to mitigating environmental issues in urban areas. Recent research has indicated that to make any substantial impact on mitigating microclimate extremes, trees should be planted strategically in larger groups as proto urban forests, rather than spread as thin green threads. In addition, cemeteries have been identified as areas with potentially high levels of biotic diversity, especially in urban areas and according to Alexander Harker even small burial grounds contribute to biotic diversity.9
Making death pay Within urban areas there are a large number of temporal un-programmed spaces, awaiting development. These are principally privately owned, with only a small number under the jurisdiction of local government. At present local authorities do not have the resources to purchase or rent land. There is therefore a major problem in implementing the process, as private land owners would need a commercial return on their land if they sold it, commensurate with current market values for commercial development, or a rent, which reflects the current market value of the plot. It is suggested that a potential solution may take two approaches; either through the way that future tax revenues are apportioned or through private investment. A carbon tax is almost inevitable and the revenues this creates could be used to support the payment of rent by local authorities on private land at the market rate. A more intriguing solution is aimed at private investors, who, in effect, lease the designated green burial land then sell later at a profit. This scheme claims investors could make 60% in as little as two years. ‘The concept is very simple. We allow investors to forward-purchase individual plots at a
discounted rate. They are then managed by the cemetery and offered back to the public at their usual market value, providing you with the returns,’ says promoter Alex Ogden. He claims nearby local cemeteries are selling space for between £1,480 and £1,600, so buying at £875 today will give investors almost guaranteed returns. Are cemeteries the new safe investment?10 Case Study Our Case Study focuses on the Northern Quarter in Manchester City Centre. This area is a residential, commercial and cultural hub with a diverse demographic, high density and development flux. The sites that offer potential for natural burial are greater than 0.4 acre or 1011m2 and all but one supports a temporary car park. They are surrounded by dense development with busy thoroughfares and are easily accessible with residential occupation nearby.
Diagram 1 Site Selection
The site selected near the cathedral is an exception in that it is not a car park. It was, however, used as temporary garden space and a children’s play area during the Manchester’s Big Dig in 2013 and fulfils the other criteria.
Diagram 2 Site Preparation: Suitability and Works
Diagram 3 Site Preparation: Drainage
The change of the current site surface along with proximity of concrete, stone and tarmac surfaces around the site requires effective Sustainable Urban Drainage. Surface water will be directed to vegetated swales, which helps slow and clean water as it runs off the land.
Diagram 4 Site Preparation: Structure
A 972m2 grid holds approximately 216 graves. Mapping tools along with a microchip enables grave location. There are no permanent markers. The Department of the Graves must be located more than 10m from standing/running water and more than 50m from a well, borehole or spring supplying drinking water. An area may be reserved for gathering.
Diagram 5: Site Preparation: Planting
A structure of extra heavy standards will be planted to give identity and structure to the site. Species will be selected for their tolerance of urban conditions: pollution, proximity and scale of built environment, drought, wind, aspect.
Diagram 6 Dynamic Woodland
1011m2 holds approximately 66 trees, although the number will depend on the species, design and commercial considerations. In the example there is a mixed canopy with glades to achieve a diversity of ground layer with its ecological benefits. There will be insufficient room to plant a tree at every grave. Bird boxes and bulbs may also be selected by the bereaved.
It would be desirable to have detailed case studies about how to design burial grounds to better integrate them into existing communities. These designs would accommodate multiple uses both environmentally as conservation space and socially as a community resource. They would bring burial facilities back into community life connecting the living with the space through the connectedness with dead relatives and friends. These spaces would contribute to the Green Infrastructure strategy and through respect guarantee and conserve their longevity. While all is in flux around, they would provide the permanent unique identity of the area. This is a new kind of urban landscape supporting a wide range of social interactions and relationships and offering both residents and visitors a different urban experience. References 1
BBC survey 27th September 2013 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24283426 accessed October 2013 2
http://www.srgw.demon.co.uk/CremSoc4/Stats/index.html
3
House of Commons, Select Committee on Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Eighth Report on Cemeteries, April 2001 4
Worpole, Ken. (1997) The Cemetery in the City (Stroud, Comedia)
5
House of Commons, Select Committee on Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Eighth Report on Cemeteries, April 2001
6
http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/regions/east_of_england/ourwork/gi/
7
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110118095356/http:/www.cabe.org.uk/news/designcemeteries-for-the-living-not-just-the-dead 8
Francis, Doris. (2003) Cemeteries as cultural landscapes, Mortality, 8, pp. 222-227
9
Alexander Harker, Landscapes of the Dead, an argument for Conservation Burial, Berkeley Planning Journal, Volume 25, 2012 10
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/oct/16/cemeteries-burial-investment