Environment

• Increase of plastics in the environment. Although the purpose of the product is to increase the wildlife and biodiversity of a city, the method means that every house and lamppost will have extra plastic pieces attached to them. Furthermore the plastic must be non biodegradable in order to not be deteriorated by the plant life it is hosting. While the vision is that the products will be used for many decades to grow a network of wildlife, the reality is that when buildings are demolished and renovated there will be extra plastic to dispose of.
• The plants could cause structural damage to structures and buildings they grow onto. While the growing plants can be trimmed and controlled, it is of course possible that some plants will begin to grow under roof tiles and infiltrate buildings, causing damage. Although the point is to over time add plant life as a key structure in cities, when enough plants are added to the equation, eventually one will grow in an undesirable way and cause damage.
• The increase in wildlife and biodiversity would naturally also mean an increase in wildlife being put in dangerous situations. The network is designed to be above the ground and create ‘bridges’ so that wildlife has a safe passage throughout the city but it will also mean more animals are exposed to the dangers of urban living and as a result more will be injured.
• The increase in wildlife would also bring with it an increase in pests. As more plants grow, there will be more insects to feed on them followed by more small animals to feed on them and so on. these insects and animals will also enter bins and buildings in search of food, causing an increased disturbance to humans.
• The wisteria vines that will be used to grow the wildlife network has pods that can be poisonous to some pets (ASPCA, n.d.). Naturally an increase in wisteria plants will see an increased likelihood of a pet being affected.
• The large increase in plant life will cause a large amount of fallen leaves and dead plant matter to cover the city. As trees and plants shed leaves in the autumn, significantly increasing the amount of plant life also significantly increases the amount of dead leaves covering everything and would mean councils and people have to increase their efforts to clear away the dead leaves.

People

• The increase in green space is linked to an increase in property values and costs (Wolch et al., 2014) meaning that it can make neighbourhoods and cities where the products are adopted more expensive and create financial barriers for lower income families.
• There is a correlation between green spaces and nearby residents’ health and stress levels, where more access to green spaces improves both (Stigsdotter et al., 2010; Wolch et al., 2014).
• Increases in green spaces are associated with decreases in air pollution (Liu & Shen, 2014) meaning that a city wide implementation of the products would likely increase air quality significantly and provide the health benefits associated with it.
• The increase in wildlife will also have a negative effect on people with allergies. For example, people with hay fever may find their symptoms increase in frequency or worsen due to the extra plant life producing pollen all over the city.
• The product will be sold to councils and property developers to be installed on a large scale, meaning that the product stays behind when people move house and the new occupiers will inherit the product, meaning they inherit the potential issues that come along with it.