Natural England and the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) have called upon the government to help tackle the recession by investing in more green spaces for towns and cities.

Ahead of chancellor Alistair Darling's budget statement on 22 April, both organisations have said that funding should be diverted away from road-building schemes to provide new parks, trees and open spaces, which will also help combat climate change. According to Natural England and CABE, the creation of new, greener infrastructure in urban centres will lead to new, sustainable private-sector employment opportunities, as well as improving the areas where people live and work to attract increased investment.

It is also argued that just 10 per cent of the government's £10bn road-building and widening budget would pay for 40 new parks, 500,000 new street trees, 1.5 million sq m (16.1 million sq ft) of green roofs and 1,000 miles (1,609km) of green routes for pedestrians and cyclists. The call comes as Natural England and CABE prepare to bring together a number of leading figures from green planning schemes across the world for an event in London this week, including architect William McDonough and George Hargreaves, designer of the London 2012 Olympic Park.