tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/green-cities-15363/articles
green cities – The Conversation
2022-11-21T19:16:30Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/194636
2022-11-21T19:16:30Z
2022-11-21T19:16:30Z
What mirrored ants, vivid blue butterflies and Monstera house plants can teach us about designing buildings
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495523/original/file-20221116-19-oq2ili.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C950%2C2904%2C1940&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/OZ2rS2zCjNo">Coleen Rivas/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Almost all buildings today are built using similar conventional technologies and manufacturing and construction processes. These processes use a lot of energy and produce <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/publication/2022-global-status-report-buildings-and-construction">huge carbon emissions</a>. </p>
<p>This is hardly sustainable. Perhaps the only way to truly construct sustainable buildings is by connecting them with nature, not isolating them from it. This is where the field of bioarchitecture emerges. It draws on principles from nature to help solve technological questions and address global challenges. </p>
<p>Take desert organisms, for example. How do they survive and thrive under extreme conditions? </p>
<p>One such desert species is the Saharan silver ant, named for its shiny mirror-like body. Its reflective body <a href="https://www.bnl.gov/newsroom/news.php?a=111737">reflects and dissipates heat</a>. It’s an adaptation we can apply in buildings as reflective walls, or to pavements that don’t heat up.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="several ants surround a beetle on the desert sand" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495776/original/file-20221117-13-adq7pk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495776/original/file-20221117-13-adq7pk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495776/original/file-20221117-13-adq7pk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495776/original/file-20221117-13-adq7pk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495776/original/file-20221117-13-adq7pk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495776/original/file-20221117-13-adq7pk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495776/original/file-20221117-13-adq7pk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Saharan desert ants have highly developed adaptations to stay cool in the desert heat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saharan_silver_ants_capturing_beetle.jpg">Bjørn Christian Tørrissen/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>There are so many aspects of nature we can drawn on. Picture cities with shopping centres based on water lilies, stadiums resembling seashells, and lightweight bridges inspired by cells. </p>
<p>Water lilies can teach us how to design large buildings efficiently with smooth pedestrian circulation. Seashells can inspire the walls of large-span buildings without the need for columns. Cells can show us how to develop lightweight suspending structures. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/building-a-second-nature-into-our-cities-wildness-art-and-biophilic-design-88642">Building a 'second nature' into our cities: wildness, art and biophilic design</a>
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</p>
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<h2>Bioarchitecture works with nature, not against it</h2>
<p>Bioarchitecture can reinvent the natural environment in the form of our built environment, to provide the ultimate and somehow obvious solutions for the threats Earth is facing. </p>
<p>Most industry-led and research-based approaches focus on the “technology to save us” from climate change. In contrast, bioarchitecture offers a more sustainable approach that aims to develop a positive relationship between buildings and nature. </p>
<p>Living organisms constantly communicate with the natural world. They move around their environment, employ chemical processes and undergo complex reactions, patterning their habitat. This means living systems constantly model and organise the environment around them. They are able to adapt and, in doing so, they change their environment too. </p>
<p>Can buildings do the same in cities? If buildings could grow, self-repair and adapt to climate, they might ultimately become truly sustainable. </p>
<p>Early examples of bioarchitecture can be found in traditional and early modern buildings. Their architects observed nature to copy its principles and design more habitable, locally made and environmentally friendly buildings. For example, Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, is inspired by natural shapes that give the church its organic form. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Highly decorative interior of church – Gaudi's Sagrada Família" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495525/original/file-20221116-25-jg8jjc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495525/original/file-20221116-25-jg8jjc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495525/original/file-20221116-25-jg8jjc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495525/original/file-20221116-25-jg8jjc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495525/original/file-20221116-25-jg8jjc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495525/original/file-20221116-25-jg8jjc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495525/original/file-20221116-25-jg8jjc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gaudi`s Sagrada Familia in Barcelona is an early modern example of bioarchitecture.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/Z5WBz_9U7sE">Sung Jin Cho/Unsplash</a></span>
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<p>More recent works showcase bioarchitecture that learnt from nature coupled with technology and innovation. Examples include using bio-based materials such as wood, hemp and bamboo, applying <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/biophilia-hypothesis">biophilia</a> through using greenery on external walls and plants indoors to boost our connection with nature, and restoring the environment by making buildings part of it. </p>
<p>Considering the climate emergency, we should strengthen buildings’ coherence with nature. Bioarchitecture can do this.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bamboo-architecture-balis-green-school-inspires-a-global-renaissance-121248">Bamboo architecture: Bali's Green School inspires a global renaissance</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>So what can a butterfly teach us?</h2>
<p>The blue Menelaus butterfly offers another striking example of design solutions from nature. Despite its radiant blue colour, it is not actually blue and does not have any pigments. Producing and maintaining pigments is expensive in nature, as it requires a lot of energy. </p>
<p>The Menelaus butterfly has an ingenious way to achieve its unique colour without pigments. Its brilliant blue shine comes from scattering light, similar to soap bubbles glimmering in rainbow colours under the sun, despite being completely transparent. The light is scattered by micro-grooves on the butterfly’s wings – so small that they can only be seen with an ultra-high-resolution microscope.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Brilliant blue butterfly on dark green leaf" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495522/original/file-20221116-21-a46cwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495522/original/file-20221116-21-a46cwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495522/original/file-20221116-21-a46cwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495522/original/file-20221116-21-a46cwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495522/original/file-20221116-21-a46cwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495522/original/file-20221116-21-a46cwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495522/original/file-20221116-21-a46cwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Menelaus blue butterfly.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/jJXN1q7ERks">Damon on Road/Unsplash</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>This is nature’s way to achieve high performance with cheap forms instead of costly materials. Learning from the Menelaus butterfly, we can have windows with climate-adaptable properties – changing their colour and scattering light according to the position of the sun. Butterfly wings have already inspired the <a href="https://www.cyprismaterials.com/">development of new materials</a>, and the next step is to use these on buildings.</p>
<p>In this way, we can design biobuildings that reflect excessive radiation and reduce cooling needs and glare. And the beautiful part is that this may all be done without obstructing views and without the need for shading devices or tinted windows. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-that-natural-nanotechnology-could-inspire-human-design-100064">Five ways that natural nanotechnology could inspire human design</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>And what does a pot plant have to do with buildings?</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495524/original/file-20221116-21-jobvcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Image of four large leaves of indoor plant" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495524/original/file-20221116-21-jobvcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495524/original/file-20221116-21-jobvcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495524/original/file-20221116-21-jobvcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495524/original/file-20221116-21-jobvcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495524/original/file-20221116-21-jobvcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495524/original/file-20221116-21-jobvcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/495524/original/file-20221116-21-jobvcs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The leaves of the Monstera plant.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/70l1tDAI6rM">Chris Lee/Unsplash</a></span>
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<p>Then there is Monstera, a sought-after indoor plant that climbs up the walls. It’s also called the “Swiss cheese plant” for the holes on its leaves. Have you ever thought about how it thrives and grows like no other plant indoors? </p>
<p>Monstera simply needs to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780123858511000044">sustain fewer cells</a> to maintain extra large leaves because of their holes. This enables it to capture more of the sunlight it needs to grow and spread out over a bigger area.</p>
<p>Now imagine if we designed hollow building structures such as columns and beams. This could help minimise the need for materials and cut carbon emissions by reducing the embodied energy that goes into making these materials.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-wings-of-owls-and-hummingbirds-inspire-drones-wind-turbines-and-other-technology-136684">How the wings of owls and hummingbirds inspire drones, wind turbines and other technology</a>
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<h2>Nature offers a vast design catalogue</h2>
<p>We can look at nature as a catalogue of designs and solutions to be reimagined as bioarchitecture. So, we could have shiny silver pavements like the silver ant, metallic-coloured but transparent windows like the Menelaus butterfly, and buildings that use the minimum of materials like Monstera’s leaves.</p>
<p>Nature is wealthy, nature is generous. Through bioarchitecture, buildings can dive into that wealth and become a part of the generosity. Truly sustainable biobuildings can be constructed that work with nature and reverse the harm our conventional building technologies have done to the planet.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194636/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aysu Kuru does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Bioarchitecture draws on design principles from nature to construct buildings that work in ways that help tackle climate change and reverse environmental damage.
Aysu Kuru, Lecturer in Architecture and Construction, University of Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/187261
2022-07-29T01:28:59Z
2022-07-29T01:28:59Z
Greening the greyfields: how to renew our suburbs for more liveable, net-zero cities
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475830/original/file-20220725-15-34dix1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2665%2C1782&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-16-6238-6">Greening the Greyfields</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Our ageing cities are badly in need of regeneration. Many established residential areas, the “greyfields”, are becoming physically, technologically and environmentally obsolete. They are typically located in low-density, car-dependent middle suburbs developed in the mid to late 20th century. </p>
<p>Compared to the outer suburbs, these middle suburbs are rich in services, amenities and jobs. But the greyfields also represent economically outdated, failing or undercapitalised real-estate assets. Their location has made them the focus of suburban backyard infill development.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the current approach typically cuts down all the trees and creates more car traffic as resident numbers grow. A new kind of urban regeneration is needed at the scale of precincts, rather than lot by lot, to transform the greyfields into more liveable and sustainable suburbs. It calls for a collaborative approach by federal, state and local governments.</p>
<h2>How do we do this?</h2>
<p>Our free new e-book, <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-16-6238-6">Greening the Greyfields</a>, sets out how to do this. It draws on ten years of research that led to a new model of urban development.</p>
<p>This approach integrates two goals of urban research: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>ending the dependence on cars caused by a <a href="https://theconversation.com/unlocking-the-greyfields-to-inhibit-urban-sprawl-7748">disconnect between land use and transport</a></p></li>
<li><p>accelerating the supply of more sustainable, medium-density, infill housing to replace the current <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-city-policy-to-protect-the-brisbane-backyard-is-failing-150173">dysfunctional model</a> of urban regeneration. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Greening greyfields will help our cities <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-cities-policies-are-seriously-inadequate-for-tackling-the-climate-crisis-182769">make the transition</a> to <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-environ-050120-113117">net zero</a> emissions.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-cities-policies-are-seriously-inadequate-for-tackling-the-climate-crisis-182769">Australia's cities policies are seriously inadequate for tackling the climate crisis</a>
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<h2>Why do we need to regenerate these areas?</h2>
<p>We need to shrink the unsustainable urban and ecological footprints of “suburban” cities. Neighbourhoods need to become more resilient, sustainable, liveable and equitable for their residents. </p>
<p>Urban regeneration must also allow for the COVID-driven restructuring of the work–residence relationship for city residents. This involves relocalising urban places so they become more self-sufficient as “<a href="https://theconversation.com/were-at-a-fork-in-the-road-do-we-choose-neighbourhoods-to-live-work-and-play-in-138949">20-minute neighbourhoods</a>”. Their residents will have access to most of the services they need via low-emission cycling and walking, as well as public transport.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/people-love-the-idea-of-20-minute-neighbourhoods-so-why-isnt-it-top-of-the-agenda-131193">People love the idea of 20-minute neighbourhoods. So why isn't it top of the agenda?</a>
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<p>Current attempts to increase residential density and limit sprawl in most Australian cities tend to focus on blanket upzoning in selected growth zones. The resulting backyard infill involves a few small homes, which is all that is allowed on each block. Density increases only marginally, so there are still too few housing options for residents who want to be close to city services and opportunities. </p>
<p>Piecemeal infill redevelopment often degrades the quality of our suburbs. The loss of trees and increase in hard surfaces worsen urban heat island effects and flood risk. And a lack of convenient transport options for the extra residents reinforces car dependence.</p>
<p>We need more strategic models of suburban regeneration. </p>
<h1>Greyfield regeneration compared to conventional approaches</h1>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475818/original/file-20220725-16-wl1q7b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graphic showing key elements of original greenfield development, conventional redevelopment and green redevelopment of a greyfield precinct" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475818/original/file-20220725-16-wl1q7b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475818/original/file-20220725-16-wl1q7b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475818/original/file-20220725-16-wl1q7b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475818/original/file-20220725-16-wl1q7b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475818/original/file-20220725-16-wl1q7b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=703&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475818/original/file-20220725-16-wl1q7b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=703&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475818/original/file-20220725-16-wl1q7b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=703&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-16-6238-6">Greening the Greyfields</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/were-at-a-fork-in-the-road-do-we-choose-neighbourhoods-to-live-work-and-play-in-138949">We're at a fork in the road: do we choose neighbourhoods to live, work and play in?</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why do this at the precinct scale?</h2>
<p>Urban regeneration is best tackled at the scale of precincts. They are the building blocks of cities: greenfield sites continue to be developed, and old brownfield industrial sites are redeveloped, at this scale. </p>
<p>Design-led precinct-scale regeneration can maximise co-ordination of aspects of urban living neglected by piecemeal lot-by-lot redevelopment. Think local health and education services, small shops, social housing, walkable open space, public transport and even <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2413-8851/6/3/47">regenerated biodiversity</a>.</p>
<p>Model precincts like WGV, in a greyfields suburb of Fremantle, have very <a href="https://www.cogitatiopress.com/urbanplanning/article/view/1245">successfully demonstrated</a> how regeneration can produce high-quality, medium-density housing and net-zero outcomes. However, this development was on an old school site, so there was no need to combine individual blocks into a precinct-scale site. There were also no residents that needed to be engaged – though WGV became very popular because of its <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105461">attractive architecture and treed green spaces</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475819/original/file-20220725-15-rvtlo3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Aerial view of ?" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475819/original/file-20220725-15-rvtlo3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475819/original/file-20220725-15-rvtlo3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475819/original/file-20220725-15-rvtlo3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475819/original/file-20220725-15-rvtlo3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475819/original/file-20220725-15-rvtlo3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475819/original/file-20220725-15-rvtlo3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475819/original/file-20220725-15-rvtlo3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">WGV in Fremantle is a model project for precinct-scale greening of the greyfields.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What are the key elements of this model?</h2>
<p>Greyfield precinct regeneration has two sub-models: place-activated and transit-activated. A place-activated precinct may shorten travel distances for residents by providing services and amenities, but does not in itself increase public transport. For transit-activated precincts, good public transport increases land values, which makes these regenerated greyfields even more attractive.</p>
<p>Mid-tier transit like <a href="https://sbenrc.com.au/app/uploads/2018/10/TRACKLESS-TRAMS-MANUAL-GUIDE_email.pdf">trackless trams</a> is an ideal way to enable precinct developments along main road corridors. <a href="https://sbenrc.com.au/research-programs/1-74/">Local governments</a> are recognising this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S66dMwdhkII">around Australia</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/S66dMwdhkII?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">An overview of trackless tram projects around Australia.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Greyfield regeneration can begin with a strategy of district greenlining. Redlining was an American planning tool to exclude people of colour from a neighbourhood. Greenlining is the opposite: it includes the whole community in greening their neighbourhood. </p>
<p>This strategic process would identify neighbourhoods in need of next-generation infrastructure. Projects of this sort require a precinct-scale vision and plan. </p>
<p>State and municipal agencies can do this work. It would include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>physical infrastructure – energy, water, waste and transport</p></li>
<li><p>social infrastructure – health and education</p></li>
<li><p>green infrastructure – the nature-based services we get from planting and retaining trees and enabling open space and landscaped streets. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>The <a href="https://ehq-production-australia.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/576da98716d547f3645c3ba4252f0b428af60901/original/1611791908/Maroondah_C134maro_RINGWOOD_GREYFIELD_PRECINCT_DEVELOPMENT_CONTRIBUTIONS_PLAN_15_MAY_2019.pdf_26fd411cf56644aba20c32ba39d958ec?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAIBJCUKKD4ZO4WUUA/20220713/ap-southeast-2/s3/aws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20220713T044117Z&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=4bc9b6839caad14a01a1168e7dd148a6ba44da922e1686666ca6194858229dba">City of Maroondah</a> in Victoria provided an early demonstration of how this can happen. It produced a set of <a href="https://greyfields.com.au/">playbooks</a> to show how other municipalities, developers and land owners can replicate the process.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475821/original/file-20220725-17-slro76.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graphic showing key features of greyfields regeneration of a precinct" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475821/original/file-20220725-17-slro76.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475821/original/file-20220725-17-slro76.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=584&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475821/original/file-20220725-17-slro76.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=584&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475821/original/file-20220725-17-slro76.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=584&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475821/original/file-20220725-17-slro76.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=734&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475821/original/file-20220725-17-slro76.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=734&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475821/original/file-20220725-17-slro76.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=734&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Redevelopment additions for a precinct undergoing greyfields regeneration in the City of Maroondah.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://yoursay.maroondah.vic.gov.au/c134maro-ringwood">Greening the Greyfields/City of Maroondah</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Greening the greyfields will deliver the many benefits associated with more sustainable and liveable communities. However, these outcomes depend on more comprehensive, design-led, integrated land use and transport planning.</p>
<p>Property owners, councils, developers and financiers will have to work together much more closely and effectively than happens with the business-as-usual approach of fragmented, small-lot infill, which is failing dismally. New laws and regulations will be needed to change this approach.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-city-policy-to-protect-the-brisbane-backyard-is-failing-150173">Why city policy to 'protect the Brisbane backyard' is failing</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Better Cities 2.0?</h2>
<p>Precinct-based projects offer a model for <a href="https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/news/net-zero-will-require-the-biggest-economic-transformation-ever-seen-in-peacetime-says-nicholas-stern/#:%7E:text=The%2520pursuit%2520of%2520net%2520zero,The%2520Economics%2520of%2520Climate%2520Change%253A">net zero development</a> of our cities.</p>
<p>Greyfield regeneration is an increasingly pervasive and pressing challenge for our cities. It calls for all levels of government to work on a strategic response. </p>
<p>We suggest a Better Cities 2.0 program, led by the federal government, to establish greyfield precinct regeneration authorities in major cities and build partnerships with all major urban stakeholders. It would set us on the path to greening the greyfields.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187261/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Newman receives funding from the Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre. Peter is a Co-ordinating Lead Author for Transport in the IPCC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Giles Thomson receives funding from KK-stiftesen, Sweden; and has received funding from the CRC for Low Carbon Living, and the Sustainable Built Environment national research centre (SBEnrc). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Newton has received funding from AHURI, CRC for Spatial Information, CRC for Low Carbon Living and the federal Smart Cities and Suburbs Program for Greening the Greyfields research project </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Glackin received funding from Cooperative Research Centers for Spatial Information and Low Carbon Living (CRCSI, CRCLCL). </span></em></p>
Ad hoc, lot-by-lot efforts to house more people in our ageing suburbs are failing to increase liveability and sustainability. Our cities need strategic, precinct-scale regeneration.
Peter Newman, Professor of Sustainability, Curtin University
Giles Thomson, Senior Lecturer, Department of Strategic Sustainable Development, Blekinge Institute of Technology
Peter Newton, Emeritus Professor in Sustainable Urbanism, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of Technology
Stephen Glackin, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of Technology
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/152680
2021-01-08T03:26:02Z
2021-01-08T03:26:02Z
Cities could get more than 4°C hotter by 2100. To keep cool in Australia, we urgently need a national planning policy
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377689/original/file-20210108-13-a3kx3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C5%2C3350%2C2221&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In cities around the world, temperatures could rise by <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cities-face-withering-heat-under-worst-warming-scenarios/">more than 4°C</a> by 2100 under a high-emissions climate change scenario, suggests <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-020-00958-8">research published this week</a> in Nature Climate Change. </p>
<p>It comes as the Bureau of Meteorology’s <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/annual/aus/">annual climate statement</a>, released today, shows 2020 was Australia’s fourth-warmest year on record, despite being an “La Niña” year, which usually leads to cooler temperatures. </p>
<p>Cities occupy just 3% of Earth’s surface. As this portion of land is so small, they’ve typically been left out of most climate models, which generally make projections on global scales. </p>
<p>Yet more than half the world’s population live in urban environments (set to jump to 70% by 2050). This is why the researchers call for “multi-model projections” of local climates for cities. </p>
<p>In the study, the researchers say their predictions on climate will give “urban planners and decision-makers in any city […] access to city-specific projections for any planning horizon they need”.</p>
<p>It’s important these planning horizons include the cooling and shading provided by <a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-how-green-infrastructure-can-easily-be-added-to-the-urban-planning-toolkit-57277">green infrastructure</a> — the network of green spaces such as street trees and green walls — in urban areas. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-how-green-infrastructure-can-easily-be-added-to-the-urban-planning-toolkit-57277">Here’s how green infrastructure can easily be added to the urban planning toolkit</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>For Australia, this means getting a national green infrastructure policy that provides for green spaces within our cities, open spaces and buildings to help with increasing density and rising global temperatures.</p>
<h2>What the research found</h2>
<p>Heat events, such as heatwaves, pose <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/health-topics/emergency-health-management/heatwave-health-tips-and-information">a significant health risk</a> and can <a href="https://theconversation.com/smart-urban-design-could-save-lives-in-future-heatwaves-33246">hit people harder in cities</a>.</p>
<p>Cities are hotter than in surrounding regional areas due to “<a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/urban-heat-island/">the urban heat island</a>” effect, a result of heat created by all the densely packed people, vehicles and industries, and the heat retained among buildings and other infrastructure.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377696/original/file-20210108-19-x3b67f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Sydney highway" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377696/original/file-20210108-19-x3b67f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377696/original/file-20210108-19-x3b67f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377696/original/file-20210108-19-x3b67f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377696/original/file-20210108-19-x3b67f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377696/original/file-20210108-19-x3b67f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377696/original/file-20210108-19-x3b67f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377696/original/file-20210108-19-x3b67f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cars, asphalt on roads, buildings and people, all densely packed together, are why cities are hotter than regional areas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Despite having the highest population density, the researchers point out that urban areas aren’t often represented in the <a href="https://www.wcrp-climate.org/wgcm-cmip/wgcm-cmip5">Coupled Model Intercomparison Project</a>. This project is important because it informs the global authority on climate change (the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/syr/">International Panel on Climate Change</a>).</p>
<p>So the research authors built a statistical model emulating a complex climate model with urban regions. And they estimate that, by the end of the century, average warming across global cities will increase by 1.9°C under an intermediate emissions scenario, and 4.4°C with high emissions.</p>
<p>Urban warming would most affect mid-to-northern parts of the United States, southern Canada, Europe, the Middle East, northern Central Asia and northwestern China. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/smart-urban-design-could-save-lives-in-future-heatwaves-33246">Smart urban design could save lives in future heatwaves</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>They also predict that the <a href="https://www.weather.gov/ama/heatindex#">heat index</a> would increase faster than air temperature alone over almost all cities. “Heat index” refers to how hot the human body actually <em>feels</em>, a combination of relative humidity and air temperature. This would mean urban residents would experience higher heat stress. </p>
<h2>What does this mean for Australia?</h2>
<p>While the research found most urban warming would occur in the northern hemisphere, Australian cities are also projected to continue to warm. But we need only look to the recent record-breaking years to realise climate change will result in more extremely hot days here. </p>
<p>2019 was <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/state-of-the-climate/future-climate.shtml">Australia’s hottest</a> (and driest) year on record. And today’s <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/annual/aus/">annual climate statement</a> from the Bureau of Meteorology shows the highest temperature ever recorded in the Sydney Basin, at a whopping 48.9°C, occurred in 2020, on January 4. It also found the average national temperature for 2020 was 1.15°C higher than normal. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1347256693416103939"}"></div></p>
<p>These are nationwide findings, but how Australia manages climate in urban areas is particularly important as around <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/regional-population/latest-release#capital-cities">80% of population growth</a> occurs in capital cities. </p>
<p>In fact, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0169204620301407">2020 research</a> found we’re increasingly facing more frequent and prolonged heatwaves that intensify urban heat islands in places such as Sydney, by raising inland temperatures by as much as 10°C more than in coastal zones.</p>
<h2>Keeping cities cool</h2>
<p>The best way to ensure our cities are kept cool is through greening urban spaces. Green spaces can be developed by planting trees in streets, yards and parks for shade, recreation and relief from the heat. This will create cooler urban “microclimates” for social interaction and <a href="https://theconversation.com/cities-will-endure-but-urban-design-must-adapt-to-coronavirus-risks-and-fears-135949">natural retreats</a> from city life.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-world-endured-2-extra-heatwave-days-per-decade-since-1950-but-the-worst-is-yet-to-come-141983">The world endured 2 extra heatwave days per decade since 1950 – but the worst is yet to come</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://www.dpie.nsw.gov.au/premiers-priorities/greening-our-city">Greater Sydney</a>, for example, has a welcome new policy to ensure five million more trees are planted by 2030. This is an important long-term goal as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S221067071630066X">2016 research from Canada</a> found tree cover in daytime reduced air temperature by up to 4°C in Montreal city. </p>
<p>The design of buildings and their immediate surroundings are also important to help manage increasing heat in our cities. </p>
<p>Our open spaces are places of exercise, retreat, relaxation and, in a new COVID world, socially distant interactions. The pandemic has allowed us <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/popularity-of-parks-prompts-call-for-ideas-to-re-imagine-public-spaces-20200715-p55c5z.html">to rediscover</a> the importance of our community and local connections in these spaces. </p>
<p>Multi-storey buildings also provide opportunity for vertical greening. The Victorian government, for example, is seeking <a href="https://www.planning.vic.gov.au/policy-and-strategy/planning-for-melbourne/plan-melbourne/cooling-greening-melbourne/green-wall-on-the-go">to increase</a> the amount of green infrastructure in our urban areas to help us cope with predicted warmer conditions. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377694/original/file-20210108-13-ahdow5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377694/original/file-20210108-13-ahdow5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377694/original/file-20210108-13-ahdow5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377694/original/file-20210108-13-ahdow5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377694/original/file-20210108-13-ahdow5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377694/original/file-20210108-13-ahdow5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377694/original/file-20210108-13-ahdow5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377694/original/file-20210108-13-ahdow5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Melbourne has many trees and green spaces that help negate the effects of the urban heat island.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Australia needs a national planning policy</h2>
<p>Urban planning and greening urban spaces is largely a local government responsibility, usually overseen by state and territory governments. </p>
<p>And there is national recognition of the importance of green cities through the federal government’s <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/cities/smart-cities/plan/index.aspx">Smart Cities Plan</a>. It states: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Green, sustainable cities […] improve the quality of air and water, reduce the heat island effect, protect biological diversity and threatened species, and enhance general amenity. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>But what’s needed, urgently, is a national planning framework of green city principles so no regions get left behind. Climate change is a national issue, and all urban residents from all socioeconomic backgrounds should benefit from green cities.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/anatomy-of-a-heatwave-how-antarctica-recorded-a-20-75-c-day-last-month-134550">Anatomy of a heatwave: how Antarctica recorded a 20.75°C day last month</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This national planning policy would describe how our cities across the nation should develop appropriately spaced trees and other vegetation, to better manage and prepare for increasing density and greater activity as climate change brings hotter weather. </p>
<p>And importantly, more research is needed to better inform climate models. We need more information into the ways our climates will change within different land areas — whether rural, suburban or in cities — so we can develop better national plans for how we will live and work in the future. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-a-heatwave-the-leafy-suburbs-are-even-more-advantaged-53307">In a heatwave, the leafy suburbs are even more advantaged</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/152680/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Maund works as an environmental planner in private practice.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>SueAnne Ware receives funding from the City of Newcastle and Landcom NSW.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kim Maund and Marcus Jefferies do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Cities occupy just 3% of the Earth’s surface, yet more than half the world’s population live in urban environments. We need nation-wide plans to keep our cities cool so no one gets left behind.
Mark Maund, Research Affiliate, School of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Newcastle
Kim Maund, Discipline Head – Construction Management, School of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Newcastle
Marcus Jefferies, Senior Lecturer School of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Newcastle
SueAnne Ware, Professor and Head of School of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Newcastle
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/150774
2020-12-15T14:32:34Z
2020-12-15T14:32:34Z
Sustainable cities after COVID-19: are Barcelona-style green zones the answer?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375084/original/file-20201215-15-1376y5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5760%2C3794&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Part of Barcelona's Eixample district. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/aerial-view-barcelona-eixample-residencial-district-1095000005">marchello74/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The lockdowns and restrictions introduced to control the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in huge changes to urban life. Previously bustling city centres remain empty, <a href="https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/cp-cloudpublish-public/p6/5fabfe1720d24.pdf">shunned in favour</a> of suburban or rural areas where social distancing is easier and connections to the outdoors are abundant.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-could-turn-cities-into-doughnuts-empty-centres-but-vibrant-suburbs-151406">Coronavirus could turn cities into doughnuts: empty centres but vibrant suburbs</a>
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<p>The roll out of vaccines provides hope for a partial restoration of normality in cities. However, the impact of COVID-19 could last much longer. </p>
<p>In particular, the pandemic has shown how damaging congestion, pollution and lack of green space can be – including how these factors have contributed to the <a href="https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/sg_policy_brief_covid_urban_world_july_2020.pdf">severity of suffering for city dwellers</a>. We have an opportunity to change city living for the better. </p>
<p>Barcelona offers an example of how city areas can be transformed to reduce pollution and increase access to green space. </p>
<p>The city pioneered the concept of superblocks, first introduced in 2016, as part of green urban planning. Superblocks are <a href="https://theconversation.com/superblocks-barcelonas-car-free-zones-could-extend-lives-and-boost-mental-health-123295">neighbourhoods of nine blocks</a>. Traffic is restricted to major roads around the superblocks, leaving the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZORzsubQA_M">streets inside</a> for pedestrians and cyclists. </p>
<p>Recently, further plans have been announced to expand green zones in the city’s central district, Eixample. This is a major expansion of low-traffic zones, giving priority to pedestrians and cyclists to reduce pollution and provide green spaces. </p>
<p>The new plan will <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-11/barcelona-s-new-car-free-superblock-will-be-big">cover 21 streets</a> and have space for 21 new pedestrian plazas at intersections. At least <a href="https://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/premsa/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/201111-DOSSIER-Superilla-BarcelonaVDEF.pdf">80% of each street</a> is to be shaded by trees in summer and 20% unpaved. A public competition in May 2021 will decide the final design.</p>
<p>The purpose of the plan is to ensure that no resident will be more than 200 metres from <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-54920342">a green space</a>. </p>
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<p>There are many benefits to creating urban green spaces like these. They include an improvement in air quality and noise levels on the car-free streets, and a reduction in levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) from road traffic. Exposure to high level of NO₂ can lead to a range of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK138707/">respiratory problems</a>.</p>
<p>Green spaces have been shown to improve <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4204431/">mental health</a>, as well as lead to a reduction in risk of <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-56091-5_11">obesity and diabetes</a> – conditions which <a href="https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/news/coronavirus-and-your-health/what-makes-you-at-risk-from-coronavirus">significantly increase vulnerability to COVID-19</a>. </p>
<p>COVID-19 has made the case for green urban planning even more compelling. However, these plans can come at a cost. </p>
<h2>Barriers to green cities</h2>
<p>A particular negative impact of green zones could be a high demand for housing, leading to subsequent rises in property prices. This can lead to <a href="https://undisciplinedenvironments.org/2020/10/20/to-green-or-not-to-green-four-stories-of-urban-injustice-in-barcelona/">gentrification and displacement</a> of local residents and businesses. Care must be taken to make sure that homes remain affordable and urban green zones do not become rich enclaves. </p>
<p>The COVID-19 lockdowns highlighted the difference in living conditions <a href="https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/cp-cloudpublish-public/p6/5fabfe1720d24.pdf">faced by city dwellers</a>. Green initiatives must work for all socio-economic groups, and must not exacerbate <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/116/52/26139">existing inequalities</a>. </p>
<p>In addition, while city centres are the usual focus areas for greening initiatives, suburbs and other peripheral areas also need attention. The goal is to reduce carbon dependence in total – not shift it from one area to another, or one sector to another. </p>
<p>The plan should also include steps to make private and public transport completely green. This could include replacing carbon-producing transport system with zero-emission vehicles and providing ample infrastructure such as dedicated lanes and charging stations for electric vehicles.</p>
<p>Cities differ hugely in how they look, shape and operate. One size will not fit all. If other cities choose to follow Barcelona’s model, local issues must be carefully considered. Superblocks work really well in a neat grid system such as in central Barcelona. But many cities do not have a well-designed grid system. </p>
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<img alt="Cyclist on cycle lane" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375128/original/file-20201215-18-m21c47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375128/original/file-20201215-18-m21c47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375128/original/file-20201215-18-m21c47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375128/original/file-20201215-18-m21c47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375128/original/file-20201215-18-m21c47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375128/original/file-20201215-18-m21c47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375128/original/file-20201215-18-m21c47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Many cities are looking to expand green initiatives.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cyclists-following-cycle-track-on-street-269488517">Robsonphoto/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>However, the principles of green, environmentally friendly, car-free or restricted-traffic neighbourhoods can be adopted in any city. Examples of schemes include low-traffic neighbourhoods <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-54180647">in London</a>, the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/videos/paris-is-planning-to-become-a-15-minute-city-897c12513b">15-minute city</a> initiative in Paris, or Manchester’s plans for a <a href="https://www.manchestersfinest.com/articles/new-plans-proposed-for-mcr-city-centre-its-going-car-free/">zero-carbon city centre</a>. </p>
<p>While adopting such interventions, it is important to keep citizens’ daily needs in mind to avoid adding extra burdens on them. If motor traffic is to be limited, the availability of public transport must be considered, safe infrastructure for walking and cycling as well as adequate road structure for essential services or deliveries. </p>
<p>Significant capital investment is needed to support these plans. The Barcelona plan is projected to cost <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-54920342">€38 million (£34 million)</a>. Much more will be required if it is to roll out to more areas. Cities in the developing world and poorer countries cannot afford such huge sums. Moreover, COVID-19 has left several cities laden with a <a href="https://theconversation.com/next-covid-casualty-cities-hit-hard-by-the-pandemic-face-bankruptcy-142539">huge amount of debt</a>. </p>
<p>Green city initiatives need to be long-term – and created with the support of local people. Recognition of the benefits of green living and informed support of developments will result in positive behaviour changes by the citizens.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/150774/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anupam Nanda's research has been sponsored by UK and international public and private funding bodies and companies, including UKRI/Innovate UK, the Real Estate Research Institute in the US, UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, UK Department of Energy and Climate Change, the Investment Property Forum and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. He is a board member of the European Real Estate Society.</span></em></p>
Making cities greener is a vital endeavour – but one that comes with potential pitfalls.
Anupam Nanda, Professor of Urban Economics & Real Estate, University of Manchester
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/150622
2020-12-08T14:48:09Z
2020-12-08T14:48:09Z
The loss of vegetation is creating a dangerous heat island over Nairobi
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371938/original/file-20201130-19-1kq1smt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C55%2C1014%2C623&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Traffic flows past trees that have been felled to make way for a highway in Nairobi, Kenya on November 12, 2020.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by LUIS TATO/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi, used to be known as the <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2000213294/will-nairobi-ever-regain-its-lost-glory-as-the-green-city-in-the-sun">“Green City in the Sun”</a> for its lush environment. There have been however recently been a lot of changes to Nairobi’s land cover – what’s on the ground’s surface. Most recently, there was <a href="https://nairobinews.nation.co.ke/featured/kenyans-plead-with-kenha-to-stop-cutting-down-trees-along-wayaki-way">uproar</a> over the felling of hundreds of trees to make way for the construction of the Nairobi Expressway. Moina Spooner, from The Conversation Africa, asked Victor Ongoma and Patricia Mwangi to share their insights into how changes in land cover affect the city and its environment.</em></p>
<p><strong>How has land cover changed in Nairobi?</strong></p>
<p>Nairobi is <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/nairobi-fastest-city-africa/index.html">one of</a> the fastest growing cities in Africa. The city’s population, which <a href="http://housingfinanceafrica.org/documents/2019-kenya-population-and-housing-census-reports/">was about</a> 2 million people a decade ago, now stands at over 4 million. This puts a lot of pressure on the natural environment.</p>
<p>Areas of vegetation around rivers and forested land <a href="https://doi.org/10.4236/gep.2018.61001">have declined</a> in the city due to encroachment and infrastructure development, namely roads and buildings. It has been <a href="https://blogs.kcl.ac.uk/eoes/2017/03/23/a-comparison-of-greenspace-loss-and-urban-expansion-over-time-in-london-and-nairobi/">reported that</a> Nairobi city has lost 22% of the city’s green spaces cover in the period between 1988 and 2016.</p>
<p>Changes in land cover in Nairobi are mainly due to policy changes – such as zoning – that increase the plot area covered by a building relative to the total plot size. For instance, areas close to the central business district that were residential in land use have seen <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-V-4-2020-203-2020">recent conversions</a> to commercial or office space land use. This changes the landscape.</p>
<p><strong>In what ways has this affected the city and its residents?</strong></p>
<p>Areas covered by impervious surfaces such as tarmac, metal or concrete – have higher surface temperatures compared to vegetated land cover. This is because vegetation provides shade and, through evapotranspiration, cools cities. Impervious surfaces such as concrete absorb more solar radiation than they reflect. This leads to a phenomenon known as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.49710845502">urban heat island</a>. </p>
<p>Urban heat island <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hbrcj.2014.10.002">refers to</a> when temperatures in the city are higher than those of surrounding areas that have more vegetation cover. The effect is more pronounced at night when impervious surfaces re-radiate heat that is absorbed during the day into the atmosphere. </p>
<p>Through our work, we have <a href="http://www.dgt.uns.ac.rs/dokumentacija/pannonica/papers/volume20_1_3.pdf">found that</a> an urban heat island <a href="https://doi.org/10.4236/gep.2018.61001">is already</a> manifesting over Nairobi. Data over Nairobi <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/196237225.pdf">indicates</a> that average air temperatures increased from 18.8°C in the 1950s to 19.5°C in 2000s.
This situation is likely to become more pronounced given the ongoing environmental modification by construction, such as the <a href="https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/opinion-analysis/columnists/what-tree-felling-says-about-officials-2457078">Nairobi Expressway</a>.</p>
<p><strong>What are the implications?</strong></p>
<p>This urban micro-climate will have an influence on the quality of life of city residents. Although the intensity of Nairobi’s heat island has not reached alarming levels of directly causing death, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/nairobi-fastest-city-africa/index.html">with</a> ongoing developments this is bound to eventually happen. </p>
<p>The most direct effect on health from the urban heat island is heat health risk. Heat can <a href="https://grist.org/article/how-urban-heat-islands-threaten-public-health/">worsen pre-existing conditions</a> such as heart and lung disease, kidney problems, diabetes, and asthma. It can also <a href="https://oxfordre.com/environmentalscience/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199389414.001.0001/acrefore-9780199389414-e-332">affect</a> occupational performance or lead directly to death. Extremely high temperatures of <a href="https://ij-healthgeographics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1476-072X-10-42">more than</a> 27°C for a period of time, such as during heat waves, puts people with health issues particularly at risk.</p>
<p>At certain times of the year, parts of Nairobi <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0187300">are already</a> dealing with temperature increases of up to 4.8°C and are associated with increases in mortality, especially in children and the elderly. Residents of large informal settlements – such as Kibera, Mathare and Mukuru – <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0187300">are more vulnerable</a> due to population density and housing infrastructure that is characterised by poor ventilation. The urban heat island <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.12.430">will worsen</a> conditions such as respiratory issues and heart diseases caused by household air pollution in these settlements.</p>
<p>Also, because it gets hotter, urban heat islands cause thermal discomfort. To counter this, more appliances – such as electric fans and air conditioners – are used. This leads to an increased consumption of electricity on cooling in buildings. The increase in demand and consumption of electricity <a href="https://www.c2es.org/content/home-energy-use/">has</a> financial implications at a household level and increases carbon footprint in the atmosphere.</p>
<p><strong>What lessons from cities elsewhere should Kenya be taking?</strong></p>
<p>The benefits associated with urbanisation – such as more roads and living spaces – are needed. But there is a need to make the city more sustainable which would mitigate the urban heat island and reduce all forms of environmental pollution. </p>
<p>To manage the urban heat island, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1687404814000959#b0025">cities must</a> increase vegetation. For instance Stuttgart, a city in Germany, despite being an automobile hub stands out as <a href="https://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/metadata/case-studies/stuttgart-combating-the-heat-island-effect-and-poor-air-quality-with-green-ventilation-corridors">one of the greenest</a> in the world. The city’s vegetation cover is over 60%. This has a range of benefits including increased biodiversity and better air quality. </p>
<p>The measures that Stuttgart put in place include the establishment and maintenance of urban green corridors and urban parks, river cycle paths, designing and construction of cool buildings with natural cooling system, use of green roofs, use of urban water such as fountains to reduce temperatures by evaporation, and use of effective means of transport – such as trains – to limit the number of cars in urban settings.</p>
<p>This can be replicated in Kenya too. All that is needed is a plan for proper <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hbrcj.2014.10.002">urban heat management</a> and proper leadership to implement it before the urban heat island intensity reaches alarming levels.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/150622/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Victor Ongoma receives funding from Harvard University, through the Center for African Studies (<a href="https://africa.harvard.edu/">https://africa.harvard.edu/</a>). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patricia Mwangi works in Kenyatta University. </span></em></p>
Parts of Nairobi are already dealing with temperature increases and reduction in humidity. These conditions are associated with increases in mortality, especially in children and the elderly.
Victor Ongoma, Assistant Professor, Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique
Patricia Mwangi, Lecturer, Kenyatta University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/139478
2020-06-04T19:58:26Z
2020-06-04T19:58:26Z
Greening our grey cities: here’s how green roofs and walls can flourish in Australia
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339644/original/file-20200603-130917-34su2d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4031%2C2510&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Melbourne Sky Park, between the CBD grid and Docklands precinct.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Oculus, used with permission</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Tomorrow is the first <a href="https://worldgreenroofday.com/">World Green Roof Day</a>. Cities around the world will celebrate the <a href="https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/quantifying-benefits-green.pdf">well-documented</a> environmental, economic and social benefits of green roofs. New ground-level green spaces are difficult to create in high-density urban areas. As a result, other forms of city greening – green roofs, green walls and vegetated facades – are increasingly popular.</p>
<p>Being able to grow plants up and on top of buildings combines grey infrastructure with green infrastructure. Unfortunately, <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-cities-are-lagging-behind-in-greening-up-their-buildings-97088">most Australian cities are lagging behind </a> many international counterparts in this aspect of urban greening.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339657/original/file-20200604-130951-kcyl2m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339657/original/file-20200604-130951-kcyl2m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339657/original/file-20200604-130951-kcyl2m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339657/original/file-20200604-130951-kcyl2m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339657/original/file-20200604-130951-kcyl2m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339657/original/file-20200604-130951-kcyl2m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339657/original/file-20200604-130951-kcyl2m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339657/original/file-20200604-130951-kcyl2m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Growing Up green roof by Bent Architecture on the top of 131 Queen Street, Melbourne.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">University of Melbourne</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-cities-are-lagging-behind-in-greening-up-their-buildings-97088">Australian cities are lagging behind in greening up their buildings</a>
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<h2>Roadmap outlines key steps</h2>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339651/original/file-20200603-130903-1st1mhj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339651/original/file-20200603-130903-1st1mhj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339651/original/file-20200603-130903-1st1mhj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=896&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339651/original/file-20200603-130903-1st1mhj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=896&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339651/original/file-20200603-130903-1st1mhj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=896&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339651/original/file-20200603-130903-1st1mhj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1126&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339651/original/file-20200603-130903-1st1mhj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1126&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339651/original/file-20200603-130903-1st1mhj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1126&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Green wall by Junglefy at One Central Park, Sydney.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">John Rayner, used with permission</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>To explore how to increase the uptake of engineered green infrastructure we ran <a href="https://appreciativeinquiry.champlain.edu/learn/appreciative-inquiry-introduction/">appreciative inquiry</a> summits in Sydney and Melbourne. More than 60 representatives from the building and horticultural industries, local and state governments and universities attended. They worked together to create a positive vision for greener Australian cities using green roofs, walls and facades.</p>
<p>Participants identified key actions to achieve this goal. These are compiled in the <a href="https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/girg/files/2020/06/Roadmap-for-Green-Roofs-Walls-and-Facades-Report.pdf">Roadmap for green roofs, walls and facades in Australia’s urban landscapes 2020-2030</a>. The newly released report sets out how to achieve a flourishing green infrastructure industry and more liveable, green, climate-adapted Australian cities. </p>
<p>There is a significant amount of Australian-specific information on the benefits, value and construction requirements of green roofs, walls and facades. Sharing this knowledge is essential for accelerating advances and bringing people up to speed quickly. A key recommendation was establishing a cloud-based knowledge hub and accompanying programs.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339652/original/file-20200603-130955-nb29jp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339652/original/file-20200603-130955-nb29jp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339652/original/file-20200603-130955-nb29jp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339652/original/file-20200603-130955-nb29jp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339652/original/file-20200603-130955-nb29jp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339652/original/file-20200603-130955-nb29jp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339652/original/file-20200603-130955-nb29jp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339652/original/file-20200603-130955-nb29jp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Biodiversity Green Roof by Junglefy at Yerrabingin Indigenous Rooftop Farm in South Eveleigh, Sydney.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Junglefy, used with permission</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>It’s also about job growth</h2>
<p>Green roofs, walls and facades require a diverse mix of professions and trades to build them. As the sector grows, many jobs will be created. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339653/original/file-20200603-130923-6v7w6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339653/original/file-20200603-130923-6v7w6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339653/original/file-20200603-130923-6v7w6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339653/original/file-20200603-130923-6v7w6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339653/original/file-20200603-130923-6v7w6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339653/original/file-20200603-130923-6v7w6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339653/original/file-20200603-130923-6v7w6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339653/original/file-20200603-130923-6v7w6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Medibank Private green wall by Fytogreen at 720 Bourke Street, Melbourne.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">John Rayner, used with permission</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Changes to government policies and inclusion in economic recovery programs are key to this. For example, in Toronto a 2009 bylaw made green roofs mandatory on new buildings with floor areas greater than 2,000 square metres. That change is <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58e3eecf2994ca997dd56381/t/5d84dfc371cf0822bdf7dc29/1568989140101/Green_Roof_and_Wall_Policy_in_North_America.pdf">estimated</a> to have created more than 1,600 jobs in their construction and 25 jobs a year in maintenance. </p>
<p>Education and training programs will be needed to upskill the new workforce. The <a href="https://www.skillsimpact.com.au/horticulture-conservation-and-land-management/training-package-projects/green-walls-rooftop-gardens-project/?_cldee=YnJpZGdldEBza2lsbHNpbXBhY3QuY29tLmF1&recipientid=contact-5284cf2a66c8e8118168e0071b6685b1-eeea0aae82c14f02b8882c7f93ac9d75&esid=d96f5953-faf9-e911-a813-000d3a797268">National Skills Standards for Green Walls and Rooftop Gardens</a> is a welcome vocational training initiative. In addition, university engineering, design and <a href="https://theconversation.com/if-planners-understand-its-cool-to-green-cities-whats-stopping-them-55753">planning graduates</a> require greater expertise in both policy and implementation, backed up by continuing professional development programs. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339664/original/file-20200604-130923-dgeyt6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339664/original/file-20200604-130923-dgeyt6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339664/original/file-20200604-130923-dgeyt6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339664/original/file-20200604-130923-dgeyt6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339664/original/file-20200604-130923-dgeyt6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339664/original/file-20200604-130923-dgeyt6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339664/original/file-20200604-130923-dgeyt6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339664/original/file-20200604-130923-dgeyt6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Research green roof at the University of Melbourne Burnley campus.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nicholas Williams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-planners-understand-its-cool-to-green-cities-whats-stopping-them-55753">If planners understand it's cool to green cities, what's stopping them?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Government leadership makes a difference</h2>
<p>Strong government leadership is a feature of countries and cities with a rapid uptake of green roofs, walls and facades. They have clear policies and strategies, established funding mechanisms and good co-ordination among all levels of government. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339650/original/file-20200603-130951-pgumvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339650/original/file-20200603-130951-pgumvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339650/original/file-20200603-130951-pgumvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339650/original/file-20200603-130951-pgumvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339650/original/file-20200603-130951-pgumvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339650/original/file-20200603-130951-pgumvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339650/original/file-20200603-130951-pgumvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339650/original/file-20200603-130951-pgumvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Victorian Parliament Members Annexe green roof.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rachael Bathgate, used with permission</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A national transition to more sustainable cities that incorporates systematic job-making is desirable. It could be achieved through new federal government <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/cities/city-deals/index.aspx">City Deals</a> focused on stimulating the green economy. </p>
<p>The European Union has already <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidrvetter/2020/04/13/use-lessons-of-covid-19-to-build-a-green-recovery-say-eu-ministers/#30625a794335">proposed</a> fiscal recovery packages along these lines. Economists have <a href="https://academic.oup.com/oxrep/advance-article/doi/10.1093/oxrep/graa015/5832003">identified policies with high potential</a> for both economic multiplier effects and climate impact. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/forget-siestas-green-micro-breaks-could-boost-work-productivity-42356">Forget siestas, 'green micro-breaks' could boost work productivity</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Cities that combine incentives with regulation <a href="https://www.horticulture.com.au/growers/help-your-business-grow/research-reports-publications-fact-sheets-and-more/gc15001/">have higher rates</a> of green infrastructure installation. Education and advocacy to ensure standards of design, installation and maintenance further improve these rates. Importantly, tailored policies can produce green roofs, walls and facades that deal with specific impacts of urbanisation, such as stormwater runoff in flood-prone catchments. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339658/original/file-20200604-130912-8y91ym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339658/original/file-20200604-130912-8y91ym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339658/original/file-20200604-130912-8y91ym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339658/original/file-20200604-130912-8y91ym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339658/original/file-20200604-130912-8y91ym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339658/original/file-20200604-130912-8y91ym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339658/original/file-20200604-130912-8y91ym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339658/original/file-20200604-130912-8y91ym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Green wall by Fytogreen at 1 Bligh Street, Sydney CBD.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">John Rayner, used with permission</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The City of Melbourne has adopted this approach. Its <a href="https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/community/greening-the-city/green-infrastructure/Pages/green-our-city-action-plan.aspx">Green Our City Strategic Action Plan</a> identified the benefits of requiring new buildings to include green infrastructure via a planning scheme amendment. The amendment is yet to be approved. However, the city’s <a href="https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/community/greening-the-city/urban-forest-fund/funded-projects/Pages/funded-projects.aspx">Urban Forest Fund</a> is providing incentives for projects. </p>
<p>In addition, the council has released an Australian-first online <a href="https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/community/greening-the-city/green-infrastructure/pages/green-factor-tool.aspx">Green Factor Tool</a> to measure and improve vegetation cover on new developments. Developers have been asked to voluntarily submit a green factor scorecard with building planning applications. This is expected to increase greening in the private realm.</p>
<h2>Crisis also creates opportunities</h2>
<p>The upheavals in how we live and work caused by COVID-19 also provide opportunities. It’s a chance for developers and building managers to rethink apartment and office building design, with health and well-being in mind. The benefits of green roofs for the <a href="https://theconversation.com/forget-siestas-green-micro-breaks-could-boost-work-productivity-42356">cognitive functioning</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/biophilic-urbanism-how-rooftop-gardening-soothes-souls-76789">well-being</a> of employees are already well documented.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/biophilic-urbanism-how-rooftop-gardening-soothes-souls-76789">Biophilic urbanism: how rooftop gardening soothes souls</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>During the pandemic we have seen high <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-reminds-us-how-liveable-neighbourhoods-matter-for-our-well-being-135806">demand for urban green space and nature</a>. Rooftop and podium-level green roofs can help meet this public need. If next to lunch rooms, these spaces may help workers feel safer in communal areas. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339648/original/file-20200603-130923-cd8gan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339648/original/file-20200603-130923-cd8gan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339648/original/file-20200603-130923-cd8gan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339648/original/file-20200603-130923-cd8gan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339648/original/file-20200603-130923-cd8gan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339648/original/file-20200603-130923-cd8gan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339648/original/file-20200603-130923-cd8gan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339648/original/file-20200603-130923-cd8gan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Breathing Wall by Junglefy at 485 La Trobe Street, Melbourne.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Junglefy, used with permission</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A business tax incentive for retrofits of this type would also help to stimulate the construction industry. </p>
<p>Australian cities are already experiencing <a href="https://theconversation.com/scientists-hate-to-say-i-told-you-so-but-australia-you-were-warned-130211">hotter days, more intense storms and flooding</a>. Creating more green roofs, walls and facades is an important way to respond to climate change and biodiversity impacts. At the same time, these actions create engaging and restorative outdoor spaces for workers and residents. The new roadmap provides a bold but achievable path towards a more sustainable and liveable future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139478/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicholas Williams receives funding from Hort Innovation, the City of Melbourne and Victorian Department of Environment, Land Water and Planning. He is affiliated with the Friends of Merri Creek. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cathy Oke is a City of Melbourne Councillor. She receives funding from the European Climate Foundation. She is affiliated with The Victorian Greens party. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leisa Sargent receives funding from Hort Innovation and the City of Melbourne.</span></em></p>
The release of a roadmap for green roofs, walls and facades in Australia can help our cities catch up with the world leaders in urban greening.
Nicholas Williams, Associate Professor in Urban Ecology and Urban Horticulture, The University of Melbourne
Cathy Oke, Melbourne Enterprise Senior Fellow in Informed Cities, Connected Cities Lab, The University of Melbourne
Leisa Sargent, Senior Deputy Dean, UNSW Business School, Co-DVC Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, UNSW Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/132354
2020-03-15T18:48:16Z
2020-03-15T18:48:16Z
More green, more ‘zzzzz’? Trees may help us sleep
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/320307/original/file-20200312-111242-knyh8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3822%2C2490&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Not feeling sharp? Finding it hard to concentrate? About 12-19% of adults in Australia regularly don’t get enough sleep, defined as less than <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352721816301292">5.5</a>-<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352721817302334">6</a> hours each night. But who’d have thought the amount of tree cover in their neighbourhood could be a factor? Our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352827319301703#bib3">latest research</a> has found people with ample nearby green space are much more likely to get enough sleep than people in areas with less greenery.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-daily-doses-of-nature-in-the-city-matter-for-people-and-the-planet-106918">Why daily doses of nature in the city matter for people and the planet</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There’s plenty of <a href="https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/">helpful</a> <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/sleep">advice</a> <a href="https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/sleep-deprivation-and-deficiency">online</a> on sleep, of course. Apart from personal routines, many other things can affect our sleep. <a href="http://www.noiseandhealth.org/article.asp?issn=1463-1741;year=2012;volume=14;issue=57;spage=58;epage=67;aulast=Perron">Aircraft</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412010000474">traffic</a> noise isn’t helpful. Other environmental factors at play include <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1087079218300765">temperature</a>, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07420528.2018.1527773">artificial light</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749119362980">air pollution</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318474/original/file-20200304-66106-tfm38p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318474/original/file-20200304-66106-tfm38p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318474/original/file-20200304-66106-tfm38p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318474/original/file-20200304-66106-tfm38p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318474/original/file-20200304-66106-tfm38p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318474/original/file-20200304-66106-tfm38p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318474/original/file-20200304-66106-tfm38p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318474/original/file-20200304-66106-tfm38p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Noise, air pollution and artificial light from sources such as heavy traffic have been linked to poorer sleep health.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/62003934@N05/5692530987">Travis/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As a result of these factors and their interactions with others, such as age, occupation and socioeconomic circumstances, the chances of getting a decent night’s kip are <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040119-094412">unevenly distributed</a> across the population. So it is not simply a matter of personal responsibility and <em>choosing</em> to get more sleep.</p>
<h2>Why does green space improve health?</h2>
<p>We’ve been studying the health benefits of green space for many years. We recently published <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyz239">research</a> that suggested more green space – and more tree cover in particular – could help reduce levels of cardiometabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cGQVNcBlYf8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Professor Thomas Astell-Burt talks about the health benefits of trees at the UOW Big Ideas Festival.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Why might green space be good for our health? We hypothesised that parks, woodlands and other nearby green spaces might actually help us to nod off. Green space might counter impacts of <a href="http://www.noiseandhealth.org/article.asp?issn=1463-1741;year=2014;volume=16;issue=70;spage=157;epage=165;aulast=Dz">noise</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412019319683">air pollution</a>, and cool local <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0038092X18302172">heat islands</a>, all of which can make sleep difficult. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319752/original/file-20200310-20858-dv23qd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319752/original/file-20200310-20858-dv23qd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319752/original/file-20200310-20858-dv23qd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319752/original/file-20200310-20858-dv23qd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319752/original/file-20200310-20858-dv23qd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319752/original/file-20200310-20858-dv23qd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=732&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319752/original/file-20200310-20858-dv23qd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=732&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319752/original/file-20200310-20858-dv23qd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=732&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Birdlife adds to the restorative experience of visiting Queens Gardens in Perth.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These benefits may be especially important in disadvantaged communities where many households might not have air conditioning and underlying health conditions can increase vulnerability.</p>
<p>Contact with nature can also provide opportunities for <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/7/eaax0903">psychological restoration and stress reduction</a>. It seems the benefits are greatest if there’s more <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2739050">tree canopy</a> and more <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsbl.2007.0149">biodiversity</a> (such as a richer variety of birdlife).</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/increasing-tree-cover-may-be-like-a-superfood-for-community-mental-health-119930">Increasing tree cover may be like a 'superfood' for community mental health</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Our <a href="https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/3/8/e003094.full">early results</a> provided evidence of a link between green space and sleep duration in Australia. Since then, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935119308771">many more studies</a> from various countries have reported similar results. </p>
<p>Importantly, most of this evidence comes from cross-sectional studies – “snapshots” of a point in time. It’s a bit like trying to understand cause and consequence from a single photograph. </p>
<p>In this case, the “chicken and egg” concern with prior evidence is: does green space <em>really</em> support better sleep? Or could it be that people who already get better sleep, perhaps because they have fewer health issues or financial troubles, tend to live in greener neighbourhoods?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319532/original/file-20200310-61076-sup6tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319532/original/file-20200310-61076-sup6tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319532/original/file-20200310-61076-sup6tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=200&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319532/original/file-20200310-61076-sup6tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=200&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319532/original/file-20200310-61076-sup6tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=200&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319532/original/file-20200310-61076-sup6tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319532/original/file-20200310-61076-sup6tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319532/original/file-20200310-61076-sup6tz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Areas with good tree cover, like the Chinese Garden of Friendship in Darling Harbour, Sydney, could help local residents sleep better.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/casalpartiu/38213916905/in/photolist-nrUVjo-dZhxD1-9c7ZV8-CVyext-ErrCx3-21dQj9i">Casal Partiu/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What’s new about our study?</h2>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352827319301703#bib3">new longitudinal study</a> addresses this concern. We investigated whether people with more green space within 1.6km had lower odds of developing insufficient sleep over about six years. They did not move home in this time. </p>
<p>We found 13% lower odds of developing insufficient sleep among people in areas where 30% or more of landcover within 1.6km had tree canopy, compared to people in areas with less than 10%. These results were consistent after taking into account factors that can influence both our sleep and access to neighbourhoods with more tree cover. These factors included age, sex, education, work status, marital status and household income.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318479/original/file-20200304-66084-2ptkm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318479/original/file-20200304-66084-2ptkm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318479/original/file-20200304-66084-2ptkm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318479/original/file-20200304-66084-2ptkm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318479/original/file-20200304-66084-2ptkm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318479/original/file-20200304-66084-2ptkm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318479/original/file-20200304-66084-2ptkm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318479/original/file-20200304-66084-2ptkm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Residents of leafy streets like this one in Glebe, Sydney, may be at less risk of developing insufficient sleep over six years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/thousands-of-city-trees-have-been-lost-to-development-when-we-need-them-more-than-ever-132356">Thousands of city trees have been lost to development, when we need them more than ever</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Our findings help advance the quality of evidence for the influence of green space on sleep, but there’s more to be done. Importantly, some people may have “healthy” sleep durations but still experience disturbed sleep and other sleep quality issues. While our evidence suggests more tree canopy may support <em>healthier sleep duration</em>, our future research will assess whether green space supports <em>better-quality</em> sleep.</p>
<h2>Why does the tree canopy-sleep link matter?</h2>
<p>Scientists around the world have found links between insufficient or poor sleep and poorer health, well-being and productivity. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319748/original/file-20200310-20849-1njj4d9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319748/original/file-20200310-20849-1njj4d9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319748/original/file-20200310-20849-1njj4d9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319748/original/file-20200310-20849-1njj4d9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319748/original/file-20200310-20849-1njj4d9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319748/original/file-20200310-20849-1njj4d9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319748/original/file-20200310-20849-1njj4d9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319748/original/file-20200310-20849-1njj4d9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-03/360985-Sleep-Health-Foundation-and-Australasian-Sleep-Association.pdf">Sleep Health Foundation and Australasian Sleep Association pre-budget submission 2019-20</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Sleep-related problems affecting four in ten Australians cost an estimated A$40.1 billion in loss of well-being and A$26.2 billion in health system, productivity, informal care and other <a href="https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/files/Asleep_on_the_job/Asleep_on_the_Job_SHF_report-WEB_small.pdf">costs in 2016-17</a>. </p>
<p>So public policies that improve our sleep by (re)shaping the urban environment could have important consequences for societies and economies.</p>
<p>While many people recognise the health benefits of green space, they overlook sleep. For example, the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Health_Aged_Care_and_Sport/SleepHealthAwareness/Report/section?id=committees%2Freportrep%2F024220%2F26953">2018 Inquiry into Sleep Health Awareness in Australia</a> described many factors that influence sleep, but green space was not one of them. </p>
<h2>The bottom line</h2>
<p>We risk seriously undervaluing green space as an important source of natural capital in our cities if we assume we already know all the ways it benefits health. Some of these assumptions may not stand up to scrutiny. For example, a <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-016-3833-z">UK-based study</a> suggests the link between green space and lower diabetes risk might <em>not</em> be increased physical activity. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319751/original/file-20200310-20875-jsja0w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319751/original/file-20200310-20875-jsja0w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319751/original/file-20200310-20875-jsja0w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=627&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319751/original/file-20200310-20875-jsja0w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=627&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319751/original/file-20200310-20875-jsja0w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=627&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319751/original/file-20200310-20875-jsja0w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=788&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319751/original/file-20200310-20875-jsja0w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=788&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319751/original/file-20200310-20875-jsja0w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=788&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Using a laptop in a park could reduce the benefits of being there.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/businessman-sitting-on-lawn-using-notebook-794944810">Anatta_Tan/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some of the biggest health benefits of urban greening policies – such as the New South Wales Premier’s Priorities to increase <a href="https://www.nsw.gov.au/improving-nsw/premiers-priorities/greener-public-spaces/">quality parks</a> and <a href="https://www.nsw.gov.au/improving-nsw/premiers-priorities/greening-our-city/">tree cover</a> – might not be the most obvious. Nor can we assume health benefits will effortlessly materialise with more green space. An interesting <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0013916518788603">experimental study</a> in the US concluded use of portable electronic devices while in parks “substantially counteracts the attention-enhancement benefits of green spaces”.</p>
<p>This means <em>how</em> we engage with nature is important in determining how much health benefit we get in return. It highlights the need for equity-focused “<a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4663/7/6/141">nature-based interventions</a>” that enable people to regularly spend more time in urban parks and woodlands, if that’s what they’d like to do.</p>
<p>So there are yet more reasons to get out in the garden, take a restorative stroll in the woods, picnic in the park or rejoice in a botanic garden … and maybe improve your chances of a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352827319301703#bib3">good night’s sleep!</a></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-a-walk-in-the-woods-really-does-help-your-body-and-your-soul-53227">Why a walk in the woods really does help your body and your soul</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/132354/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Astell-Burt has received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), the National Heart Foundation of Australia, and Hort Innovation Ltd.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Xiaoqi Feng has received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), the National Heart Foundation of Australia, and Hort Innovation Ltd.</span></em></p>
Sleep might be a key factor in the link between greener neighbourhoods and better health. A new study shows living in an area with more tree canopy improves people’s odds of getting enough sleep.
Thomas Astell-Burt, Professor of Population Health and Environmental Data Science, NHMRC Boosting Dementia Research Leadership Fellow, University of Wollongong
Xiaoqi Feng, Associate Professor in Urban Health and Environment; NHMRC Career Development Fellow, UNSW Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/133082
2020-03-10T19:04:11Z
2020-03-10T19:04:11Z
A solution to cut extreme heat by up to 6 degrees is in our own backyards
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319252/original/file-20200309-118913-15x472v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=459%2C293%2C2776%2C1862&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/early-morning-drone-aerial-view-south-1027776355">Milleflore Images/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia just experienced <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/season/aus/archive/202002.summary.shtml">the second-warmest summer on record</a>, with <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/annual/aus/">2019 being the hottest year</a>. Summer temperatures soared across the country, causing great economic and human loss. The good news is we can do something about this in our own backyards. We have found trees and vegetation can lower local land temperatures by up to 5-6°C on days of extreme heat.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/ef2a5051-0d75-4571-b920-1741de04429c">newly published research</a> into a summer heatwave in Adelaide suggests that a simple solution to extreme heat is literally at everyone’s doorstep. It relies on the trees, the grasses and the vegetation in our own backyards. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/out-in-the-heat-why-poorer-suburbs-are-more-at-risk-in-warming-cities-66213">Out in the heat: why poorer suburbs are more at risk in warming cities</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What did the study show?</h2>
<p>During a three-day heatwave that hit Adelaide in 2017, <a href="https://www.adaptwest.com.au/">AdaptWest</a> took to the skies to measure land surface temperatures from an aircraft. Our analysis of the data collected on that day suggests urban trees and grasses can lower daytime land temperatures by up to 5-6°C during extreme heat. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318820/original/file-20200305-106579-aeplgv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318820/original/file-20200305-106579-aeplgv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318820/original/file-20200305-106579-aeplgv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318820/original/file-20200305-106579-aeplgv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318820/original/file-20200305-106579-aeplgv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318820/original/file-20200305-106579-aeplgv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=729&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318820/original/file-20200305-106579-aeplgv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=729&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318820/original/file-20200305-106579-aeplgv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=729&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Effect of vegetated and non-vegetated cover on daytime land surface temperatures recorded in 120,000 land units in western Adelaide during a three-day heatwave.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ossola et al., 2020. https://doi.org/10.25949/5df2ef1637124</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The largest temperature reductions were in the hottest suburbs and those further away from the coast. These significant reductions were mostly achieved thanks to backyard trees. </p>
<p>So this benefit that urban trees provide has two key aspects:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>maximum cooling happens <em>when needed the most</em> – during days of unbearable heat.</p></li>
<li><p>maximum cooling happens <em>where needed the most</em> – close to us, the people, in the communities where we live. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Our analysis also shows the humble home garden more than pulls its weight when it comes to reducing extreme urban heat and its harmful effects. Although yards and gardens cover only about <a href="https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/ef2a5051-0d75-4571-b920-1741de04429c">20% of urban land</a>, these private spaces provide more than <a href="https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/ef2a5051-0d75-4571-b920-1741de04429c">40% of the tree cover and 30% of grass cover</a> across western Adelaide. This is comparable to what can be found in many other Australian cities and towns. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318999/original/file-20200306-106584-kjxcze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318999/original/file-20200306-106584-kjxcze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318999/original/file-20200306-106584-kjxcze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318999/original/file-20200306-106584-kjxcze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318999/original/file-20200306-106584-kjxcze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318999/original/file-20200306-106584-kjxcze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318999/original/file-20200306-106584-kjxcze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318999/original/file-20200306-106584-kjxcze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Daytime thermal imaging of land surface temperature in Walkley Heights, Adelaide, taken from an aircraft (inset) on February 9 2017 at the peak of a three-day 40°C heatwave. The area on the right is cooler (blue shades) because of greater vegetation cover. In the hotter area on the left (red shades) a residential development built in 2003 has smaller yards with less tree cover.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AdaptWest and Airborne Research Australia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In fact, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204618312064">private tree canopy cover is considerably greater than that of typical urban parks or public green areas</a>. This means these private green spaces are a vital yet often overlooked resource for fighting extreme heat.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/our-land-abounds-in-nature-strips-surely-we-can-do-more-than-mow-a-third-of-urban-green-space-124781">Our land abounds in nature strips – surely we can do more than mow a third of urban green space</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Planning climate-ready cities</h2>
<p>Climate models and projections predict extreme heat days and heatwaves will become more frequent and intense. Penrith reached 48.9°C on January 4 this year, making Western Sydney <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/sydney-s-penrith-the-hottest-place-on-earth-amid-devastating-bushfires">the hottest place on Earth that day</a>. Given that heatwaves are already <a href="https://researchers.mq.edu.au/files/62276382/Publisher%20version.pdf">considered Australia’s deadliest climate-related disaster</a>, the forecast temperatures pose an urgent threat to human livelihoods. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319251/original/file-20200309-118890-ye0u2p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319251/original/file-20200309-118890-ye0u2p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/319251/original/file-20200309-118890-ye0u2p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319251/original/file-20200309-118890-ye0u2p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319251/original/file-20200309-118890-ye0u2p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319251/original/file-20200309-118890-ye0u2p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319251/original/file-20200309-118890-ye0u2p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/319251/original/file-20200309-118890-ye0u2p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Number of very hot days (maximum above 40°C) per year and trend line (running 10-year average) for Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/climate/change/extremes/timeseries.cgi?graph=HD40&ave_yr=10">Bureau of Meteorology</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Urban planning is increasingly having to take extreme temperatures into account. For instance, the City of Sydney recently announced an ambitious policy to increase <a href="https://meetings.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/documents/s38491/Sustainable%20Sydney%202050%20Update%20-%20Environment%20and%20Resilience%20Strategic%20Directions%201%20and%205%20-%20A%20Leadi.pdf">urban green cover to 40% by 2050</a> for climate change resilience. Currently, this level of green cover is found in only a <a href="https://202020vision.com.au/media/7141/final-report_140930.pdf">handful of suburbs in cities like Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-we-save-ageing-australians-from-the-heat-greening-our-cities-is-a-good-start-112613">How do we save ageing Australians from the heat? Greening our cities is a good start</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>To achieve such ambitious and life-sustaining goals, our results point to the need to retain, protect and enhance urban greenery in our own yards. As our cities <a href="https://theconversation.com/density-sprawl-growth-how-australian-cities-have-changed-in-the-last-30-years-65870">become increasingly dense</a>, people’s trees and yards can play an invaluable role in adapting to climate change. </p>
<p>Most council, state and federal policies to date have neglected yards and their trees when thinking about climate change adaptation. When envisioning how Australian cities should grow, develop and thrive, more attention has to be given to the spaces where our yards and trees can help reduce the catastrophic effects of a warming climate on people and communities, right at our doorstep.</p>
<p>Climate change is causing a social, cultural and political revolution. It calls for bold, decisive and immediate action. This is a lifetime opportunity for smart and proactive planning, policy-making and community action. This work needs to begin now. </p>
<p>Urban forests don’t grow quickly, however. We need to be encouraging low-water-use grass and shrub covers as a fast interim strategy for urban cooling. </p>
<p>This is a stopgap measure until a large army of climate-ready tree soldiers, that we can decide to plant today, take over the job of fighting climate change and extreme heat in our future cities. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/our-cities-need-more-trees-but-some-commonly-planted-ones-wont-survive-climate-change-120493">Our cities need more trees, but some commonly planted ones won't survive climate change</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><em>You can find more information and updates at <a href="https://www.mq.edu.au/research/research-centres-groups-and-facilities/secure-planet/centres/centre-for-green-cities">Macquarie University’s Smart Green Cities</a> and <a href="https://www.adaptwest.com.au/">Adelaide’s AdaptWest</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/133082/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alessandro Ossola receives in-kind support from the AdaptWest consortium with co-investment from Macquarie University.. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leigh Staas receives in-kind support from the AdaptWest consortium with co-investment from Macquarie University..</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Leishman receives in-kind support from the AdaptWest consortium with co-investment from Macquarie University..</span></em></p>
At the peak of a summer heatwave in Adelaide, an aerial survey of land surface temperatures reveals just how much cooler neighbourhoods with good tree and vegetation cover can be.
Alessandro Ossola, Research Coordinator - Smart Green Cities, Macquarie University
Leigh Staas, Associate Director for Engagement & Research Partnerships | Smart Green Cities, Macquarie University
Michelle Leishman, Distinguished Professor, Director of Smart Green Cities, Macquarie University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/124781
2019-10-15T18:59:44Z
2019-10-15T18:59:44Z
Our land abounds in nature strips – surely we can do more than mow a third of urban green space
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/296394/original/file-20191010-188797-1ds6sii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C38%2C3651%2C2417&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Even the standard grassed nature strip has value for local wildlife.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/michelle658/5879656553/in/photolist-hj8dyc-skaU1u-dREut-eJsU1F-ffLmZK-indYV3-cLiW2J-vB2sc-7NsaK4-4VkF3d-yGjbRF-beH7sn-6Y5uUZ-rxC4mN-6LgaCq-8uZkP8-fFMrYB-fFMzz6-959BCc-fFMqN6-9XyM3R-8uZkQZ-fG59Eh-fG55kj-MdakbU-zKkV6-9A3mjp-2hgzR2Y-2gLLfma-2gLM1dK-2gjDcaq-fG56q1-V4CxJS-2EepMw-AJYA3h-8PLEFM-2Nnv4q-3HCckP-8LfDb6-F9XHNG-fG5dib-9hzViT-d5L2G-fG57A5-7tQdTT-vh8B5S-2d9eEDd-2gtBYEp-fFMxhv-6tVDoj">Michelle/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>You may mock the national anthem by singing “Our land abounds in nature strips” but what you might not know is how true that is. In Melbourne, for example, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1618866719300718">more than a third of all public green space is nature strips</a>. (That figure includes roundabouts, medians and other green bits of the street.) </p>
<p>That’s a remarkable amount. The nature strip is everywhere. A million small patches combine into a giant park spanning the city, making it a significant player in our urban ecosystems. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/reinventing-density-overcoming-the-suburban-setback-66411">Reinventing density: overcoming the suburban setback</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>A second remarkable thing is that the nature strip is <a href="https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2007/11/apo-nid60258-1105966.pdf">public land that private citizens are required by law to maintain</a>. Councils manage the trees, but we residents mow the lawn. </p>
<h2>What are the rules on nature strips?</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/296146/original/file-20191009-3872-1i673y4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/296146/original/file-20191009-3872-1i673y4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/296146/original/file-20191009-3872-1i673y4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296146/original/file-20191009-3872-1i673y4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296146/original/file-20191009-3872-1i673y4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296146/original/file-20191009-3872-1i673y4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296146/original/file-20191009-3872-1i673y4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296146/original/file-20191009-3872-1i673y4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Succulents, Agapanthus and Gazanias are the most common plantings on nature strips.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Adrian Marshall CC BY 4.0</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many residents go further and plant a street tree or some garden plants – succulents, Agapanthus and Gazanias are the most common. But the chances are that, whatever the garden on the nature strip, it’s against the rules. </p>
<p>The rules on nature strips vary from council to council. Some councils don’t allow any plantings. Others restrict plantings by height or allow only plants indigenous to the local area. In some areas, nature strips can only be planted to prevent erosion on steep slopes. </p>
<p>Some councils disallow food plants, for fear of historic lead contamination from leaded petrol. Others insist on no plants within a metre of the kerb and two metres of the footpath. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/farming-the-suburbs-why-cant-we-grow-food-wherever-we-want-80330">Farming the suburbs – why can’t we grow food wherever we want?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>These bylaws are inconsistent and illogical. For instance, councils that insist on indigenous species nevertheless plant exotic street trees. Councils that say plants must be less than 30cm high to ensure they don’t block drivers’ sight lines still allow vehicles to park on the street, blocking sight lines.</p>
<h2>Bylaws deny us many benefits</h2>
<p>To have council bylaws restrict or disallow gardening in the nature strip flies in the face of common sense. Street greenery, whether its trees, shrubs or lawn, provides many benefits. The science is in on this. </p>
<p>Urban wildlife uses street greenery for habitat and food and as green corridors for movement. </p>
<p>Even for those who mow, the lawns of nature strips are not just turf grass. They are home to over 150 species of plants, based on my yet-to-be-published survey data for nearly 50 neighbourhoods, confirming <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11252-009-0098-7">earlier studies</a>. Many of these, like the clovers, provide important resources for pollinators. </p>
<p>One <a href="https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/55816">US study</a> showed that changing from a weekly mow to every three weeks increased the number of flowers in a lawn by 250%. Less mowing is good news for bees and butterflies.</p>
<p>An unpublished recent survey by the author and colleagues found gardening in the nature strip adds native plants to the streetscape, increases biodiversity and add structural complexity (more layers of plants, more types of stuff), which is important for many species. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/296397/original/file-20191010-188823-3m94cd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/296397/original/file-20191010-188823-3m94cd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/296397/original/file-20191010-188823-3m94cd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296397/original/file-20191010-188823-3m94cd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296397/original/file-20191010-188823-3m94cd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296397/original/file-20191010-188823-3m94cd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296397/original/file-20191010-188823-3m94cd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296397/original/file-20191010-188823-3m94cd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The greater the diversity of plantings, the greater the benefits a nature strip can provide.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tedxmelbourne/9642464172/in/photolist-hj8dyc-skaU1u-dREut-eJsU1F-ffLmZK-indYV3-cLiW2J-vB2sc-7NsaK4-4VkF3d-yGjbRF-beH7sn-6Y5uUZ-rxC4mN-6LgaCq-8uZkP8-fFMrYB-fFMzz6-959BCc-fFMqN6-9XyM3R-8uZkQZ-fG59Eh-fG55kj-MdakbU-zKkV6-9A3mjp-2hgzR2Y-2gLLfma-2gLM1dK-2gjDcaq-fG56q1-V4CxJS-2EepMw-AJYA3h-8PLEFM-2Nnv4q-3HCckP-8LfDb6-F9XHNG-fG5dib-9hzViT-d5L2G-fG57A5-7tQdTT-vh8B5S-2d9eEDd-2gtBYEp-fFMxhv-6tVDoj">TEDxMelbourne/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://pubag.nal.usda.gov/catalog/1135097">Street greenery helps</a> water <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27094440">soak into the ground</a>, filtering out pollutants, recharging aquifers and making rivers healthier. It <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26828172">cools streets</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204614002503">helps counter the urban heat island effect</a>. It also <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277953613003742">promotes a sense of community</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214140518303281">encourages walking</a> and lowers the incidence of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214140518303281">heart disease</a>, <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2524191">diabetes</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/children-living-in-green-neighbourhoods-are-less-likely-to-develop-asthma-96190">asthma</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204614002941">depression</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/increasing-tree-cover-may-be-like-a-superfood-for-community-mental-health-119930">Increasing tree cover may be like a 'superfood' for community mental health</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But councils tend to be risk-averse. They worry they will be sued if someone trips on groundcover or stubs their toe on an out-of-place garden gnome.</p>
<p>Fortunately, this risk aversion isn’t universal. For instance, the <a href="https://www.vincent.wa.gov.au/residents/environment/environmental-sustainability/news-events/adopt-a-verge.aspx">City of Vincent</a> in Western Australia is so keen for residents to convert lawn to waterwise plantings that it will remove turf and provide native plants.</p>
<p>But, as climate change looms, stubbed toes are not the main risk we should be worrying about. Rather, we must urgently remake our cities and our culture for sustainability and resilience. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-planners-understand-its-cool-to-green-cities-whats-stopping-them-55753">If planners understand it's cool to green cities, what's stopping them?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Gardening becomes a neighbourly act</h2>
<p>One of the great things about gardening in the nature strip is that people are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1618866719302535">more likely to do it if their neighbours do it</a>. It’s contagious, a positive-feedback loop creating a greener street. </p>
<p>Our recent survey found residents who garden in the nature strip have a greater <a href="http://www.communityscience.com/news-detail.php?news=114">sense of community</a> than those who don’t. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/296997/original/file-20191015-98653-wopjbq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/296997/original/file-20191015-98653-wopjbq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/296997/original/file-20191015-98653-wopjbq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296997/original/file-20191015-98653-wopjbq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296997/original/file-20191015-98653-wopjbq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296997/original/file-20191015-98653-wopjbq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296997/original/file-20191015-98653-wopjbq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296997/original/file-20191015-98653-wopjbq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A well-designed street garden, fully covering the nature strip, allowing pedestrian access to cars and using indigenous plants.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Adrian Marshall CC BY 4.0</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Interestingly, the benefits nature strips provide are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1618866719302535">not equally distributed across the city</a>. For instance, newer neighbourhoods have more nature strip than older neighbourhoods (though their trees are younger). People garden the nature strip more on minor roads than major roads, and in more socially advantaged neighbourhoods. </p>
<p>Almost a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1618866719302535">quarter of residential properties</a> in Melbourne have some sort of nature strip gardening. If councils were to encourage this activity we might achieve more street greening with little cost to our cash-strapped councils. Such encouragement would also free many residents of their sense of frustration at being required to maintain the nature strip but forbidden to do anything more than mow. </p>
<p>Given that more than a third of our public green space is nature strip, the many small actions of residents can add up to substantial positive change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/124781/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adrian Marshall does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
When so much of the green space in our cities is in the form of nature strips, current restrictions on plantings are denying us the many social and environmental benefits of more diverse greenery.
Adrian Marshall, Lecturer, Landscape Architecture and Urban Ecology, The University of Melbourne
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/122710
2019-09-10T20:06:38Z
2019-09-10T20:06:38Z
Trees can add $50,000 value to a Sydney house, so you might want to put down that chainsaw
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290807/original/file-20190903-175686-7m15gb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=696%2C303%2C4464%2C2768&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Allowing residents to remove trees within three metres of buildings or 'ancillary structures' could dramatically alter the green infrastructure of dense inner Sydney suburbs like Rozelle.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/aerial-view-iron-cove-bridge-rozelle-1278519220?src=-1-9">Tom Casey/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Sydney’s Inner West Council has a <a href="https://innerwest.infocouncil.biz/Open/2019/08/C_27082019_MIN_3702_WEB.htm">new policy</a> that it is <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/tree-massacre-inner-west-councillors-warning-after-ambush-20190828-p52lk7.html">reported</a> means “residents will no longer need to seek council approval to prune or remove trees within three metres of an existing home or structure”. Hold on, don’t reach for that chainsaw yet, because <a href="http://www.aecom.com/content/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Green-Infrastructure-vital-step-brilliant-Australian-cities.pdf">research</a> shows good green infrastructure – trees, green roofs and walls – can add value to your home. </p>
<p>Green infrastructure offers significant, economic, social and environmental benefits. Urban greening is particularly important in dense urban areas like Sydney’s Inner West. Among its benefits, green infrastructure:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-urban-bushland-improves-our-health-and-why-planners-need-to-listen-72876">improves air quality</a></li>
<li>provides <a href="https://theconversation.com/many-people-feel-lonely-in-the-city-but-perhaps-third-places-can-help-with-that-92847">space for social interaction</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-just-drains-recreating-living-streams-through-the-suburbs-83345">manages stormwater</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-cities-warmer-than-the-countryside-53160">reduces the urban heat island effect</a></li>
<li>provides space for <a href="https://theconversation.com/three-ways-cities-can-help-feed-the-world-without-costing-the-earth-112186">urban food production</a></li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-small-patch-of-bush-over-your-back-fence-might-be-key-to-a-species-survival-108672">improves biodiversity</a>. </li>
</ul>
<p>Some of these benefits accrue to owners/occupiers, whereas others provide wider societal benefits. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/higher-density-cities-need-greening-to-stay-healthy-and-liveable-75840">Higher-density cities need greening to stay healthy and liveable</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>A <a href="http://www.aecom.com/content/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Green-Infrastructure-vital-step-brilliant-Australian-cities.pdf">2017 study</a> focusing on three Sydney suburbs found a 10% increase in street tree canopy could increase property values by A$50,000 on average. And the shading effect of trees can <a href="http://www.gallagherstudio.com.au/blacktown-cool-streets-pilot-project">reduce energy bills by up to A$800 a year in Sydney</a>. So retaining your green infrastructure – your trees, that is – can deliver direct financial gains. </p>
<p>On a larger scale, a <a href="https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/121458/1/Ghosh_Yung-Full-paper-Ecocity-Summit-2017-Final.pdf">collaborative project</a> with Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited compared carbon and economic benefits from urban trees considering different landuses along sections of two roads in Sydney. Higher benefits were recorded for the Pacific Highway, with 106 trees per hectare and 58.6% residential land use, compared to Parramatta Road, with 70 trees per hectare and 15.8% residential. </p>
<p>For the Pacific Highway section, total carbon storage and the structural value of trees (the cost of replacing a tree with a similar tree) were estimated at A$1.64 million and A$640 million respectively. Trees were also valuable for carbon sequestration and removing air pollution. </p>
<p>Tree species, age, health and density, as well as land use, are key indicators for financial and wider ecosystem benefits. Specifically, urban trees in private yards in residential areas are vital in providing individual landowner and collective government/non-government benefits.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290832/original/file-20190904-175710-thqcje.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290832/original/file-20190904-175710-thqcje.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290832/original/file-20190904-175710-thqcje.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=228&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290832/original/file-20190904-175710-thqcje.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=228&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290832/original/file-20190904-175710-thqcje.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=228&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290832/original/file-20190904-175710-thqcje.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=287&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290832/original/file-20190904-175710-thqcje.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=287&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290832/original/file-20190904-175710-thqcje.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=287&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Take away the trees close to these houses in Marrickville, in Sydney’s Inner West, and how much would be left?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henson_Park">Graeme Bartlett/Wikipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Challenges of growth</h2>
<p>As populations grow, cities increase density, with less green infrastructure. The loss of greenery affects the natural environment and both human and non-human well-being. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/were-investing-heavily-in-urban-greening-so-how-are-our-cities-doing-83354">We're investing heavily in urban greening, so how are our cities doing?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290809/original/file-20190904-175682-j6pcza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290809/original/file-20190904-175682-j6pcza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290809/original/file-20190904-175682-j6pcza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=816&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290809/original/file-20190904-175682-j6pcza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=816&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290809/original/file-20190904-175682-j6pcza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=816&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290809/original/file-20190904-175682-j6pcza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1026&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290809/original/file-20190904-175682-j6pcza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1026&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290809/original/file-20190904-175682-j6pcza.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1026&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tree canopy cover across Greater Sydney plummets closer to the city centre.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.greater.sydney/metropolis-of-three-cities/sustainability/city-its-landscape/urban-tree-canopy-cover-increased">© State of New South Wales through the Greater Sydney Commission. Data: SPOT5 Woody Extent and Foliage Projective Cover (FPH) 5-10m, 2011, NSW Office of Environment and Heritage</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Trees and other green infrastructure reduce some impacts of urban density. However, policies, government incentives and national priorities can produce progress in urban greening or lead to setbacks. In the case of the Inner West Council, for instance, the inability to fund monitoring of changes in tree cover could lead to reductions at the very time when we <a href="https://www.greater.sydney/metropolis-of-three-cities/sustainability/city-its-landscape/urban-tree-canopy-cover-increased">need more canopy cover</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/if-planners-understand-its-cool-to-green-cities-whats-stopping-them-55753">Key concerns</a> include installation and maintenance costs of green infrastructure (trees, green roofs and walls) in property development, and tree root damage. Knowledge and skills are needed to maintain green infrastructure. As a result, developers often consider other options more feasible. </p>
<p>In the short and long term, multiple performance benefits and economic and environmental values are needed to establish the viability of green infrastructure. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-cities-are-lagging-behind-in-greening-up-their-buildings-97088">Australian cities are lagging behind in greening up their buildings</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Learning from Stockholm</h2>
<p>Stockholm shares many issues found in Australian cities. Stockholm houses over 20% of Sweden’s inhabitants, is increasing in density and redeveloping land to house a growing population. Aiming to be fossil-free by 2050, Stockholm acknowledges the built environment’s role in limiting climate change and its impacts.</p>
<p>In a research project we intend to use <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/virtual-reality-5439">virtual reality</a> (VR) and <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/electroencephalogram-eeg">electroencephalogram</a> (EEG) technology to assess perceptions of green infrastructure and reactions to it in various spaces.</p>
<p>Our project combines VR with EEG hardware, which measures human reactions to stimuli, to learn how people perceive and value green infrastructure in residential development. </p>
<h2>Identifying all the value of green infrastructure</h2>
<p>The many benefits of green infrastructure are both tangible and non-tangible. Economic benefits include:</p>
<ul>
<li>those that directly benefit owners, occupants or investors – stormwater, increased property values and energy savings</li>
<li>other financial impacts – greenhouse gas savings, market-based savings and community benefits.</li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-planners-understand-its-cool-to-green-cities-whats-stopping-them-55753">If planners understand it's cool to green cities, what's stopping them?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The various approaches to evaluating net value present a challenge in quantifying the value of green infrastructure. The most common – cost-benefit analysis, triple bottom line, life cycle assessment and life cycle costing – are all inadequate for evaluating trade-offs between economic and environmental performance. Conventional cost-benefit analysis is insufficient for investment analysis, as it doesn’t include environmental costs and benefits. </p>
<p>This is salient for green infrastructure, as owners/investors incur substantial direct costs, whereas various shareholders share the value. Perhaps, in recognition of the shared value, a range of subsidies could be adopted to compensate investors. Discounted rates anyone? </p>
<p>Recent efforts to evaluate the business case for green infrastructure include attempts to identify and quantify the creation of economic, environment and community/social value. However, an approach that includes a more comprehensive set of value drivers is needed to do this. This is the gap we aim to fill. </p>
<p>The results of experiments using VR and EEG technology and semi-structured interviews will provide a comprehensive understanding of green infrastructure. This will be correlated with capital and rental values to determine various degrees of willingness to pay. </p>
<p>With this knowledge, property developers in Sweden and Australia will be able to make a more informed and holistic business case for increasing green infrastructure for more liveable, healthy cities. </p>
<p>Maybe we can then persuade more people, including those in the Inner West, to hang onto their trees and leave the chainsaws in the garage.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122710/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sara Wilkinson has received/receives funding from: City of Sydney, Horticulture Innovation Australia, City of Melbourne, RICS Reseach Trust, KtH Stockholm.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span> Agnieszka Zalejska-Jonsson has received funding from Kamprad Family Foundation to conduct research on the value of green infrastructure in developing sustainable cities.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sumita Ghosh received funding from Horticulture Innovation Australia and Shoalhaven City Council. </span></em></p>
Greater urban density is making it harder to preserve, let alone increase, tree cover. It’s vital, then, to demonstrate the full value of green infrastructure for healthy liveable cities.
Sara Wilkinson, Professor, School of the Built Environment, University of Technology Sydney
Agnieszka Zalejska-Jonsson, Researcher, Division of Building and Real Estate Economics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Sumita Ghosh, Associate Professor in Planning, School of the Built Environment, University of Technology Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/120493
2019-07-25T20:01:57Z
2019-07-25T20:01:57Z
Our cities need more trees, but some commonly planted ones won’t survive climate change
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285247/original/file-20190723-91846-16xcjng.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Australian cities could lose some of their most common trees to climate change.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sydney-housing-aerial-view-1113669581?src=q0htPE1IqjJ-LGmEhQBsXQ-1-19&studio=1">Jamen Percy/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We need trees in our lives. This past summer, Adelaide experienced the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jan/24/australia-heatwave-adelaide-breaks-its-all-time-heat-record-hitting-466c">hottest temperature ever recorded in an Australian state capital</a>, hitting 46.6 degrees on January 24. Trees beautify otherwise grey cities and cool our suburbs during heatwaves. But different species have different levels of tolerance of heat, lack of water and other threats posed by climate change. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969719323289?via%3Dihub">In a newly published study</a>, we investigated likely climate change impacts on 176 of the most common tree species planted across Australian cities. Our analysis showed more than 70% of these species will experience harsher climatic conditions across Australian cities by 2070. Some of the most commonly planted trees are unlikely to survive these conditions.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285269/original/file-20190723-110195-1g0vi9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285269/original/file-20190723-110195-1g0vi9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285269/original/file-20190723-110195-1g0vi9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=669&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285269/original/file-20190723-110195-1g0vi9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=669&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285269/original/file-20190723-110195-1g0vi9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=669&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285269/original/file-20190723-110195-1g0vi9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=841&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285269/original/file-20190723-110195-1g0vi9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=841&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/285269/original/file-20190723-110195-1g0vi9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=841&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The golden wattle might struggle in our northern cities if they get hotter and drier.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Acacia_longifolia_WZBGSG.JPG">Dryas/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So which tree species are best suited to particular places? Which species are more likely to thrive, rather than just survive, under a changing climate? Which of our beloved tree species won’t make it?</p>
<p>Tree species growing in warmer cities are more likely to be affected than those in cooler cities. Some species, such as the golden wattle (<em>Acacia longifolia</em>) or the prickly paperbark (<em>Melaleuca styphelioides</em>), might not make it in northern cities, unless we invest precious resources – such as water – to maintain these civic assets. Other species, such as the native frangipani (<em>Hymenosporum flavum</em>) or the tuckeroo (<em>Cupaniopsis anacardioides</em>), will likely become more suitable for planting in southern cities.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/were-investing-heavily-in-urban-greening-so-how-are-our-cities-doing-83354">We're investing heavily in urban greening, so how are our cities doing?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why do cities need trees?</h2>
<p>Trees are wonderfully effective at improving the microclimate of our cities, which makes tree plantings an effective and efficient way to adapt to climate change. The leaves of trees absorb and dissipate much of the sun’s radiation. </p>
<p>Trees cool air and land by several degrees compared to areas of concrete and asphalt. Swipe the heat map below to see how effectively trees cool down our cities. (Red indicates hotter areas, blue cooler areas.) </p>
<iframe width="100%" height="600" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="" src="https://arcg.is/1XGz5"></iframe>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/284676/original/file-20190718-116586-1p40y9x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/284676/original/file-20190718-116586-1p40y9x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=4&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/284676/original/file-20190718-116586-1p40y9x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=4&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/284676/original/file-20190718-116586-1p40y9x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=4&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/284676/original/file-20190718-116586-1p40y9x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=4&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/284676/original/file-20190718-116586-1p40y9x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=4&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/284676/original/file-20190718-116586-1p40y9x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=4&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Swipe the map to see how much trees cool urban areas. Red indicates hotter areas, blue cooler areas. This temperature map was collected during a heatwave in Adelaide, South Australia, on February 9 2017 by AdaptWest over the cities of West Torrens, Charles Sturt and Port Adelaide-Enfield.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Used with permission of AdaptWest Adelaide (https://www.adaptwest.com.au/mapping/heat-maps)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/building-cool-cities-for-a-hot-future-57489">Building cool cities for a hot future</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Governments recognise the importance of trees and have developed vital initiatives, such as the national <a href="https://landcareaustralia.org.au/our-programme/20-million-trees/">20 Million Trees</a> program and the <a href="https://5milliontrees.nsw.gov.au/">5 Million Trees</a> program in New South Wales. These are important first steps to increase urban tree cover across Australia. But the question arises: are we planting the right tree species? </p>
<h2>What does the science say?</h2>
<p>Australian cities are blessed with a higher diversity of tree species compared to other cities globally. However, the 30 most commonly planted species make up more than half of Australia’s urban forests. </p>
<p>This poses a great risk for our cities. If we were to lose one or two of these common species, the impact on our urban tree cover would be immense. Consequently, our best insurance is to increase the diversity of our trees. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/284438/original/file-20190717-147275-p1v8mj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/284438/original/file-20190717-147275-p1v8mj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/284438/original/file-20190717-147275-p1v8mj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/284438/original/file-20190717-147275-p1v8mj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/284438/original/file-20190717-147275-p1v8mj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/284438/original/file-20190717-147275-p1v8mj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=752&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/284438/original/file-20190717-147275-p1v8mj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=752&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/284438/original/file-20190717-147275-p1v8mj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=752&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Species composition of Australia’s urban forests across 60 local government areas. The size of each word is proportional to the number of tree stems recorded for each species.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alessandro Ossola </span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our quest to find climate-ready tree species is only just beginning. Supported by Hort Innovation Australia, the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, and the Commonwealth government, our team embarked on a project called <a href="https://www.whichplantwhere.com.au/">Which Plant Where</a> in conjunction with researchers at Western Sydney University. Our mission is to find the best plant species for urban landscapes that will be resilient to climate change. </p>
<p>We work with the nursery industry to provide evidence on species’ resilience to extreme heat and drought by testing plants to their limits in research glasshouses. Our work with plant growers and nurseries will inform them on how to adapt their business, by identifying the new challenges posed by climate change, as well as selecting highly diverse palettes of climate-ready species. We advise landscape architects, designers and urban planners about not only the best planting choices, but also how to increase the biodiversity of our cities.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/for-green-cities-to-become-mainstream-we-need-to-learn-from-local-success-stories-and-scale-up-119933">For green cities to become mainstream, we need to learn from local success stories and scale up</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>You can help!</h2>
<p>We are committed to do more science in coming years, but you can start making a difference today. Australia’s <a href="https://treeday.planetark.org/">National Tree Day</a> will be celebrated again this year on Sunday, July 28. It’s a great opportunity to teach our families, communities and businesses about the importance of tree planting and environmental stewardship as key elements of adapting to climate change. </p>
<p>An old Chinese adage says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This weekend is your time. The game is simple – head to your closest plant nursery. Ask your local grower about which tree species are suitable for the local growing conditions and pick one you like. Then, plant a tree in your yard, or <a href="https://treeday.planetark.org/find-a-site/">join one of the many planting events across Australia</a>. </p>
<p>Teach your kids, family and friends about the difference they can start making today – for their future and our common good – one tree at a time. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/284440/original/file-20190717-147284-y1tpu4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/284440/original/file-20190717-147284-y1tpu4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/284440/original/file-20190717-147284-y1tpu4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/284440/original/file-20190717-147284-y1tpu4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/284440/original/file-20190717-147284-y1tpu4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/284440/original/file-20190717-147284-y1tpu4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/284440/original/file-20190717-147284-y1tpu4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/284440/original/file-20190717-147284-y1tpu4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A plant nursery growing a diverse range of tree species for the upcoming planting season.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alessandro Ossola</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120493/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alessandro Ossola receives funding from Hort Innovation, using the Hort Innovation Green Cities Fund research and development levy, and co-investments from Macquarie University, Western Sydney University and the NSW Office of Energy, Environment and Science and contributions from the Australian Government.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hugh Burley received funding from The Which Plant Where project, which is funded by the Green Cities Fund, as part of the Hort Frontiers Strategic Partnership Initiative developed by Hort Innovation, with co-investment from Macquarie University, Western Sydney University and the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, and funds from the Australian Government.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leigh Staas receives funding from The Which Plant Where project is funded by the Green Cities Fund, as part of the Hort Frontiers Strategic Partnership Initiative developed by Hort Innovation, with co-investment from Macquarie University, Western Sydney University and the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, and funds from the Australian Government.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Linda Beaumont receives funding from Hort Innovation and the New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Leishman receives funding from Hort Innovation</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachael Gallagher receives funding from the Australian Research Council and Horticulture Innovation Australia. </span></em></p>
Thirty tree species make up more than half of Australia’s urban forests. Some won’t survive climate change, so cities must plant a more diverse mix of the right species to preserve their tree cover.
Alessandro Ossola, Research Coordinator Centre for Smart Green Cities, Macquarie University
Hugh Burley, Spatial analyst, Macquarie University
Leigh Staas, Associate Director for Engagement & Research Partnerships | Smart Green Cities, Macquarie University
Linda Beaumont, Senior Lecturer, Macquarie University
Michelle Leishman, Distinguished Professor, Head of Department, Macquarie University
Rachael Gallagher, Macquarie University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/115905
2019-07-14T18:46:23Z
2019-07-14T18:46:23Z
China can learn from Australian urban design, but it’s not all one-way traffic
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280124/original/file-20190619-118510-1l5q0pb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Dalian is an emerging city and tourist destination in China, but its urban spaces could be improved in many ways.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/dalian-liaoning-china-22jul2018-general-view-1226165908?src=teSng182v6Zew2hKxnPb9w-1-2&studio=1">Paul J Martin/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>By 2017, <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/sp.urb.totl.in.zs">58% of Chinese people were living in cities</a>. This is much less than the 79% for Western Europe and 86% for Australia, but China is undergoing very rapid urbanisation, as the chart below shows. It is expected <a href="https://population.un.org/wup/Country-Profiles">70% of China’s population will be living in cities</a> between 2035 and 2045. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/274487/original/file-20190515-60541-o2m5r7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/274487/original/file-20190515-60541-o2m5r7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/274487/original/file-20190515-60541-o2m5r7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274487/original/file-20190515-60541-o2m5r7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274487/original/file-20190515-60541-o2m5r7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274487/original/file-20190515-60541-o2m5r7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274487/original/file-20190515-60541-o2m5r7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274487/original/file-20190515-60541-o2m5r7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/urbanization-last-500-years?time=1500..2016">Source: OWID based on UN World Urbanisation Prospects 2018 and historical sources</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In response to these trends, the Chinese government released <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876610216315818">a national urbanisation plan (2014-2020)</a>, with a focus on the quality of Chinese urbanisation and public spaces. So the policymakers’ concern is not solely with the economic development of China’s cities but also a healthier built environment and increased well-being for its citizens. </p>
<p>In addition to growing population pressures, Chinese cities face battles with pollution and climate change. Furthermore, <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/tourism-development-in-china-1434412">China is now the third-most-visited country</a>, behind France and the United States. No doubt the country’s growing tourism industry is
an important driver for developing better cities.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23812346.2018.1457297">rise of private public partnership projects</a> and growing private interests in China’s built environment also call for a fresh look at urban design. Connecting urban planning and architecture, public spaces and private buildings, metropolitan scale and street scale, urban design can help to balance private interests and public needs while developing urban areas. </p>
<p>If those challenges are quite recent for China, they have been experienced, tested and theorised in Western countries for the past two centuries. Thus there might be an interest in learning from Western urban design principles, both to draw inspiration from the good practices and to avoid repeating the mistakes.</p>
<h2>Urban design is well established in Australia</h2>
<p>Some major Chinese cities such as Guangzhou and Shanghai have recently created their own urban design guidelines. However, many Chinese cities don’t have any. </p>
<p>In Australia the situation is quite different. Urban design theory and practices are well grounded. More than 20 guidelines have been published since the 2000s at all levels of government. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277297/original/file-20190530-69087-pgelaf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277297/original/file-20190530-69087-pgelaf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/277297/original/file-20190530-69087-pgelaf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=224&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277297/original/file-20190530-69087-pgelaf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=224&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277297/original/file-20190530-69087-pgelaf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=224&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277297/original/file-20190530-69087-pgelaf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=281&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277297/original/file-20190530-69087-pgelaf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=281&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/277297/original/file-20190530-69087-pgelaf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=281&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Urban design guidelines in Australia at federal, state and local government level.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lucile Jacquot, 2019</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The diversity of Australian guidelines means that urban design research is very active and responsive to the evolution of technologies, lifestyles and expectations. Also, the outcomes are often considered successful – Australian cities usually do well in rankings of urban quality of life. For example, Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney are consistently ranked in the top ten of the <a href="https://pages.eiu.com/rs/753-RIQ-438/images/The_Global_Liveability_Index_2018.pdf">Global Liveability Index</a>.</p>
<p>Good examples of urban design are also acknowledged in Australia – for example, through the annual <a href="https://urbandesignawards.com.au/">Australian Urban Design Awards</a>. The recognition of best practices and fostering of healthy competition create a rich urban design culture. </p>
<h2>How can Chinese cities be improved?</h2>
<p>Dalian is a good example of an emerging city in China. Its location between the sea and the mountains and its rich colonial heritage make it a major tourist destination. Nevertheless, the experience of Dalian’s urban spaces could be improved in many ways. </p>
<p>Firstly, one of the main goals of urban design is to provide adequate public facilities such as pedestrian pathways, sitting areas and public toilets. In Dalian, an increase in such facilities could encourage the city’s residents to make more use of the public space. Similarly, shaded areas and water fountains could make public spaces more liveable, no matter the hour of the day or the weather. </p>
<p>Secondly, installing such facilities is not enough on its own to make the city engaging and attractive. Dalian’s urban spaces are quite monochromatic and a more vibrant cityscape could improve the overall ambience of the city. One way to achieve this would be through the use of different colours, textures and materials to define spatial difference between private and public space, and create new pedestrian experiences.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280121/original/file-20190619-118539-12oz5sn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280121/original/file-20190619-118539-12oz5sn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280121/original/file-20190619-118539-12oz5sn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280121/original/file-20190619-118539-12oz5sn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280121/original/file-20190619-118539-12oz5sn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280121/original/file-20190619-118539-12oz5sn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280121/original/file-20190619-118539-12oz5sn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280121/original/file-20190619-118539-12oz5sn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The differences in urban design of pedestrian squares in Dalian (left) and Melbourne are clear.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Images: K. Dupré (left), L. Jacquot (right)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Lastly, the main purpose of designing the look and feel of a city is to engage people with their surroundings. The urban space not only has to cater for all types of people and their needs, but also to provide safe socialising opportunities. </p>
<p>In Dalian, providing more playgrounds, for example, could enhance these interactions. All the benefits of good urban design come together in a safe urban space where all types of people can meet, exchange and feel comfortable. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280123/original/file-20190619-118535-uk0va0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280123/original/file-20190619-118535-uk0va0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280123/original/file-20190619-118535-uk0va0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=161&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280123/original/file-20190619-118535-uk0va0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=161&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280123/original/file-20190619-118535-uk0va0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=161&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280123/original/file-20190619-118535-uk0va0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=202&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280123/original/file-20190619-118535-uk0va0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=202&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280123/original/file-20190619-118535-uk0va0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=202&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Public spaces in Dalian (left) and Gold Coast.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Images: K. Dupré (left) and picswe.net (right)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Australian cities can also learn from China</h2>
<p>While Australia’s urban design principles are considerably more advanced, its cities face similar challenges to those in China. </p>
<p>For example, Australia is still grappling with the relationship between people and their urban space. Most Australian cities are car-dominated, going against contemporary understanding of a healthy, sustainable and liveable city. </p>
<p>Car use is dramatically affecting the urban fabric of Chinese and Australian cities. In particular, it has impacts on the experience of pedestrians. The wide streets are difficult to cross, footpaths are often sacrificed for the benefit of the car, and cyclists’ safety is compromised. Good urban design would definitely strive towards a more people-based city model. </p>
<p>Another common challenge is climate change. Both <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/feb/28/australia-breaks-weather-records-with-hottest-ever-summer">Australian</a> and <a href="https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1002747/chinas-scorching-heat-wave-brings-a-glimpse-of-the-future">Chinese</a> cities must deal with rising temperatures. The positive impact urban design can have to moderate urban temperatures <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/8/12/182/htm">is now widely recognised</a>. Major Australian cities have now developed <a href="https://wsroc.com.au/projects/project-turn-down-the-heat">guidelines on measures to counter heat</a>, while China is actively working on the issue. </p>
<p>But in one area, the battle to reduce carbon footprints, Chinese cities <a href="https://cleanenergysolutions.org/zh-hans/resources/changxindian-low-carbon-community-concept-plan-website">lead the way</a>. The Chinese government has also developed <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212095517300627">a substantial green policy</a>. So, while Chinese cities could certainly learn from Australia, the converse seems equally true.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/115905/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Australia has well established urban design guidelines, whereas many Chinese cities don’t have any – and it shows. But Australia can also learn from China.
Lucile Jacquot, Research fellow, Griffith University
Karine Dupré, Associate Professor in Architecture, Griffith University
Yang Liu, PhD Candidate. School of Engineering and Built Environment, Architecture & Design, Griffith University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/119933
2019-07-08T20:09:47Z
2019-07-08T20:09:47Z
For green cities to become mainstream, we need to learn from local success stories and scale up
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283001/original/file-20190708-51305-1musbhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C0%2C6342%2C4238&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Melbourne has a rich legacy of urban parks thanks to planning decisions made when the city was first established. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Greening our cities has become one of the great <a href="https://newclimateeconomy.report/2018/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2018/09/NCE_2018_FULL-REPORT.pdf">global imperatives</a> of the 21st century including to tackle climate change. And Australia’s sprawling car-based cities are gradually changing to embrace green or living infrastructure.</p>
<p>Green cities bring together elements of architectural design and urban planning, often combining plants and built infrastructure to meet the needs of humans, such as our <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biophilia_hypothesis">love of nature</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-cities-are-lagging-behind-in-greening-up-their-buildings-97088">Australian cities are lagging behind in greening up their buildings</a>
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<p>Trees, plants, waterways and wetlands can deliver climate conditioning, cooling cities by reducing the urban heat island effect. They also absorb carbon dioxide, filter wastewater and create habitats. </p>
<p>Living elements can be incorporated with built infrastructure at a range of scales, from individual buildings with green walls and roofs, through to citywide strategies. And there are a <a href="http://www.curf.com.au/files/view/?id=633">suite of strategies</a> to guide more widespread integration of biological elements and ecological processes in cities. </p>
<p>In recent months, we <a href="https://mainstreaminggreeninfrastructure.com/reports/Barbara%20Norman%20mainstreaming%20GI%20in%20Australia.pdf">profiled Australian examples of living infrastructure</a> that show some of Australia’s approaches to developing green infrastructure, from greening Melbourne’s laneways to Canberra’s urban forest. These cities are already redesigning their water systems and implementing urban forest strategies to create green belts and protect and restore waterways.</p>
<p>Melbourne and Canberra provide some useful examples of the green cities movement, but to make it mainstream, these techniques need to be adopted widely through policies supporting more holistic and better integrated urban planning.</p>
<h2>Why we need urban forests</h2>
<p>Percival Alfred Yeoman was one of the first Australian pioneers of urban forestry. In 1971, <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/8870297?q&versionId=12235056">he articulated</a> a clear vision for enhancing cities with trees.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-green-cities-need-to-become-a-deeply-lived-experience-65566">Why ‘green cities’ need to become a deeply lived experience</a>
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<p>Local governments in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, are implementing his ideas, committing to <a href="https://202020vision.com.au/about-the-vision/">ambitious increases in urban canopy cover</a>. Their targets range from 25% to 40%.</p>
<p>This <a href="https://202020vision.com.au/the-network/">revived interest in urban forestry</a> comes from its well documented potential for accelerating the transition to more climate adaptive cities. </p>
<p>The social, environmental and economic benefits of urban trees, or “ecosystem services”, are becoming better recognised, including for their recreational and cultural values.</p>
<h2>Melbourne and Canberra are leading Australia’s green cities movement</h2>
<h3>Melbourne</h3>
<p>Melbourne has a rich legacy of urban parks and green belts thanks to planning decisions made in the city’s early years. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/urban-greening-can-save-species-cool-warming-cities-and-make-us-happy-116000">Urban greening can save species, cool warming cities, and make us happy</a>
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<p>These parks underpin a new wave of urban greening, with projects that aim to deliver action on climate change, biodiversity and the health and well-being of communities.</p>
<p>The Melbourne green infrastructure <a href="https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/community/greening-the-city/green-infrastructure/Pages/green-infrastructure.aspx">plan</a> includes: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>a “<a href="http://www.growinggreenguide.org/">growing green guide</a>” that provides practical advice to community and business groups on planning, design and maintenance of green infrastructure</p></li>
<li><p>the <a href="http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/community/%20greening-the-city/green-infrastructure/Pages/greeninglaneways.%20aspx">greening laneways strategy</a>, which builds on the commercial revitalisation of Melbourne’s laneways over three decades. Laneways with greening potential were mapped and demonstration project developed to display techniques for making them more vibrant green spaces for business, tourists and locals to enjoy</p></li>
<li><p>an <a href="http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/community/parks-openspaces/%20urban-forest/Pages/urban-forest-strategy.aspx">urban forest strategy</a>, with an overall target of 40% canopy cover by 2040. And 5 to 8 million trees will be planted over coming decades for the greater Melbourne metropolis.</p></li>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RBtAUUzH7Uo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<h3>Canberra</h3>
<p>Canberra is often described as “a city within a landscape” and the “bush capital”. But its higher altitude, hot dry summers and cold winters bring a set of challenges for green infrastructure. </p>
<p>With more than 800,000 planted trees, Canberra is an urban forest. But these trees require special care and attention given they are ageing and suffering from a hotter, drier climate. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-we-save-ageing-australians-from-the-heat-greening-our-cities-is-a-good-start-112613">How do we save ageing Australians from the heat? Greening our cities is a good start</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<p>Wildfire also represents a significant risk where urban and rural areas connect. This means Canberra needs urban forests that will cool the city in warmer months without also escalating wildfire risks. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.environment.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/%200011/1170965/Canberra-Living-Infrastructure-%20Information-paper-2018.pdf">ACT Government</a> has committed to action on climate change, legislating targets for 100% renewable electricity by 2020 and carbon neutrality (no net carbon emissions) by 2045. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283002/original/file-20190708-51262-w9ffhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283002/original/file-20190708-51262-w9ffhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283002/original/file-20190708-51262-w9ffhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283002/original/file-20190708-51262-w9ffhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283002/original/file-20190708-51262-w9ffhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283002/original/file-20190708-51262-w9ffhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283002/original/file-20190708-51262-w9ffhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283002/original/file-20190708-51262-w9ffhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">With more than 800,000 trees, Canberra is an urban forest.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Integrated approach needed to expand green cities</h2>
<p>Greening cities requires a holistic approach – for instance, not leaving the health of waterways entirely to water engineers.</p>
<p>Greening cities is more than just a <a href="https://www.academia.edu/38053856/The_city_as_nature_and_the_nature_of_the_city_-_climate_adaptation_using_living_infrastructure_governance_and_integration_challenges">technical challenge</a>. Transforming the form and functions of urban systems, through urban forests and other living infrastructure, <a href="http://www.curf.com.au/files/view/?id=633">requires</a> greater leadership and political commitment, integrated planning and community participation, and long-term thinking. </p>
<p>An integrated approach to greening cities involves mapping diverse opportunities and mobilising support for change in the community. As an example, urban storm water can be a productive resource when used in constructed wetlands or to irrigate urban forests. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283005/original/file-20190708-51297-19kpdgw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283005/original/file-20190708-51297-19kpdgw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283005/original/file-20190708-51297-19kpdgw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283005/original/file-20190708-51297-19kpdgw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283005/original/file-20190708-51297-19kpdgw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283005/original/file-20190708-51297-19kpdgw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283005/original/file-20190708-51297-19kpdgw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283005/original/file-20190708-51297-19kpdgw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The vertical gardens in One Central Park in Sydney are globally renowned for their green infrastructure.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And often urban drainage lines and wastelands can be transformed into green spaces, but it’s worth recognising there is intense competition for space for housing.</p>
<p>But for more widespread adoption of integration, institutional support within local governments and metropolitan water and planning agencies is needed. </p>
<p>So to scale up living infrastructure in our urban landscapes, we must learn from local success stories, conduct more research, and better understand how to deal with climate adaptation and mitigation challenges. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-planners-understand-its-cool-to-green-cities-whats-stopping-them-55753">If planners understand it's cool to green cities, what's stopping them?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Jason Alexandra would like to gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Barbara Norman to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/119933/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason Alexandra received research funds from University of Canberra to review international examples of green infrastructure, including urban forestry and water sensitive urban design, suited to Canberra as part of a Canberra Urban and Regional Futures Project that was supported by the ACT Government</span></em></p>
Expanding green cities needs a holistic approach, and learning from Melbourne and Canberra is a good place to start.
Jason Alexandra, PhD candidate, RMIT University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/116000
2019-05-02T12:50:49Z
2019-05-02T12:50:49Z
Urban greening can save species, cool warming cities, and make us happy
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272237/original/file-20190502-103060-k5jeic.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/green-skyscraper-building-plants-growing-on-412333285?src=OtSDSSgB70LwE5L28E_JRw-1-2">Olga Kashubin/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The current climate and ecological crisis demands a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/18/ending-climate-change-end-capitalism">radical redesign</a> of how we live and organise our societies. Yet these urgent changes, though complex, are far from impossible.</p>
<p>Some of them are simple, beautiful, and beneficial to all. By greening our cities with street trees, urban parks, and community and rooftop gardens, we can <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/feb/21/urban-heat-islands-cooling-things-down-with-trees-green-roads-and-fewer-cars">keep ourselves cool</a> amid rising temperatures, reverse the <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/biodiversity/elements_of_biodiversity/extinction_crisis/">steady erosion</a> of the rich tapestry of life on Earth, and foster happiness and social connection in the process. </p>
<p>It is widely known that greenery in urban spaces helps improve city microclimates. Thanks to heat generated by traffic and industrial activity, as well as the spread of heat-trapping concrete buildings that have steadily replaced plant life, urban air temperature is often higher than in rural environments. Hotter cities compel urban denizens to opt for air conditioners in order to stay cool, which further strains energy demands and worsens the <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/urban-heat-island/">urban heat island effect</a>.</p>
<p>Plants can <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-trees-really-cool-our-cities-down-44099">help cool cities</a> through the water that <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110914161729.htm">evaporates</a> from their leaves when exposed to the sun’s rays, and by shading surfaces that otherwise might have absorbed heat. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344911001303">Research</a> has found that on a sunny day, a single healthy tree can have the cooling power of more than ten air-conditioning units.</p>
<p>Plants also help keep <a href="https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/presspacs/2012/acs-presspac-august-29-2012/green-plants-reduce-pollution-on-city-streets-up-to-eight-times-more-than-previously-believed.html">harmful pollutants</a> such as <a href="https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/particulate-matter-pm-basics">microscopic particulate matter</a> at bay through a complex process known as <a href="https://thought-leadership-production.s3.amazonaws.com/2016/10/28/17/17/50/0615788b-8eaf-4b4f-a02a-8819c68278ef/20160825_PHA_Report_FINAL.pdf">dry deposition</a>, whereby particles penetrate and become trapped in the wax or cuticles of leaves. Although banning or at least <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/16/our-cities-need-fewer-cars-not-cleaner-cars-electric-green-transport">restricting vehicle use</a> in city centres is crucial, mass greening can further reduce pollution and keep cities cool in the increasingly scorching summers that lie ahead.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272244/original/file-20190502-103068-ewrkb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272244/original/file-20190502-103068-ewrkb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272244/original/file-20190502-103068-ewrkb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272244/original/file-20190502-103068-ewrkb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272244/original/file-20190502-103068-ewrkb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272244/original/file-20190502-103068-ewrkb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272244/original/file-20190502-103068-ewrkb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Street trees at their best in Bonn, Germany.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/alley-cherry-blossom-trees-bonn-germany-1316625416?src=J_p7Stv4i5OTWfptLQs79A-1-19">Majonit/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Urban greenery wouldn’t just help lessen the impacts of climate change and improve air quality. <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/6/9/2332">Evidence</a> from a range of disciplines has uncovered numerous social, psychological, and health benefits of human exposure to green spaces. These include <a href="http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ntu.idm.oclc.org/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=895360a7-8ee7-493f-943c-7eadbcbd13fd%40pdc-v-sessmgr01&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=23961303&db=a9h">stress and anxiety reduction</a>, <a href="http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ntu.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=66722f40-056d-4207-8dd6-7e7bfd57af1a%40pdc-v-sessmgr03">improved cognitive functioning</a>, <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/2/172">lowered risks of depression</a>, and overall greater mental and physical<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378013000575"> wellbeing</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://rsa.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08111140601035200?casa_token=3iWlLtYJWXsAAAAA:ch64TwWrqfT9Zj44Fi6vxlZ0hDryFsZHmciezKKWK_QqpC4rwy2mZuae_o522zM_WA2Lvsqfhlo">Others</a> have shown how involvement in community gardening can increase social cohesion and social bonds among participants and the wider community, in addition to providing local and affordable food sources.</p>
<p>The Japanese preventative healthcare practice of <a href="http://www.shinrin-yoku.org/shinrin-yoku.html">Shinrin-yoku</a>, or “forest bathing”, is modelled on a recognition of the many benefits of immersion in natural spaces. We’re not yet sure why we seem happiest and healthiest when we’re surrounded by our fellow lifeforms. But the universality and antiquity of our appreciation for nature suggests that our <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/biophilia-hypothesis">biophilia</a> may originate from the millions of years humans and plants spent co-evolving in close contact with each other. </p>
<p>Perhaps most importantly, greening and rewilding our cities can offer vital refuges for rapidly vanishing biodiversity. Human socioeconomic activities, especially those of the <a href="http://whygreeneconomy.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Inequality-of-overconsumption.-The-ecological-footprint-of-the-richest-Dario-Kenner.pdf">world’s rich</a>, have <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4139418?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">destroyed natural habitats</a>, consumed <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/25/death-by-a-thousand-cuts-vast-expanse-rainforest-lost-in-2018">vast tracts of forest</a>, <a href="https://hal.inria.fr/hal-01519404/document">polluted waterways</a>, and disrupted the <a href="https://www.gla.ac.uk/news/archiveofnews/2015/october/headline_427515_en.html">seasonal rhythms</a> on which life depends. In the midst of the <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/biodiversity/elements_of_biodiversity/extinction_crisis/">sixth mass extinction</a>, many species are increasingly finding themselves with nowhere to go.</p>
<p><a href="https://ensia.com/features/nature-cities/">Urban rewilding</a> can help the complex natural communities and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zg4dwmn">processes</a> that are essential for all life to flourish once again. For example, establishing wild meadows and native plant and tree communities <a href="http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190118-how-do-you-bring-wildlife-back-to-the-city">provides pollinators</a> and other threatened animals with new spaces to thrive, while creating spaces to reintroduce <a href="https://greentumble.com/12-examples-of-keystone-species/">keystone species</a>, whose presence is crucial for maintaining ecosystem diversity.</p>
<h2>Towards a thriving future</h2>
<p>The mass greening and rewilding of our cities is no novel or abstract ideal. It is already happening in many urban spaces <a href="https://weburbanist.com/2018/08/06/urban-rewilding-reverse-engineering-cities-to-save-nature-and-ourselves/">around the world</a>. The mayor of Paris has ambitious plans to <a href="https://en.reset.org/blog/plan-turn-paris-green-literally-2020-07022018">“green” 100 hectares</a> of the city by 2020. London mayor Sadiq Khan hopes to make London the world’s first “National Park City” through mass tree planting and park restoration, greening <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/environment/parks-green-spaces-and-biodiversity/greener-city-fund">more than half of the capital</a> by 2050. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272238/original/file-20190502-103071-1lkwgyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272238/original/file-20190502-103071-1lkwgyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272238/original/file-20190502-103071-1lkwgyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272238/original/file-20190502-103071-1lkwgyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272238/original/file-20190502-103071-1lkwgyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272238/original/file-20190502-103071-1lkwgyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272238/original/file-20190502-103071-1lkwgyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Parkroyal has been lauded for its unique ‘hotel-in-a-garden’ architecture.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/parkroyal-on-pickering-singapore-2016-hotels-483433873?src=rjZH4yexp5Cnlynj9QOlqA-1-0">Ariyaphol Jiwalak/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Singapore, a partner city in the <a href="https://www.biophiliccities.org/">Biophilic Cities Network</a>, is a <a href="https://www.psd.gov.sg/challenge/ideas/deep-dive/into-the-wild-working-nature-into-singapore's-urban-spaces">shining example</a> of how to incorporate “nature” into building and city designs. The <a href="https://blog.interface.com/en-au/biophilic-design-asia/">Parkroyal on Pickering Hotel</a>, for instance, is shrouded in thickly forested terraces and sky gardens that are inhabited by local insects and birds.</p>
<p>More cities need to follow the lead of these forward-thinking designs and initiatives. Alongside these efforts, educational programmes, such as Singapore’s <a href="https://www.nparks.gov.sg/biodiversity/community-in-nature-initiative">Community in Nature initiative</a>, could also be put in place to help the public learn about, respect, and appreciate wild spaces.</p>
<p>Of course, urban greening alone will not be enough to meet the daunting challenges ahead. We also need to fundamentally transform our <a href="https://www.ehn.org/capitalism-and-our-environmental-collapse-2521833465.html">growth-oriented economies</a> and massively <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/jul/04/is-inequality-bad-for-the-environment">reduce global inequality</a>. But giving some new life to our cities would be a great start. And it wouldn’t just benefit people but, crucially, other species as well. This is their home, too, and they deserve a more viable future.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/imagine-newsletter-researchers-think-of-a-world-with-climate-action-113443?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=Imagineheader1116000">Click here to subscribe to our climate action newsletter. Climate change is inevitable. Our response to it isn’t.</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/116000/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heather Alberro does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Not all of the solutions to the climate and ecological crisis have to be painful.
Heather Alberro, Associate Lecturer/PhD Candidate in Political Ecology, Nottingham Trent University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/112613
2019-03-01T01:48:18Z
2019-03-01T01:48:18Z
How do we save ageing Australians from the heat? Greening our cities is a good start
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261168/original/file-20190227-150698-rrobo4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A shade tree makes a big difference to the comfort of this couple.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mature-couple-sitting-on-ornate-iron-1151663459">Nancie Lee/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Heatwaves have killed more Australians than <a href="https://ama.com.au/ausmed/heatwave-health-warning">road accidents</a>, fires, floods and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1462901114000999">all other natural disasters combined</a>. Although <a href="https://theconversation.com/forget-heatwaves-our-cold-houses-are-much-more-likely-to-kill-us-83030">recent research</a> shows extreme cold is a worry in some parts of Australia, <a href="https://theconversation.com/2018-19-was-australias-hottest-summer-on-record-with-a-warm-autumn-likely-too-112616">our hottest summer on record</a> points to more heat-related deaths to come. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-stubborn-high-pressure-system-behind-australias-record-heatwaves-110442">record heatwaves</a> have highlighted the damaging effects of heat stress. Understandably, it’s becoming a major <a href="https://ama.com.au/ausmed/heatwaves-nation%E2%80%99s-deadliest-natural-disaster-0">public health challenge</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/2018-19-was-australias-hottest-summer-on-record-with-a-warm-autumn-likely-too-112616">2018-19 was Australia's hottest summer on record, with a warm autumn likely too</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The risk of extreme heat events and the adverse impacts on older people has been extensively <a href="https://jech.bmj.com/content/64/9/753.short">discussed in research</a>. Remarkably, very little attention has been paid to the role of urban greenery in reducing heat stress for seniors.</p>
<p>Older people are particularly at risk of heat stress. Pre-existing medical conditions and limited mobility increase their vulnerability. <a href="http://www.cmaj.ca/content/182/10/1053.short">Deaths of older people increase</a> during extreme heat events.</p>
<p>The physical features of urban areas shape the capacity of older adults to engage in many activities when it’s hot. These include vegetation volume and coverage, <a href="https://theconversation.com/building-cool-cities-for-a-hot-future-57489">thermal design</a>, and the extent of shading in public areas and walkways. Increasing urban greenery may offer a way to improve older people’s comfort and social experience.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/building-cool-cities-for-a-hot-future-57489">Building cool cities for a hot future</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Ageing adds urgency to greening</h2>
<p>It is expected <a href="http://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/ageing/">20% of the global population</a> will be older than 60 by 2050. The figure for Australia <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mediareleasesbyTopic/2CA2134677EF9D03CA257C2E0017283B?OpenDocument">is even higher</a>, at 23%. This means that by 2050 around one in four Australians will be more vulnerable to extreme heat. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261175/original/file-20190227-150721-rxcqdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261175/original/file-20190227-150721-rxcqdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261175/original/file-20190227-150721-rxcqdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=746&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261175/original/file-20190227-150721-rxcqdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=746&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261175/original/file-20190227-150721-rxcqdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=746&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261175/original/file-20190227-150721-rxcqdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=937&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261175/original/file-20190227-150721-rxcqdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=937&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/261175/original/file-20190227-150721-rxcqdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=937&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Older people are more vulnerable to heat stress.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/elderly-sweating-fainting-1189479757">PorporLing/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Climate change may make the problem worse by <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749379708006867">fuelling even more extreme heat</a> events.</p>
<p>Planning our urban centres to meet the needs of a <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/older-people/older-australia-at-a-glance/contents/demographics-of-older-australians">rapidly ageing population</a> is a matter of urgency. Urban greening to reduce their vulnerability to heat stress should be central to this agenda. It can also improve people’s quality of life, reduce <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1353829208001172">social isolation and loneliness</a>, and ease the burden on health systems.</p>
<p>An important task is matching the design of communities with the needs of an ageing population. Where older adults live and the quality of their local areas strongly influence their lived experiences. Yet <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0885412217704649">recent research</a> found the experiences of seniors were often not accounted for in research on neighbourhood design.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/eight-simple-changes-to-our-neighbourhoods-can-help-us-age-well-83962">Eight simple changes to our neighbourhoods can help us age well</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What about aged care?</h2>
<p>People face choices about where they live as they age. The common choices are to “<a href="https://theconversation.com/for-australians-to-have-the-choice-of-growing-old-at-home-here-is-what-needs-to-change-91488">age in place</a>” or to move into aged care. </p>
<p>Ageing in place includes living in one’s own home or <a href="https://theconversation.com/co-housing-works-well-for-older-people-once-they-get-past-the-image-problem-79907">co-habiting with relatives or friends</a>. Around 90% of Australian seniors <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/housing-decisions-older-australians/housing-decisions-older-australians.pdf">choose this option</a>, with the remainder opting for aged-care facilities.</p>
<p>If one in ten Australian seniors live in aged-care facilities, it is clear these should be designed to minimise heat stress. This isn’t just good for residents; it may also benefit operators by lowering health-care and electricity costs.</p>
<p>While these facilities are purpose-built for older people, many in Australia were built well over a decade ago, when heat stress was not such a large concern. Many more facilities are being built now and will be into the future. Yet it is uncertain whether they are being actively designed to reduce the impacts of heat.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-cities-are-lagging-behind-in-greening-up-their-buildings-97088">Australian cities are lagging behind in greening up their buildings</a>
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</em>
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<hr>
<h2>What has our research found?</h2>
<p>We recently conducted a focus group to investigate this issue. Participants were senior managers from four large corporate providers of aged care in Australia. We investigated if and how providers try to minimise heat stress through design. We also sought to understand the rationales used to support these design approaches.</p>
<p>Several participants reported on refurbishments that they expect will have cooling effects. Cited design approaches included green roofs and walls, as well as sensory gardens. Other expected benefits included reducing anxiety and improving the mental health of residents.</p>
<p>The fact that single design interventions could produce multiple benefits improved the potential for corporate buy-in. Participants expected that increasing green space and green cover would give their facilities a competitive advantage by attracting more clients and providing a better working environment for staff.</p>
<p>Participants also reported on challenges of including greening in their projects. For example, the benefits of trees were weighed against concerns about roots disrupting footpaths and becoming trip hazards. Species selection was another concern, with fears that inappropriate plants could die and undermine support for greening programs.</p>
<p>Our research suggests that more can be done to make cities hospitable for older people, especially during extreme heat. Urban greening is a start. Encouraging aged-care providers to adopt green infrastructure will have benefits. But we should also consider reforms to planning systems and urban design to better protect older people who choose to age in place.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-planners-understand-its-cool-to-green-cities-whats-stopping-them-55753">If planners understand it's cool to green cities, what's stopping them?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112613/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claudia Baldwin has received research funding from Churches of Christ Care regarding senior living. She is a member of the Planning Institute of Australia and the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason Byrne receives funding from the Australian Research Council for research on (i) climate change and social innovation and (ii) green space and health. He is a member of the Planning Institute Australia, Institute of Australian Geographers and Association of American Geographers. Jason donates to environmental groups (e.g. Australian Conservation Foundation). He also provides research consultancy services to state and local government.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tony Matthews receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is affiliated with the Royal Town Planning Institute and the Planning Institute of Australia. He is an Ambassador for Planet Ark and a spokesperson for 202020 Vision.</span></em></p>
Two trends in Australia, an ageing population and warming climate, are increasing the threat that heatwaves pose to our health. Increasing vegetation cover is one way every city can reduce the risk.
Claudia Baldwin, Associate Professor, Urban Design and Town Planning, Sustainability Research Centre, University of the Sunshine Coast
Jason Byrne, Professor of Human Geography and Planning, University of Tasmania
Tony Matthews, Senior Lecturer in Urban and Environmental Planning, Griffith University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/108672
2018-12-12T19:12:25Z
2018-12-12T19:12:25Z
The small patch of bush over your back fence might be key to a species’ survival
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250147/original/file-20181212-76965-x1w7xf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A kangaroo finds refuge in a small patch of vegetation surrounded by a new housing estate.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Georgia Garrard</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It may not look like a pristine expanse of Amazon rainforest or an African savannah, but the patch of bush at the end of the street could be one of the only places on the planet that harbour a particular species of endangered animal or plant.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/12/05/1813051115">newly published global study</a> of the conservation value of landscapes in 27 countries across four continents has found these small patches of habitat are critical to the long-term survival of many rare and endangered species. </p>
<p>In Australia, our cities are home to, on average, <a href="https://www.conservationmagazine.org/2016/01/threatened-species-live-in-every-australian-city/">three times as many threatened species per unit area as rural environments</a>. This means urbanisation is one of the most destructive processes for biodiversity. </p>
<p>It tends to be the smaller patches of vegetation that go first, making way for a housing development, a freeway extension, or power lines. Despite <a href="http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html">government commitments</a> to enhance the vegetation cover of urban areas and halt species extinctions, the loss of vegetation in Australian cities continues.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/were-investing-heavily-in-urban-greening-so-how-are-our-cities-doing-83354">We're investing heavily in urban greening, so how are our cities doing?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This story plays out all over the world day after day. Of course, it’s not just an urban story. Patches of rural vegetation are continually making way for, say, a new pivot irrigation system or a new mine to provide local jobs. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250151/original/file-20181212-76986-1txqb49.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250151/original/file-20181212-76986-1txqb49.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250151/original/file-20181212-76986-1txqb49.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250151/original/file-20181212-76986-1txqb49.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250151/original/file-20181212-76986-1txqb49.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250151/original/file-20181212-76986-1txqb49.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250151/original/file-20181212-76986-1txqb49.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250151/original/file-20181212-76986-1txqb49.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Remnant salmon gum woodland surrounded by cropland near Bencubbin in Western Australia’s northeast wheatbelt.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mike Griffiths</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>Mostly, policymakers and scientists do not consider these losses to be, on their own, a fatal blow to the biodiversity of a region or country. Small, often isolated patches of vegetation are considered expendable, tradeable, of limited ecological value due to their small size and relatively large amount of “edgy” habitat. Wrong.</p>
<h2>Research forces a rethink</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/12/05/1813051115">Our study</a> analysed the relationship between conservation value of vegetation patches and their size and isolation in landscapes across Europe, Australia, North America and Africa. The findings prompt a rethink of long-held views about the relative importance of small, isolated habitat patches for biodiversity conservation. We show that these patches often have unique ecological and environmental characteristics.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250153/original/file-20181212-76956-1farjlj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250153/original/file-20181212-76956-1farjlj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250153/original/file-20181212-76956-1farjlj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=682&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250153/original/file-20181212-76956-1farjlj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=682&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250153/original/file-20181212-76956-1farjlj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=682&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250153/original/file-20181212-76956-1farjlj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250153/original/file-20181212-76956-1farjlj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250153/original/file-20181212-76956-1farjlj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The critically endangered Western Ringtail Possum lives mainly in small habitat patches in or around urban areas near Perth and is under intense pressure from housing development, foxes, cats and dogs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Western_ringtail_possum_at_Locke_Nature_Reserve.jpg">Yokochi K., Bencini R./Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That’s because they are the last patches left over from extensive clearing of flat, fertile land for agriculture or urban growth close to rivers and bays. They often contain habitats for rare or endangered species that have disappeared from the rest of the landscape. This makes these small, isolated patches of habitat disproportionately important for the survival of many species.</p>
<p>Our study calls for a rethink of urban planning and vegetation management regulations and policies that allow small patches of vegetation to be destroyed with lower (and often zero) scrutiny. We argue that the environment is suffering a death by a thousand cuts. The existence of large conservation reserves doesn’t compensate for the small patches of habitat being destroyed or degraded because those reserves tend to contain different species to the ones being lost. </p>
<p>The combined impact of the loss of many small patches is massive. It’s a significant contributor to our current extinction crisis.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lets-get-this-straight-habitat-loss-is-the-number-one-threat-to-australias-species-85674">Let’s get this straight, habitat loss is the number-one threat to Australia's species</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why are small patches seen as dispensable?</h2>
<p>A key variable used in decisions on vegetation-clearing applications is the size of patch being destroyed. Authorities that regulate vegetation management and approve applications are more permissive of destruction of small patches of vegetation. </p>
<p>This is partly due to a large body of ecological theory known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insular_biogeography">island biogeography theory</a> and subordinate theories from metapopulation ecology and landscape ecology. These theories suggest that species richness and individual species’ population sizes depend on the degree of isolation of the patch, its size and the quality of the habitat it contains. </p>
<p>While it is crucial that we conserve large, intact landscapes and <a href="https://theconversation.com/earths-wilderness-is-vanishing-and-just-a-handful-of-nations-can-save-it-106072">wilderness</a>, the problem with conserving only large and well-connected patches of high-quality vegetation is that not all species will be conserved. This is because some species exist only in small, isolated and partially degraded habitats, such as those characteristic of urban bushlands or remnant bush in agricultural areas.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250155/original/file-20181212-76968-m2n6yt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250155/original/file-20181212-76968-m2n6yt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250155/original/file-20181212-76968-m2n6yt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=673&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250155/original/file-20181212-76968-m2n6yt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=673&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250155/original/file-20181212-76968-m2n6yt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=673&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250155/original/file-20181212-76968-m2n6yt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=845&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250155/original/file-20181212-76968-m2n6yt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=845&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250155/original/file-20181212-76968-m2n6yt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=845&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A remnant wetland is still valuable habitat for species like the Pacific Heron.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ardea_pacifica_-Edithvale_Wetland,_Melbourne,_Australia-8_(2).jpg">Wayne Butterworth/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For this reason, we highlight the importance of protecting and restoring habitats in these small isolated patches. And these areas do tend to be more vulnerable to <a href="https://theconversation.com/for-whom-the-bell-tolls-cats-kill-more-than-a-million-australian-birds-every-day-85084">invasion by weeds or feral animals</a>. If the impacts of invasive species are not managed, they will eventually lead to the destruction of the habitat values and the loss of the species those habitats support. </p>
<p>Small and isolated patches of vegetation on the urban fringe are under enormous pressure from human use, pets, escaped seed of <a href="https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/goodliving/posts/2017/11/weeds">Agapanthus</a> and the many other invasive species we plant in our gardens. These plants spread into local bushland, where they outcompete the native plants.</p>
<h2>Communities can make a difference</h2>
<p>As well as these perils, being on the urban fringe also brings opportunity. If a remnant patch of vegetation at the end of the street is seen to be of national environmental importance, that presents a great opportunity to channel the energies of community groups into conserving and restoring these patches. </p>
<p>A patch that is actively cared for by the community will provide better habitat for species. It’s also less likely to fall foul of development aspirations or infrastructure projects. The vicious cycle of degradation and neglect of small patches of habitat can be converted into a virtuous cycle when their value is communicated and local communities get behind preserving and managing them.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250150/original/file-20181212-76971-1mu8k5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250150/original/file-20181212-76971-1mu8k5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250150/original/file-20181212-76971-1mu8k5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250150/original/file-20181212-76971-1mu8k5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250150/original/file-20181212-76971-1mu8k5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250150/original/file-20181212-76971-1mu8k5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250150/original/file-20181212-76971-1mu8k5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250150/original/file-20181212-76971-1mu8k5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Volunteer community groups can play a vital role in preserving and enhancing small habitat patches.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Robin Clarey, Friends of Edithvale Seaford Wetlands</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Urban planners and developers can get on board too. Rather than policies that enable the loss of vegetation in urban areas, we should be looking at restoring habitats in places that have lost or are losing them. This is key to designing healthy, liveable cities as well as protecting threatened species. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-how-to-design-cities-where-people-and-nature-can-both-flourish-102849">Biodiversity-sensitive urban design</a> makes more of local vegetation by complementing the natural remnant patches with similar habitat features in the built environment, while delivering health and well-being benefits to residents. Urban development should be seen as an opportunity to enhance biodiversity through restoration, instead of an inevitable driver of species loss.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-how-to-design-cities-where-people-and-nature-can-both-flourish-102849">Here's how to design cities where people and nature can both flourish</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108672/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brendan Wintle receives funding from the Australian Government National Environmental Science Program. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Bekessy receives funding from The National Environment Science Program through the Threatened Species Recovery Hub and the Clean Air and Urban Landscapes Hub, the Australian Research Council Linkage Program (LP160100324), the Australian Government and The Myer Foundation. She is a Board member of Bush Heritage Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heini Kujala receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Australian Government National Environmental Science Program. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Natasha Cadenhead receives funding from the Australian Government National Environmental Science Program.</span></em></p>
Expanding cities and farmland have created many small, often isolated patches of vegetation. Long seen as having limited ecological value, a new study shows these are vital for endangered species.
Brendan Wintle, Professor Conservation Ecology, The University of Melbourne
Sarah Bekessy, Professor, RMIT University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/104941
2018-11-01T19:07:16Z
2018-11-01T19:07:16Z
Making developments green doesn’t help with inequality
<p>Around the world, new developments are increasingly framed as sustainable to both policymakers and prospective buyers. They are seen as a “win-win” for the environment and the economy. However, recent concerns suggest social inequality often results.</p>
<p>Barangaroo is one such green development on the harbourfront in Sydney, Australia. What was once a contaminated, dilapidated, post-industrial wharf is now home to a six-hectare park, three office towers and two residential complexes. More is to come, in the form of a 275-metre hotel-casino. </p>
<p>Beyond its immense scale, Barangaroo is significant for another reason: it has a commendable sustainability agenda. </p>
<p>Rooftop solar partially powers the buildings, which are constructed from carbon-neutral materials and even provide a supply of recycled water from a stormwater treatment plant underneath. Beyond the project’s economic advantages – an <a href="http://www.barangaroo.com">estimated $2 billion-a-year boost to the New South Wales economy</a> – the environment benefits through increased green space and biodiversity, along with reduced carbon emissions and electricity and water use. </p>
<p>These are undeniably beneficial outcomes. Yet, worryingly, such developments may result in “green gentrification” as increases to environmental amenity in an area result in displacement and exclusion of the disadvantaged. </p>
<p>I examined this claim at Barangaroo, by breaking its outcomes into three parts:</p>
<ul>
<li>who has access to the spaces it creates</li>
<li>what happens to the surrounding property market</li>
<li>how governance enables the outcome. </li>
</ul>
<p>My findings suggest there is an urgent need to prioritise social outcomes in future sustainable development.</p>
<h2>The spaces</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.barangaroo.com/the-project/progress/barangaroo-development">Barangaroo has created many new spaces</a>, but will people from all kinds of socio-economic backgrounds have access? Multiple hectares of public park and waterfront access, piers, laneways and bridges are accessible at the development. Retail spaces are scattered in between the office towers and residential complexes.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/la/papers/DBAssets/tabledpaper/webAttachments/69917/BDA%202016.pdf">Around 900,000 people</a> from the local Sydney region visited the public park in its first year alone. The commercial space, likewise, provides for 23,000 professionals.</p>
<p>To determine whether these statistics include the disadvantaged it is necessary to delve deeper. Who are those who live nearby? Who are employed in the offices? Who are the shops’ target market? </p>
<p>The price of floor space at Barangaroo is very high – <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/barangaroo-to-change-sydney-20130801-2r04e">around $20,000 per square metre for its apartments</a>. <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/barangaroo-to-change-sydney-20130801-2r04e">Affordable housing has been moved offsite</a>, so many will be priced out of living within Barangaroo. </p>
<p>Business giants, such as KPMG and Westpac, are among those that can afford to occupy the office space. Smaller, less professionally oriented businesses are unable to do so. The result is that retailers largely cater to office workers. David Jones, for instance, “<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/david-jones-junior-to-hit-australias-affluent-inner-city-suburbs-20161103-gsh9jf.html">has been carefully designed to appeal to Barangaroo’s big office community</a>”. </p>
<p>Likewise, the new restaurants, owned by celebrity chefs and restaurateurs, appeal to those from high socio-economic backgrounds. </p>
<p>These trends provide little room for the disadvantaged to occupy the site’s residential, retail or commercial spaces. What about the public space, however? If those from low socio-economic backgrounds live around the development, they could enjoy these spaces.</p>
<h2>The property market</h2>
<p><a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0309132518803799">Green gentrification studies</a> suggest sustainable developments may raise the prices of property nearby. Using data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics between 2011 and 2016, I found the rent prices in areas northeast of Barangaroo increased drastically. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241198/original/file-20181018-41153-4s11hp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241198/original/file-20181018-41153-4s11hp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241198/original/file-20181018-41153-4s11hp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241198/original/file-20181018-41153-4s11hp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241198/original/file-20181018-41153-4s11hp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241198/original/file-20181018-41153-4s11hp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241198/original/file-20181018-41153-4s11hp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rental price increases as a percentage in the areas surrounding Barangaroo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The main reason for this change was the selling of 214 public housing properties in Millers Point, Dawes Point and The Rocks in 2014. The NSW government announced the sales after Barangaroo’s effect on the surrounding areas began to take place, realising the increased profit to be made. </p>
<p>As a result, the development is not only exclusive on the inside, it has also contributed to the displacement of the disadvantaged from surrounding areas.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/last-of-the-millers-point-and-sirius-tenants-hang-on-as-the-money-now-pours-in-85754">Last of the Millers Point and Sirius tenants hang on as the money now pours in</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The governance</h2>
<p>Could appropriate governance have prevented this? The political agenda that enabled this exclusion and displacement effectively ignored the disadvantaged. Counterclaims to the benefits of the development were ignored, as these did not match the win-win narrative of the development’s proponents. </p>
<p>For instance, the then NSW finance minister, Greg Pearce, dismissed the concerns of evicted residents by <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/residents-stick-to-their-point-of-community-20121025-288bh.html">stating</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Millers Point is poorly suited for social housing … when considering its future, the government needs to consider it in the context of all of the surrounding areas, including the Barangaroo redevelopment area.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In a more extreme case, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/last-ditch-law-change-clears-barangaroo-20110302-1bey5.html">fast-tracked legislation</a> made legally void a claim brought against the government for approving potentially unlawful elements of the development. </p>
<p>These actions minimise antagonistic voices, those that often act to promote social equality. </p>
<p>If future green developments are to minimise exclusion and displacement, they must allow participation from all sectors of society and recognise all the potential impacts in advance. The NSW government has not only enabled exclusion by failing to ensure affordable housing quotas, it has actively encouraged it by selling the nearby public housing. </p>
<p>Barangaroo is a missed opportunity: instead of promoting social equality, it has made inequality worse.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104941/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rupert Legg does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Barangaroo is an example of a development with admirable green credentials, but it is also an exclusive precinct that has played a role in displacing the disadvantaged from this part of Sydney.
Rupert Legg, PhD Candidate, University of Technology Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/102839
2018-10-22T19:57:11Z
2018-10-22T19:57:11Z
Requiem or renewal? This is how a tropical city like Darwin can regain its cool
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240705/original/file-20181015-165897-1sa3rgp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1274%2C879&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A vine shade structure being installed in Cavenagh Street will help cool the hottest street in Darwin city centre.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>On my way to work, I walk across the intersection of Knuckey and Wood streets. Most days a homeless man on his haunches is mouthing bureaucratic platitudes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Let’s workshop this? We need to have meeting about this! Can you give me the heads-up on this? Do we have numbers on this? Has a C/B been done?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Is he an old bureaucrat? Or is he just a parable of planning – platitudes, words and little action? Wishes, words and workshops are not the currency of urban design; skilled drawings, urban history, science and continuous public dialogue are.</p>
<p>The concern in most Australian cities, and particularly in Darwin, should be with the public form of the city – with building frontage, with the streets, squares and parks, and with what is needed to make them safe, cool and enjoyable. Such street-form-based planning should replace “tidy town” zoning planning and code-based roads that ignore heat, landscape and the public. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240716/original/file-20181016-165891-c4eubi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240716/original/file-20181016-165891-c4eubi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240716/original/file-20181016-165891-c4eubi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240716/original/file-20181016-165891-c4eubi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240716/original/file-20181016-165891-c4eubi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240716/original/file-20181016-165891-c4eubi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240716/original/file-20181016-165891-c4eubi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The vine shade structure will be equivalent to 24 trees but will shelter the street in months rather than taking years to grow.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/dwo/201807/html/IDCJDW8014.201807.shtml">July 2018</a> in Darwin was <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/annual/aus/">2°C hotter than any previous July</a> and the <a href="https://www.news.com.au/national/northern-territory/darwin-records-hottest-august-on-record-according-to-weather-bureau/news-story/87a16f3ad1579b216465ec34b0f3656b">record heat</a> has <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/month/nt/archive/201809.summary.shtml">continued</a> in recent months. <a href="https://dcm.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/488138/Population-Research-Report-Summary-final.pdf">Surveys show</a> that people are leaving Darwin because of the heat.</p>
<h2>What has gone wrong?</h2>
<p>In the city centre, every second shop is closed and dark. Shops, offices and apartments have a 50% vacancy rate. There is no appreciation of the urban history of the decline: the growth of outer urban shopping malls, the closing of Woolworths in Knuckey Street in 2010; the changing in 2012 of the key Smith Street Mall – removing trees, installing canopies and dark pavement, and thus increasing temperatures. </p>
<p>The decline has not happened overnight but has been accelerated by the completion of a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2018-10-02/inpex-first-shipment-of-condensate-from-ichthys-field/10329774">vast LNG project</a>, by new shopping malls and chain stores, and by the impact of internet shopping. The Waterfront (mixed uses with a crocodile-safe “<a href="https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/plage">plage</a>”) finished in 2013 is subsidised at a cost of millions every year. It is cut off from the city centre. </p>
<p>Traffic is reducing while more roads are being built. Darwin is over-roaded with roundabouts, pedestrian “seagull” median islands and refuges. </p>
<p>I have calculated that over 35% of the city centre is unshaded blacktop bitumen, which lifts ambient and surface temperatures. There is only 14% green canopy compared to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/singapore-greenest-city/index.html">nearly 50%</a> in <a href="https://www.nparks.gov.sg/trees">tree-loving Singapore</a>.</p>
<p>Every day the temperature rises above 30°C. The city centre can be up to 6°C hotter. The bitumen surfaces reach temperatures of 66°C! </p>
<h2>What can be done about this?</h2>
<p>Professor Mat Santamouris of UNSW and the Northern Territory government has been studying heat in central Darwin for the past year using drones and 15 weather stations on light poles. Ambient heat, surface heat, humidity and wind have been mapped, eight heat islands (6°C above ambient) and four heat sinks (cool areas below ambient) have been identified for the northerly (The Wet) and southerly (The Dry) weather regimes.</p>
<p>A predictive computer model has been built to evaluate proposed strategies to reduce heat impacts. Santamouris has recommended across the city centre:</p>
<ul>
<li>fountains and pools (very effective up to 50m away)</li>
<li>white roofs, and green roofs and walls</li>
<li>coating streets, footpaths and surface parking to make “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_pavement">cool pavement</a>” (very effective)</li>
<li>increases in green canopy shade (effective in the right location).</li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241190/original/file-20181018-41147-1gxwlkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241190/original/file-20181018-41147-1gxwlkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241190/original/file-20181018-41147-1gxwlkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241190/original/file-20181018-41147-1gxwlkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241190/original/file-20181018-41147-1gxwlkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241190/original/file-20181018-41147-1gxwlkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241190/original/file-20181018-41147-1gxwlkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241190/original/file-20181018-41147-1gxwlkr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An extensive cooling vine-covered shade structure is being erected in Cavanagh Street.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Glenn Campbell</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The government is using one block of Cavenagh Street as a heat mitigation trial. The 30m-wide street is the hottest street in the city centre. Due to lack of shading, surface temperatures in the afternoon exceed 60°C. The street also acts as a breezeway, “ducting” to the inner blocks hot, dry winds in the dry season and hot, humid winds in the wet season. </p>
<p>Black bitumen surface will be treated with more reflective cool pavement coatings and more trees will be planted. At the southern end a long cooling vine shade structure I have designed (with the structural engineer Max Irvine) is being constructed. Equivalent to 24 trees, it completely spans the roadway with a huge curved stringybark lattice prefabricated by the Gumatj in northeast Arnhem Land. </p>
<p>This large living shade structure has advantages over trees. It can be built in four months, does not interrupt underground services and resists cyclones. The vines will cover the roadway in 18 months. Trees take five years. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240716/original/file-20181016-165891-c4eubi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240716/original/file-20181016-165891-c4eubi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240716/original/file-20181016-165891-c4eubi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240716/original/file-20181016-165891-c4eubi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240716/original/file-20181016-165891-c4eubi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240716/original/file-20181016-165891-c4eubi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240716/original/file-20181016-165891-c4eubi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240716/original/file-20181016-165891-c4eubi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The vine shade structure will be equivalent to 24 trees but will shelter the street in months rather than taking years to grow.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But Cavenagh Street is only one of 30 blocks in Darwin. If the proposed mitigation strategies were fully implemented across the city centre, ambient temperature could be reduced by 2.7°C. This would not only make the city more comfortable for commerce but save lives and energy.</p>
<h2>Principles for a cool Darwin</h2>
<p>Like most cities, there is no overall urban management and coordination at the street level. Darwin’s centre is formed by the NT Planning Scheme. But within the scheme, public servants can play by their own rules: Planning, Transport, Roads, the Waterfront Authority, the City of Darwin (the council) and PowerWater. The result: Darwin streets are series of accidents. </p>
<p>I propose these administrations be replaced in the city centre by a Cool Darwin Authority (small with highly qualified people, and with a Larrakia elder), to develop and implement, with genuine public dialogue and discourse (not so-called “consultation”), an urban design plan.</p>
<p>The first principle of this plan should be reducing the ambient temperature by 2.7°C. Heat stops walkability and wandering past shops. </p>
<p>This could be accompanied by a second principle – a “toolbox” for cool street design. This would including limiting bitumen area. </p>
<p>A “toolbox” for shop regeneration would be among other important principles. This would involve limits on chain stores, disincentives for landlord keeping shops empty, incentives for filling them (even with temporary uses) and support for historic businesses. Shop closure is contagious. Where shops are empty and streets deserted yoEmpty shops and deserted areas lead to graffiti, sleeping rough and dilapidation.</p>
<p>Streets are central to urban cooling. There is over 300,000m<sup>2</sup> of black unshaded bitumen. Shading and street canopies (that do not trap heat) should be ubiquitous. </p>
<p>The urban order and scale from the 1869 <a href="https://dtc.nt.gov.au/arts-and-museums/northern-territory-archives-service/stories-from-the-archives/surveying-darwin-and-the-northern-territory">Goyder Plan</a> have been lost, as has the central square that would give an urban focus. Cities with closely spaced intersections seem to thrive more than cities with bigger grids. It seems the more corners the better; people bump into each other more often. There is “propinquity”.</p>
<p>Darwin has worked hard over many years closing its arcades and cross streets (Peel, McLachlan and Lindsay). The centre needs more effective interconnection: the high town (the mall/State Square) and low town (Waterfront) with a grand flight of stairs; the mall/State Square to Old Hospital Site/Myilly Point with a cooling lineal park, via a new (old) central square. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240722/original/file-20181016-165903-1tdjxil.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240722/original/file-20181016-165903-1tdjxil.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240722/original/file-20181016-165903-1tdjxil.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=248&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240722/original/file-20181016-165903-1tdjxil.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=248&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240722/original/file-20181016-165903-1tdjxil.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=248&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240722/original/file-20181016-165903-1tdjxil.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240722/original/file-20181016-165903-1tdjxil.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240722/original/file-20181016-165903-1tdjxil.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=312&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A view of proposed waterfront stairs providing a shaded link between the high town and the low town.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Streets are the music of the city. The buildings are the lyrics. Both should come together as a musical or an opera. The music can only begin if there is a network of shade, greenery, easy walking and buildings of all types interacting with the street.</p>
<p>Requiem or renewal? Darwin sees itself as a laid-back larrikin city with crocs and barra. Renewal and a new character can emerge by the implementation of principles. We cannot wish for a new character. </p>
<p>What might emerge? Perhaps a cool-in-both-senses city: a cosmopolitan tropical capital with tree canopy, vine shade structures and fountains. Perhaps a cool international waterfront city – an eight-hour voyage by fast ferry from Indonesia. Perhaps the full urban recognition of the Larrakia, the saltwater people, and their places: beaches, fish traps, middens, yarning circles, meeting places and cultural centres.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102839/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lawrence Nield was affiliated with Northern Territory Government as the Government Architect from 2013 to May 2018. He did not renew his contract in 2018. He was responsible for developing the NTG approach to heat mitigation in Darwin. He worked in the Chief Minister's Department. He is a Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects</span></em></p>
Darwin’s climate is getting even hotter and it’s one of the main reasons people leave the city. A lot more can be done, though, to make our tropical cities safe, cool and enjoyable.
Lawrence Nield, Professor of Practice, School of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Newcastle
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/102657
2018-09-10T10:03:46Z
2018-09-10T10:03:46Z
Food security: vertical farming sounds fantastic until you consider its energy use
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235359/original/file-20180907-190639-1szz7qy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Intelligent Growth Solutions</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A company in Scotland has unveiled what it claims is arguably the world’s most <a href="https://www.intelligentgrowthsolutions.com/scottish-agritech-business-intelligent-growth-solutions-unveils-first-vertical-indoor-facility-to-revolutionise-global-horticulture-market/">technically advanced indoor farm</a>. Intelligent Growth Solutions’ vertical farm uses artificial intelligence and specially designed power and communication technologies. The firm says this reduces energy costs by 50% and labour costs by 80% when compared to other indoor growing environments, and can produce yields of up to 200% more than that of a traditional greenhouse.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/vertical-farms-offer-a-bright-future-for-hungry-cities-26934">Vertical farms</a> like this aim to minimise water use and maximise productivity by growing crops “hydroponically” in small amounts of nutrient-rich water stacked in a climate-controlled building. But it’s important to recognise that the increased productivity of indoor vertical farming comes at the cost of much higher energy usage due to the need for artificial lighting and climate control systems.</p>
<p>By 2050, global food production will need to increase <a href="https://www.fsnnetwork.org/resource-outlook-2050-how-much-do-land-water-and-crop-yields-need-increase-2050">by an estimated</a> 70% in developed countries and 100% in developing countries to match current trends in population growth (based on production information from 2005-2007). But in countries that already use the majority of their land for farming, this is easier said than done.</p>
<p>The UK, for example, uses <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/agriculture-in-the-united-kingdom-2017">72% of its landmass</a> for agricultural practices but imports <a href="https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/POST-PN-0556#fullreport">nearly half</a> of the food it consumes. To improve domestic food security and prevent natural habitats from being destroyed for new farmland, countries such as the UK need to consider new methods of food production.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235079/original/file-20180905-45158-150layb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235079/original/file-20180905-45158-150layb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235079/original/file-20180905-45158-150layb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235079/original/file-20180905-45158-150layb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235079/original/file-20180905-45158-150layb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235079/original/file-20180905-45158-150layb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235079/original/file-20180905-45158-150layb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Farms don’t need fields.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andrew Jenkins</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Urban farming presents a unique opportunity to grow food on already developed land, increase domestic food production and minimise the distance food travels. Since the publication of Dickson Despommier’s 2010 book <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Vertical_Farm.html?id=0DxTK0jW35sC&redir_esc=y">The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century</a>, vertical farming has become synonymous with urban farming. Although the agricultural skyscrapers illustrated in Despommier’s book are yet to be realised, the idea of growing food vertically has captured the minds of <a href="https://www.dezeen.com/2017/04/14/mashambas-conceptual-farm-tower-proposed-for-africa-wins-evolo-international-skyscraper-competition/">designers</a> and <a href="https://qz.com/295936/toshibas-high-tech-grow-rooms-are-churning-out-lettuce-that-never-needs-washing/">engineers</a> alike.</p>
<p>The energy demand associated with vertical farming, however, is much higher than other methods of food production. For example, lettuces grown in traditionally heated greenhouses in the UK need <a href="http://sciencesearch.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Menu=Menu&Module=More&Location=None&Completed=0&ProjectID=14497">an estimated</a> 250kWh of energy a year for every square metre of growing area. In comparison, lettuces grown in a purpose built vertical farm need <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321427717_Vertical_Farm_20_Designing_an_Economically_Feasible_Vertical_Farm_-_A_combined_European_Endeavor_for_Sustainable_Urban_Agriculture">an estimated</a> 3,500kWh a year for each square metre of growing area. Notably, 98% of this energy use is due to artificial lighting and climate control.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235237/original/file-20180906-190668-1gyai3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235237/original/file-20180906-190668-1gyai3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235237/original/file-20180906-190668-1gyai3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235237/original/file-20180906-190668-1gyai3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235237/original/file-20180906-190668-1gyai3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235237/original/file-20180906-190668-1gyai3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235237/original/file-20180906-190668-1gyai3z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rooftop farm in Salford, UK.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andrew Jenkins</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Even with the reductions promised by Intelligent Growth Solutions, the energy demand associated with most vertical farms would still be very high, which positions vertical farming in a grey area. On the one hand, the world needs to produce more food, and on the other hand, it needs to reduce energy use and the production of greenhouse gases. </p>
<h2>Urban alternatives</h2>
<p>But indoor vertical farming isn’t the only way to grow food in cities. A plethora of naturally lit methods also exist, from raised beds in communal gardens to rooftop <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-sustainable-vegetables-that-thrive-on-a-diet-of-fish-poo-50160">aquaponic systems</a> that grow food with the help of fish. These methods all require less energy when compared to vertical farming because they don’t need artificial lighting. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235239/original/file-20180906-190668-ova20o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235239/original/file-20180906-190668-ova20o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235239/original/file-20180906-190668-ova20o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235239/original/file-20180906-190668-ova20o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235239/original/file-20180906-190668-ova20o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235239/original/file-20180906-190668-ova20o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235239/original/file-20180906-190668-ova20o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Naturally lit aquaponic farm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andrew Jenkins</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When viewing cities from above, it is clear to see just how many flat roofs are left vacant and the agricultural opportunities they represent. In the city of Manchester in the UK, unoccupied flat roofs account for an area of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311698197_Planning_urban_food_production_into_to%20day's_cities">136 hectares</a>, representing one third of the city’s inner urban area.</p>
<p><a href="http://gothamgreens.com/">Gotham Greens</a> in New York and <a href="https://montreal.lufa.com/en/">Lufa Farms</a> in Montreal, for example, are both commercial farms that use vacant roof space to grow food in naturally lit hydroponic greenhouses. Given the success of such projects and the area of roof space available, it seems strange that so many companies would skip ahead to methods of food production that still need a lot of costly development, as well as more energy to operate. Although they can’t grow as much food, rooftop greenhouses need at least <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321427717_Vertical_Farm_20_Designing_an_Economically_Feasible_Vertical_Farm_-_A_combined_European_Endeavor_for_Sustainable_Urban_Agriculture">70% less</a> energy for each square metre of growing area than artificially lit vertical farms.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235236/original/file-20180906-190659-9374tf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235236/original/file-20180906-190659-9374tf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235236/original/file-20180906-190659-9374tf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235236/original/file-20180906-190659-9374tf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235236/original/file-20180906-190659-9374tf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235236/original/file-20180906-190659-9374tf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235236/original/file-20180906-190659-9374tf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lufa Farms rooftop greenhouse.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lufa_Farms_Montreal_rooftop_greenhouse.jpg">Fadi Hage/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Having designed and built a rooftop aquaponic system myself in an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/jul/08/manchester-international-festival-urban-farm">ex-industrial building in Salford in the UK</a>, I am surprised that more companies are not considering and maximising the opportunities presented by naturally-lit urban environments. If nothing else, I believe we should be exploring the potential of naturally lit environments before we delve into dimly lit buildings where special technologies, artificial lighting and air handling units are needed to produce food.</p>
<p>There is little question that vertical farms will play a big role in urban farming and agriculture in the future. But when considering any method of food production, we need to understand the impact and energy use of the practice to ensure it is a sustainable and comprehensive response to global food demands. Vertical farming currently requires a lot of energy, which will hopefully decrease over time as companies like Intelligent Growth Solutions make technical advances. But for the time being, the practice of vertical farming is still a long way from being a sustainable method of agriculture.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102657/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Jenkins does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Vertical farms grow more food but use much more energy, so let’s consider other kinds of urban agriculture.
Andrew Jenkins, Research Fellow, School of Natural and Built Environment, Queen's University Belfast
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/98632
2018-07-01T20:06:15Z
2018-07-01T20:06:15Z
Smart city planning can preserve old trees and the wildlife that needs them
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225439/original/file-20180629-117377-112lzty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mature trees have horizontal branches that are attractive to wildlife and birds.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia’s landscapes are dotted with mature eucalypts that were standing well before Captain Cook sailed into Botany Bay. These old trees were once revered as an icon of the unique Australian landscape, but they’re <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0099403">rapidly becoming collateral damage</a> from population growth. Mature eucalypts are routinely removed to make way for new suburbs. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224873/original/file-20180626-112604-f000n7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224873/original/file-20180626-112604-f000n7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=192&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224873/original/file-20180626-112604-f000n7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=192&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224873/original/file-20180626-112604-f000n7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=192&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224873/original/file-20180626-112604-f000n7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=241&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224873/original/file-20180626-112604-f000n7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=241&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224873/original/file-20180626-112604-f000n7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=241&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Good planning can ensure many more mature eucalypts are retained in urban developments.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Philip Gibbons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This has a considerable impact on our native fauna. Unless society is prepared to recognise the value of our pre-European eucalypts, urban growth will continue to irrevocably change our unique Australian landscape and the wildlife it supports.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/trees-are-a-citys-air-conditioners-so-why-are-we-pulling-them-out-21890">Trees are a city's air conditioners, so why are we pulling them out?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why are old eucalypts worth saving?</h2>
<p>In urban landscapes, many consider large and old eucalypts a dangerous nuisance that drop limbs, crack footpaths and occupy space that could be used for housing. But when we remove these trees they are effectively lost forever. It takes at least <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/book/3010/">100-200 years</a> before a eucalypt reaches ecological maturity. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224870/original/file-20180626-112604-1lg07d7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224870/original/file-20180626-112604-1lg07d7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224870/original/file-20180626-112604-1lg07d7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224870/original/file-20180626-112604-1lg07d7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224870/original/file-20180626-112604-1lg07d7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224870/original/file-20180626-112604-1lg07d7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224870/original/file-20180626-112604-1lg07d7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Birds use old eucalypts as places to perch or nest.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Philip Gibbons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As trees mature, their branches become large and begin to grow horizontally rather than vertically, which is more attractive to many birds as perches and platforms where they can construct a nest.</p>
<p>Wildlife also use cavities inside ageing eucalypts. These are formed as the heartwood – the dead wood in the centre – decays. When a limb breaks it exposes cavities where the heartwood once occurred. </p>
<p>This is such a ubiquitous process in our forests that around <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/book/3010/">300 of Australia’s vertebrate species</a>, such as possums, owls, ducks, parrots and bats, have evolved to use these cavities as exclusive places to roost or nest.</p>
<p>Mature trees also support high concentrations of food for animals that feed on nectar, such as honeyeaters, or seed, such as parrots.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/concrete-jungle-well-have-to-do-more-than-plant-trees-to-bring-wildlife-back-to-our-cities-51047">Concrete jungle? We'll have to do more than plant trees to bring wildlife back to our cities</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1755-263X.2011.00216.x">One study</a> found that the number of native birds in an urban park or open space declines by half with the loss of every five mature eucalypts.</p>
<h2>How can we keep old trees?</h2>
<p>Decaying heartwood in older eucalypts leads to some large branches falling. This is when most eucalypts are removed from urban areas. So we remove trees at the exact point in time when they become more attractive to wildlife.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224868/original/file-20180626-112634-j0si21.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224868/original/file-20180626-112634-j0si21.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224868/original/file-20180626-112634-j0si21.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224868/original/file-20180626-112634-j0si21.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224868/original/file-20180626-112634-j0si21.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224868/original/file-20180626-112634-j0si21.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224868/original/file-20180626-112634-j0si21.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Plantings around the base of a mature eucalypt discourage pedestrian traffic or parked cars.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Philip Gibbons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A well-trained arborist knows that old — or even dead — eucalypts don’t need to be removed to make them safe. A tree is only dangerous if it has what arborists call a target. Unless there is a path, road or structure under a tree, then the probability of something or someone being struck by a falling branch is often below the <a href="http://unri.org/ECO%20697U%20S14/quantified_tree_risk_assessment-_ellison.pdf">threshold of acceptable risk</a>.</p>
<p>Progressive arborists first focus on eliminating targets. For example, they might plant shrubs around the base of dead or rapidly ageing trees to minimise pedestrian traffic, rather than eliminating trees.</p>
<p>Where targets can’t be managed, trimming trees can remove branches that have a high risk of falling. Trees can also be structurally supported (braced) to remain stable. Such trees remain suitable as habitat for many native species.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225442/original/file-20180629-117371-k61l05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225442/original/file-20180629-117371-k61l05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225442/original/file-20180629-117371-k61l05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=898&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225442/original/file-20180629-117371-k61l05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=898&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225442/original/file-20180629-117371-k61l05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=898&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225442/original/file-20180629-117371-k61l05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1129&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225442/original/file-20180629-117371-k61l05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1129&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/225442/original/file-20180629-117371-k61l05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1129&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Developers can plan around old trees.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How to design around trees</h2>
<p>The removal of mature eucalypts is, in part, due to urban developers not considering these trees early in the planning process.</p>
<p>I have worked with one <a href="https://ginninderry.com/not-just-tree-home/">developer</a> on the outskirts of Canberra to identify important trees. The developer then planned around, rather than in spite of, these trees.</p>
<p>The outcome has been <a href="https://ginninderry.com/not-just-tree-home/">around 80%</a> of mature trees have been retained. This is much greater than the proportion of mature trees retained in other new urban developments in Canberra.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/trees-versus-light-rail-we-need-to-rethink-skewed-urban-planning-values-57206">Trees versus light rail: we need to rethink skewed urban planning values</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Australia’s population is <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/3222.0main+features52012%20(base)%20to%202101">projected to double in 50 years</a>, so our suburbs will continue to infill and expand. This will result in the continued loss of our mature eucalypts unless our approach to planning changes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98632/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philip Gibbons receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Government of the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales Government and Riverview Projects Pty Ltd.</span></em></p>
The ecological value of old trees is irreplaceable for native Australian fauna. Identifying and preserving these trees in cities through smarter planning strategies is important for local wildlife.
Philip Gibbons, Associate professor, Australian National University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/96639
2018-06-25T19:56:42Z
2018-06-25T19:56:42Z
Working with nature can help us build greener cities instead of urban slums
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224354/original/file-20180622-26558-1aykrte.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Garden roofs (like these in Chengdu, in China's Sichuan province) need maintenance and community involvement.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As Australian cities grow and transform, we need to ensure we are not building the slums of the future by making buildings so tall and tight they turn our streets into stark canyons. Sydney’s Wolli Creek, where <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/more-than-just-the-end-of-a-train-line-wolli-creek-emerges-as-one-of-sydneys-densest-areas-20170220-gucqgq">buildings dominate</a> and tower over a transport hub, is an example of where this is happening. It is now considered one of the city’s densest areas.</p>
<p>Dense, high buildings limit the space available for urban greenery and, unfortunately, the current development boom privileges concrete and glass over vegetation. A more strategic approach to urban growth can ensure our cities maintain adequate green space and become low-carbon, efficient and affordable.</p>
<p>It’s also vital the community and individuals are enthusiastic drivers of such change, with shared ownership of it. Imaginative projects – at times described as <a href="http://helsinkiacupuncture.blogspot.com.au/">urban acupuncture</a> – can all play a role. This is where small-scale interventions (like green balconies) are applied to transform the larger urban context, improve the environment and make the city liveable.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/higher-density-cities-need-greening-to-stay-healthy-and-liveable-75840">Higher-density cities need greening to stay healthy and liveable</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Going up or out</h2>
<p>Whether you go <em>up</em> (higher) or <em>out</em> (more), or both, there are always challenges and opportunities.</p>
<p>The drawback in going <em>out</em> is that we start creeping into our remaining open space, including important biodiversity hotspots. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224356/original/file-20180622-26573-itnp2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224356/original/file-20180622-26573-itnp2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224356/original/file-20180622-26573-itnp2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224356/original/file-20180622-26573-itnp2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224356/original/file-20180622-26573-itnp2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224356/original/file-20180622-26573-itnp2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224356/original/file-20180622-26573-itnp2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224356/original/file-20180622-26573-itnp2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sydney’s Wolli Creek is considered one of the city’s densest areas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Going out can also encroach on agricultural land. Farmers around the Sydney basin produced up <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sydneys-vegetable-basin-losing-ground-to-urban-sprawl-20160205-gmmg1v.html">to 20% of the area’s fresh food needs</a> in 2011. But researchers have predicted urban sprawl and rising land prices will lead this to drop to 6% by 2031, losing both produce and jobs. </p>
<p>Going <em>up</em> is an approach driven by proximity to transport, utilities and employment, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne. Major upward developments, like Wolli Creek, are logically being located around transport nodes. But these then become dense and concentrated areas, putting growing pressure on open space and community facilities. </p>
<h2>Community projects</h2>
<p>Community consultation is key before any major project and redevelopment, as genuine dialogue supports shared ownership of the outcomes. Existing community projects must be celebrated. Having an <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-and-wellbeing-a-guide-to-community-centred-approaches">engaged and empowered community</a> leads to a healthier, happier population.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-garden-five-creative-ways-city-dwellers-can-still-grow-their-own-46311">No garden? Five creative ways city dwellers can still grow their own</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In Sydney, new precincts like <a href="http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/Waterloo">Waterloo</a> are ambitious and have good intentions. These areas aim to deliver new homes, shops, major transport services, community facilities, parks and open spaces over the next 20 years – and they’re located close to the urban centre.</p>
<p>Waterloo already has <a href="https://www.dosomethingnearyou.com.au/2017/organisation/waterloo-community-gardens-661008">three community gardens</a>, which bring together public housing residents through growing and sharing fresh produce. This approach is important to continue and initiate new projects.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224365/original/file-20180622-26570-1sxnnsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224365/original/file-20180622-26570-1sxnnsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224365/original/file-20180622-26570-1sxnnsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224365/original/file-20180622-26570-1sxnnsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224365/original/file-20180622-26570-1sxnnsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224365/original/file-20180622-26570-1sxnnsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224365/original/file-20180622-26570-1sxnnsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224365/original/file-20180622-26570-1sxnnsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Green roofs can become community gardens.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Around the world there have also been successes with <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2013/10/five-different-examples-of-urban-agriculture-from-around-the-world/">city farming</a> where the community grows and sells agricultural produce locally. In skyscraper Singapore, they are farming vertically at <a href="http://skygreens.appsfly.com/">Sky Greens</a>, providing an alternative to importing food for this densely peopled city-state.</p>
<p>Green roofs are another alternative where communities can grow flowers and vegetables while providing training and jobs. A good example is the <a href="https://www.uncommonground.com/roof-top-farm">Uncommon Ground</a> rooftop farm in Chicago.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-cities-are-lagging-behind-in-greening-up-their-buildings-97088">Australian cities are lagging behind in greening up their buildings</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In Australia, the <a href="https://thegrounds.com.au/">Grounds</a> is a former pie factory in the industrial heart of Sydney’s Alexandria. In 2012, the site began to metamorphose into a cafe, restaurant, bakery, organic mini-farm and more. This is a successful example of how a little greenery has turned a bleak post-industrial site into an enjoyable destination, where young and old from far and wide come to enjoy the plants, animals and coffee. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224366/original/file-20180622-26555-h2khyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224366/original/file-20180622-26555-h2khyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224366/original/file-20180622-26555-h2khyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224366/original/file-20180622-26555-h2khyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224366/original/file-20180622-26555-h2khyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224366/original/file-20180622-26555-h2khyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224366/original/file-20180622-26555-h2khyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224366/original/file-20180622-26555-h2khyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Grounds in Sydney’s Alexandria was transformed from an industrial site into an enjoyable destination.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/herry/30840859105/in/photolist-NRxd8e-NP1nUy-NZireD-NP1pww-NRxbtT-NP1krC-NZisW6-NRx6M8-HcgmPW-HchYBf-NRx7jF-NP1p3q-NP1pAQ-NW4C53-NZiqec-NP1jkj">Herry Lawford/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A domestic garden, a green balcony or a green wall can all play a role – but these need ongoing care and attention, which means individuals and engaged communities must drive the enthusiasm.</p>
<h2>Nature in the city</h2>
<p>So, for a start, let’s not build fast and furiously without grasping the place as a whole and making the most of what is already there. This means preserving mature trees and shrubs, leaving open space unpaved and protecting areas of deep soil for future planting. </p>
<p>Maintaining, enhancing and creating urban green space not only fulfils the requirements for urban acupuncture, but – to mix medical metaphors – provides a kind of urban vaccination against the emergence of slums, where nothing can grow and depression sets in. </p>
<p>We can combine building development with what Stefan Boeri Architects have described as “<a href="https://www.stefanoboeriarchitetti.net/en/project/vertical-forest/">vertical densification of nature within the city</a>” to achieve a new kind of urban nature – nature <em>in</em> the city to transform the nature <em>of</em> the city.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96639/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Osmond receives funding from the Cooperative Research Centre for Low Carbon Living, where he is a project lead on microclimates.</span></em></p>
Dense, high buildings limit the space available for urban greenery. But imaginative projects that involve the community can ensure nature and the city go hand in hand.
Paul Osmond, Senior Lecturer and Director, Sustainable Built Environment program, UNSW Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/97088
2018-06-24T19:51:06Z
2018-06-24T19:51:06Z
Australian cities are lagging behind in greening up their buildings
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223983/original/file-20180620-137734-1d98wbz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Green rooftops give a backyard feel to smaller housing units in Sydney </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author Provided </span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Covering roofs and walls of buildings with vegetation is a good way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. And these green roofs and walls make cities look nicer. Toronto’s central business district <a href="https://web.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/8f15-Report-on-the-Environmental-Benefits-and-Costs-of-Green-Roof-Technology-for-the-City-of-Toronto-Chapter-2.pdf">adopted a policy</a> of establishing green roofs on around half of all city buildings in 2009. Research shows this could reduce maximum city temperatures by up to 5°C. </p>
<p>We spent the past 12 months analysing the case for more greenery on Australian city buildings, drawing on international comparisons. We’ve shown that a mandatory policy, coupled with incentives to encourage new and retrofitted green roofs and walls, will provide environmental, social and business benefits. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/green-roofs-and-walls-a-growth-area-in-urban-design-23911">Green roofs and walls – a growth area in urban design</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>These include improved air quality, energy conservation and <a href="http://www.rics.org/uk/knowledge/research/research-reports/sustainable-urban-drainage/">reductions in stormwater run-off</a> from buildings, which would decrease flash flooding. Green roofs and walls also become new habitats for biodiversity and can be <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314527276_THE_IMPACT_OF_HORTICULTURE_THERAPY_ON_MENTAL_HEALTH_CARE_CONSUMERS_ON_A_RETROFITTED_ROOF">pleasant spaces</a> for social interaction in dense urban areas.</p>
<p>We found numerous <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132306001752">studies</a> confirming that greenery on inner-city buildings reduces the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-06/documents/basicscompendium.pdf">urban heat island</a> effect, which is when city centres are hotter than surrounding suburban and outer-urban areas.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223984/original/file-20180620-137746-jb859j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223984/original/file-20180620-137746-jb859j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223984/original/file-20180620-137746-jb859j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223984/original/file-20180620-137746-jb859j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223984/original/file-20180620-137746-jb859j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223984/original/file-20180620-137746-jb859j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223984/original/file-20180620-137746-jb859j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Green roofs are great social spaces.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What other countries are doing</h2>
<p>We <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325734547_Expanding_The_Living_Architecture_in_Australia_Project_Expanding_The_Living_Architecture_in_Australia_GC15001">examined international case studies</a> of cities embracing green roofs and walls to review policy frameworks which could be suitable for Australia. A range of measures and policies exist and vary depending on building types (buildings need specific features to host vegetation) and the degree to which policies can be enforced.</p>
<p>Singapore is leading in this area. It <a href="http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/a7fac49f-9c96-4030-8709-ce160c58d15c">markets itself</a> as a “garden city” to attract investment, visitors and commerce. Green roofs and walls are a vital and visual manifestation of this policy. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223985/original/file-20180620-137720-o4cmgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223985/original/file-20180620-137720-o4cmgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223985/original/file-20180620-137720-o4cmgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223985/original/file-20180620-137720-o4cmgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223985/original/file-20180620-137720-o4cmgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223985/original/file-20180620-137720-o4cmgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223985/original/file-20180620-137720-o4cmgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Green walls are aesthetically pleasing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Greenery is ingrained in Singapore’s development sector and is boosted by incentives, grants, awards, certification schemes and government-led development. Through this voluntary-heavy (yet supported) effort, Singapore increased its number of green roofs and spaces nine-fold between 2006 and 2016.</p>
<p>Rotterdam’s efforts weren’t as extensive as Singapore’s, but the city more than doubled its green roof area from 2012-2017 through incentives, grants, tax benefits and demonstration projects.</p>
<p>London increased its total green-roof area more than four-fold from 2005-2016. This was partially achieved through a <a href="https://www.lbhf.gov.uk/sites/default/files/section_attachments/city_of_london_2016-2020.pdf">biodiversity action plan</a>.</p>
<p>And Toronto has the second-largest area of green roofs of the four cities we studied. This has been delivered through a <a href="https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/planning-development/official-plan-guidelines/green-roofs/green-roof-bylaw/">mandatory policy</a>, introduced in 2009, that requires all new developments with roofs of 2,000m² or more to install green roofs. </p>
<h2>The case in Australia</h2>
<p>We modelled what could be delivered in the City of Sydney and the City of Melbourne based on the measures taken in Singapore (which is voluntary-heavy), London (voluntary-light), Rotterdam (voluntary-medium) and Toronto (mandatory). </p>
<p>We combined this with data on actual green building projects in 2017 in Sydney and Melbourne to show the potential increase of projects in each city based on the four policies. </p>
<p>In the Sydney local government area, 123 green roof and wall projects were under way in 2016. The below table uses this base to estimate what the numbers of such projects would be for three time periods, based on the policies in the four scenarios modelled.</p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/7ff2z/3/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" width="100%" height="357"></iframe>
<p>In the Melbourne local government area, 28 green roof and wall projects were under way in 2016. The table below shows how these could increase based on policies of the four case studies modelled.</p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/s2Efy/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" width="100%" height="357"></iframe>
<h2>How Australia can get on board</h2>
<p>Sydney and Melbourne have green roof and green wall policies aligned with their 2030 and 2040 sustainability targets, launched in 2012 and 2015 respectively. Sydney has the <a href="https://greenroofsaustralasia.com.au/sites/default/files/sponsors/files/CoS_Green-Roofs-and-Walls-Policy-Implementation-Plan-Adopted_0.pdf">Green Roofs and Walls Policy Implementation Plan</a>, while Melbourne has the <a href="http://www.growinggreenguide.org/">Growing Green Guide 2014</a>. </p>
<p>These policies appear most aligned with the voluntary-light approach adopted in London. Sydney had a 23% increase in green roofs since its policy launch, although this was from a very low starting point. Melbourne also reports an increase in green roofs and walls, though the amount of uptake isn’t publicly available.</p>
<p>There are, of course, barriers to greening up buildings. These include costs as well as lack of experience in the industry, especially in terms of construction and management. Professional capacity for green roofs is still in a developing phase and further training and skill development are needed. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224163/original/file-20180621-137750-i347f7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224163/original/file-20180621-137750-i347f7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224163/original/file-20180621-137750-i347f7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224163/original/file-20180621-137750-i347f7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224163/original/file-20180621-137750-i347f7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224163/original/file-20180621-137750-i347f7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224163/original/file-20180621-137750-i347f7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Green wall adds vegetation to an aged care home in Sydney.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Around 87% of the building stock Australia will have in 2050 is already here, and a large <a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-gb/Retrofitting+Cities+for+Tomorrow%27s+World-p-9781119007210">proportion of existing buildings</a> could be retrofitted. We recommend a voluntary approach using a mix of initiatives for building owners, such as tax benefits and credits in green building tools.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-planners-understand-its-cool-to-green-cities-whats-stopping-them-55753">If planners understand it's cool to green cities, what's stopping them?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Focusing on new buildings is likely to lead to more modest growth rates in the short to medium term, relative to alternative approaches such as retrofitting. The annual growth rate of new stock is around 1-3%, which means that policies focusing on new stock will have a substantial impact over the long term. </p>
<p>However, in the short to medium term, a retrofit policy would have greater impact given the numbers of existing buildings suitable for this. </p>
<p>Local government areas can also promote the evidence showing the lift in <a href="https://www.aecom.com/content/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Green-Infrastructure-vital-step-brilliant-Australian-cities.pdf">property values</a> in areas with more green infrastructure – in some instances up to 15%. This should encourage voluntary uptake.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97088/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sara Wilkinson receives funding from Horitculture Innovation Australia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Brown received funding from Horticulture Innovation Australia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sumita Ghosh received funding from Horticulture Innovation Australia. She works for University of Technology Sydney. </span></em></p>
Research shows if Australia encourages greenery on buildings, it will reduce temperatures in the city, as well as potential for flash flooding. It also creates new habitats and socialising spaces.
Sara Wilkinson, Associate Professor, School of the Built Environment, University of Technology Sydney
Paul J Brown, Senior Lecturer – Creative Intelligence | Faculty of Transdisciplinary Innovation & Senior Lecturer – Accounting | UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney
Sumita Ghosh, Senior Lecturer, School of the Built Environment, University of Technology Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/93843
2018-03-26T03:54:40Z
2018-03-26T03:54:40Z
Future ‘ocean cities’ need green engineering above and below the waterline
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211905/original/file-20180326-85363-1uyla74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Artificial islands can cause huge environmental issues for coastlines. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://cgpvforestcity.wordpress.com/photo-gallery/">The Forest City Project</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Population growth has seen skylines creep ever higher and entire cities rise from ocean depths. The latest “ocean city” is the Chinese-developed <a href="https://cgpvforestcity.wordpress.com/category/press-release/">Forest City</a> project. By 2045, four artificial islands in Malaysia will cover 14km² of ocean (an area larger than 10,000 Olympic swimming pools), and support 700,000 residents. </p>
<p>Often overlooked, however, is the damage that artificial islands can cause to vital seafloor ecosystems. But it doesn’t have to be this way. If proper planning and science are integrated, we can develop the design strategies that will help build the “blue-green” ocean cities of tomorrow.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/concrete-coastlines-its-time-to-tackle-our-marine-urban-sprawl-38175">Concrete coastlines: it's time to tackle our marine 'urban sprawl'</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Colonising the ocean frontier</h2>
<p>Ever growing numbers of human-made structures are <a href="https://theconversation.com/concrete-coastlines-its-time-to-tackle-our-marine-urban-sprawl-38175">occupying our oceans</a>. Cities built on artificial islands in the ocean are providing a solution for urban planners trying to manage the population squeeze. </p>
<p>And yet, so-called “<a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1890/110246?af=R">ocean sprawl</a>” dates as far back as <a href="http://www1.frm.utn.edu.ar/laboratorio_hidraulica/Biblioteca_Virtual/Coastal%20Engineering%20Manual%20-%20Part%20I/Part_I-Chap_3entire.pdf">Ancient Egypt</a>. Over the past few centuries, artificial islands have been built through land reclamation. Land reclamation is the process of creating new land from existing water bodies.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211671/original/file-20180323-54878-1a6j7pa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211671/original/file-20180323-54878-1a6j7pa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211671/original/file-20180323-54878-1a6j7pa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211671/original/file-20180323-54878-1a6j7pa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211671/original/file-20180323-54878-1a6j7pa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211671/original/file-20180323-54878-1a6j7pa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211671/original/file-20180323-54878-1a6j7pa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Atlantis, The Palm Hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates is built on an entirely artificial island.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Netherlands, for instance, has been draining lakes and expanding its coastline to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ird.340">fight the advance of the sea</a> since the 1500s. The Dutch actually built one of the first and largest artificial islands, which is <a href="https://www.tourism-review.com/travel-tourism-magazine-flevoland-worlds-largest-artificial-island--article2372">now home to some 400,000 people</a>. Japan’s third-busiest airport, the <a href="https://www.kansai-airport.or.jp/en/">Kansai International Airport</a>, was built on an artificial island in 1994. China has also been building into the oceans, reclaiming <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0964569114000696">more than 13,000km² of seafloor</a> and an estimated <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1890/130260">65% of tidal habitat</a> since the 1950s.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211672/original/file-20180323-54881-j4i3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211672/original/file-20180323-54881-j4i3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211672/original/file-20180323-54881-j4i3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211672/original/file-20180323-54881-j4i3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211672/original/file-20180323-54881-j4i3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211672/original/file-20180323-54881-j4i3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211672/original/file-20180323-54881-j4i3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The artificial Eden Island in Mahe, Seychelles.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Using Google maps, we were able to identify more than 450 artificial islands around the world, including the famous Palm Islands of Dubai. These are often celebrated as <a href="https://www.iveyengineering.com/modern-engineering-marvels/">engineering marvels</a>, but at what cost to the marine environment?</p>
<h2>We can’t ignore what lies beneath</h2>
<p>Marine habitats have always been essential for human life in coastal regions. They provide food, building and crafting materials, and less-known services such as <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1890/10-1510.1">coastal protection, nutrient cycling and pollution filtration</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211673/original/file-20180323-54884-1t8t6ao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211673/original/file-20180323-54884-1t8t6ao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211673/original/file-20180323-54884-1t8t6ao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211673/original/file-20180323-54884-1t8t6ao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211673/original/file-20180323-54884-1t8t6ao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211673/original/file-20180323-54884-1t8t6ao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211673/original/file-20180323-54884-1t8t6ao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of the World Map islands in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The creation of artificial islands causes <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022098117300606">large changes to the seabed</a> by permanently smothering local habitats. In many parts of the world, existing habitats provide the foundation for artificial island construction. For instance, artificial islands in the tropics are often built directly on top of coral reefs. This leads to considerable destruction of already threatened ecosystems. </p>
<p>Land reclamation also impacts nearby habitats that are particularly sensitive to murky waters, such as coral reefs and seagrass beds. In Singapore, land reclamation is associated with <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/L_Chou/publication/285088156_Response_of_Singapore_reefs_to_land_reclamation/links/569c63b008aea1476954792e.pdf">coral reef decline due to sedimentation and resulting light reductions</a>. Singapore has lost <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096456911400355X">nearly 45% of the country’s intertidal reef flats and almost 40% of intertidal mudflats</a>.</p>
<p>When the ecological, economic, and social value of marine habitats are considered, artificial islands and ocean sprawl seem to be indulgences that we cannot afford. The effects would be akin to the suburban sprawl of the 20th century. To avoid this cost, we need to address the complexities of the underwater world in urban planning and development.</p>
<h2>“Blue urbanism”</h2>
<p>In his book <a href="http://blueurbanism.org/blue-urbanism-cities-and-oceans-together/">Blue Urbanism</a>, Timothy Beatley calls for urban planners to consider and value ocean ecosystems. He argues that we need to recognise the <a href="http://bigthink.com/articles/need-a-nature-break-why-blue-is-the-new-green-for-stress-relief">psychological value of human connections to blue space</a>, and extend green practices on land into marine environments. While some artificial island developments such as the Forest City project are touted as “eco-cities”, more could be done both to minimise impacts below the waterline and integrate underwater environments into city life. </p>
<p>Why not combine a “Forest City” with the principles of a “<a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-sponge-cities-aim-to-re-use-70-of-rainwater-heres-how-83327">Sponge City</a>”? While native plantings in a forest city could help to reduce air pollution, sponge cities seek to “absorb” and reuse rainwater, thus reducing pollution entering the oceans through <a href="https://theconversation.com/massive-storms-are-pumping-pollution-into-our-oceans-time-to-clean-up-our-cities-60551">stormwater runoff</a>. Around artificial islands, developers could also embrace the <a href="https://www.scapestudio.com/projects/oyster-tecture/">water filtration powerhouse</a> of the oceans: active oyster reefs. </p>
<p>The location of future constructions should also be carefully evaluated to ensure the preservation of important marine habitats. Artificial islands have the potential to create <a href="https://theconversation.com/our-oceans-are-out-of-balance-can-we-learn-some-tips-from-feng-shui-64975">fragmented seascapes</a>, but with careful spatial planning and smart designs, they could create corridors for some <a href="https://mashable.com/2015/06/01/global-warming-huge-oceans-shift/#66PBDFJxyuq4">climate migrants</a> or those threatened species most at risk from habitat loss.</p>
<p>Designs based on ecological principles can reduce the impacts of artificial islands on natural habitats. However, applications of “blue-green” infrastructure remain largely untested at large scales. New designs, building strategies and spatial planning that integrate seascapes and landscapes are an opportunity for both “smarter” cities and experimentation for the development of successful blue-green technologies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93843/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katherine Dafforn receives funding from the Australian Research Council. She is affiliated with the Sydney Institute of Marine Science. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ana Bugnot receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eliza Heery receives funding from the US National Science Foundation and the Singapore National Research Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mariana Mayer-Pinto receives funding from ARC. She is affiliated with Sydney Institute of Marine Science.</span></em></p>
Artificial islands that are now mushrooming across the ocean are regarded as ‘engineering marvels’. But, little attention is paid to how these human-made structures affect sea life.
Katherine Dafforn, Senior Research Associate in Marine Ecology, UNSW Sydney
Ana Bugnot, Research Associate, UNSW Sydney
Eliza Heery, Research Fellow in Marine Ecology, National University of Singapore
Mariana Mayer-Pinto, Senior Research Associate in marine ecology, UNSW Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/82375
2017-09-03T20:07:43Z
2017-09-03T20:07:43Z
This is why we cannot rely on cities alone to tackle climate change
<p>A lot of faith is vested in cities to tackle climate change, and with good reason. A day after the June 1 declaration that the US would exit the Paris Agreement, 82 American “climate mayors” committed to upholding the accord.</p>
<p>By August 4, when the US gave <a href="https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2017/08/273050.htm">formal notice</a> of its withdrawal, there were <a href="https://medium.com/@ClimateMayors/climate-mayors-commit-to-adopt-honor-and-uphold-paris-climate-agreement-goals-ba566e260097">372 “climate mayors”</a> representing 67 million Americans. </p>
<p>In Australia, too, national intransigence has led to greater expectations of local actions. The Climate Council’s <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/cpp-report">July report</a> declares that deep cuts in cities’ greenhouse gas emissions can achieve 70% of Australia’s Paris goals. </p>
<p>The report notes that a majority of Australian cities have adopted climate policies. Many are committed to 100% renewable energy or zero emissions. One of the report’s authors <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-the-absence-of-national-leadership-cities-are-driving-climate-policy-81108">argues</a> that, even without national leadership, Australian cities can “just get on with the job of implementing climate policies”.</p>
<p>Many European cities have ambitious emission-reduction targets. Copenhagen plans to be the world’s <a href="http://talkofthecities.iclei.org/how-copenhagen-aims-to-become-the-worlds-first-carbon-neutral-capital/">first carbon-neutral capital by 2025</a>. Stockholm aims to be <a href="https://cleantechhogdalen.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/stockholm-a-fossil-fuel-free-city-2040.pdf">fossil-fuel-free by 2040</a>. </p>
<p>So, at first glance, cities do appear to be leading the way. </p>
<h2>A word of caution</h2>
<p>We support local decarbonisation and the desire for cities to be progressive actors. Yet there are ample grounds to be dubious about cities’ ability to deliver on their commitments. </p>
<p>Sam Brooks, former director of the District of Columbia’s Energy Division, has laid out <a href="https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/hard-truths-about-city-failures-with-clean-energy">sobering evidence</a> on the reality of climate action in US cities. </p>
<p>Brooks supports stronger local action rather than “press releases” and “mindless cheerleading”. He shows that most emission cuts in US cities can be attributed to state and federal initiatives such as renewable portfolio standards or national fuel-efficiency rules. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"893896547091468289"}"></div></p>
<p>America’s narrative of climate-friendly cities relies heavily on California’s leadership to make it credible. </p>
<p>By May 2015, California had built the <a href="http://under2mou.org">Under2 Coalition</a> of cities, states and countries committed to keeping the global temperature increase below 2°C. California Governor Jerry Brown was prepared for the June 1 White House announcement, quickly <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/01/jerry-brown-trump-climate-deal-california-china-239035">detailing why it was “insane”</a>. Days later Brown <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/336537-california-signs-deal-with-china-to-combat-climate-change">signed a deal</a> between China and his state to collaborate on cutting emissions. </p>
<p>California’s activism sets a benchmark. But Brooks details how New York, Boston, Washington DC and other “frequently lauded cities” often do not use the powers they have. </p>
<p>No US city reports its electricity consumption more than annually. Many do not report it at all. Poor monitoring is a key reason they have not cut consumption, in spite of enormous scope for efficiency. </p>
<h2>Cities have not added much to national trends</h2>
<p>It isn’t just American cities falling short, as Benjamin Barber’s new book, <a href="http://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300224207/cool-cities">Cool Cities</a> makes clear. </p>
<p>Like Brooks, Barber championed urban action against global warming (he died in April 2017). Yet he looked past the hype to point out shortcomings in the mitigation measures of such exemplary cities as London and Oslo.</p>
<p>London’s stated goal is to <a href="https://www.compactofmayors.org/cities/londonjoinus/">cut emissions by 60% by 2040</a>. It seems likely to fail, with blame falling on <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/london-set-to-miss-mayors-climate-change-targets-as-population-booms">rapid population growth</a> and inadequate policies <a href="http://www.modbs.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/17133/Developing_a_roadmap_for__a_zero-emissions_London.html">in the building sector</a>. </p>
<p>Oslo is committed to a 100% cut in emissions <a href="https://www.compactofmayors.org/cities/oslo/">by 2050</a>. But its emissions have risen from 1.2 million tonnes in 1991 to <a href="http://oslo.miljobarometern.se/state-of-the-environment-oslo/climate-and-energy/total-greenhouse-gas-emissions/">1.4 million tonnes in 2014</a>. One complication is that oil and gas production comprise 22% of the Norwegian economy. The nation’s emissions are <a href="http://www.newsinenglish.no/2016/12/16/carbon-emissions-rise-once-again/">up 4.2% since 1990</a>.</p>
<p>Even the progress of climate superstar cities such as Copenhagen, Stockholm and Berlin is, on close examination, subject to important caveats.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.c40.org/profiles/2013-copenhagen">Copenhagen</a> makes much of having cut emissions 21% by 2011 <a href="https://stateofgreen.com/files/download/1901">from 2005 levels</a>. Yet the city admits that 63% of its goal of becoming carbon-neutral relies on <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/copenhagen-striving-to-be-carbon-neutral-part-1-the_us_589ba337e4b061551b3e0737">buying carbon offsets</a> for its emissions. </p>
<p>National policy is a crucial context for urban action. For instance, Copenhagen has benefited greatly from a 27% fall in Denmark’s emissions between 1990 and 2015. Unfortunately, Danish emissions are expected to <a href="https://ens.dk/sites/ens.dk/files/Analyser/denmarks_energy_and_climate_outlook_2017.pdf">increase after 2020</a> without new policies.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.compactofmayors.org/cities/stockholm/">Stockholm</a> has cut emissions by <a href="http://international.stockholm.se/globalassets/rapporter/strategy-for-a-fossil-fuel-free-stockholm-by-2040.pdf">around 37% between 1990 and 2015</a>. This is mainly a result of changes to building heating – transport emissions have <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/stockholm-pursues-climate-holy-graila-fossil-fuel_us_591246d0e4b0e070cad709d6">barely changed</a>. </p>
<p>As in Copenhagen, Stockholm’s achievements rely greatly on a national target –
<a href="http://www.dw.com/en/sweden-to-end-net-carbon-emissions-by-2045/a-39280147">net-zero emissions by 2045</a> – backed by a robust policy framework.</p>
<p>As for Berlin, its goal is an 85% cut in emissions by 2050, compared to 1990. By 2013 the city had <a href="http://www.berlin.de/senuvk/klimaschutz/politik/index_en.shtml">cut emissions by about one-third</a>. Yet most recent data indicate that emissions have begun to rise slightly. Berlin is at risk of achieving only <a href="http://www.berlin.de/senuvk/klimaschutz/bek_berlin/download/BEK_2030_Senatsbeschluss.pdf">half of its mid-term goal</a> of a 40% cut by 2020. </p>
<p>Berlin is not responsible for a national policy that remains lax on coal and unduly favours automobiles, the source of <a href="http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1099550_greenhouse-gas-emissions-from-cars-in-germany-getting-worse-actually">18% of German emissions</a>. But civic leaders in Berlin <a href="http://www.dw.com/en/berlin-pedal-pushers-demonstrate-for-cyclists-rights/a-39200358">could do more</a> to nudge a car-centred culture towards sustainability.</p>
<h2>What must cities do?</h2>
<p>The urgency of real action is clear from the <a href="http://www.iea.org/etp/etp2016/">IEA’s 2016 report</a> on sustainable urban energy systems. It warns that business as usual in cities could mean emissions increase by 50% by 2050. </p>
<p>The IEA notes that 90% of the growth in primary energy demand is <a href="https://www.iea.org/newsroom/news/2016/june/etp2016-cities-are-in-the-frontline-for-cutting-carbon-emissions.html">in non-OECD countries</a>. At the same time, climate science tells us deep emissions cuts <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/three-years-to-safeguard-our-climate-1.22201">must begin by 2020</a>. We have to accelerate decarbonisation, which means demanding greater ambition and transparency from cities. The following steps need to be taken:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Every city should have accurate, timely and transparent data on their performance across a range of indicators. These include emissions, electricity consumption, energy efficiency and renewable energy availability.</p></li>
<li><p>We need more robust comparative frameworks to make sense of the data. The 2014 <a href="http://www.c40.org/programmes/the-global-protocol-for-community-scale-greenhouse-gas-emission-inventories-gpc">Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories</a> was a valuable start, but has to be expanded.</p></li>
<li><p>Cities should be more global when calculating their emissions. At present, they tally up emissions from their own territory and production, leaving out emissions from consumption of traded goods and (often) aviation. The differences can be significant. Were Copenhagen’s emissions measured on a consumption basis, the total would be <a href="http://www.mdpi.com/2225-1154/5/2/31/pdf">four to five times higher</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>Cities need to differentiate between emission cuts resulting directly from their own actions and those derived from state or national programs. We need to see what cities themselves are doing.</p></li>
<li><p>Cities too often advocate climate neutrality rather than zero emissions. The more a city relies on credits for offsets elsewhere, the greater the risk of failing to cut actual emissions within the city. </p></li>
<li><p>There should be less cheerleading all around. City mayors need to lobby their state and federal counterparts to ensure co-ordinated action at all levels. And citizens must throw out mayors - not to mention regional and national leaders - who don’t accept the urgency of climate mitigation.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Sadly, many cities are dangerously complacent about the need for speed in decarbonisation. No press release can obscure the fact that time is not on our side.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/82375/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
It’s a good thing that cities aspire to lead the way in acting on climate change in the absence of stronger national action. But a closer look reveals the limitations of current city-based efforts.
Brendan Barrett, Senior Lecturer, Program Manager, Masters of International Urban and Environmental Management, RMIT University
Andrew DeWit, Professor, School of Policy Studies, Rikkyo University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/77393
2017-05-25T20:19:11Z
2017-05-25T20:19:11Z
Green space – how much is enough, and what’s the best way to deliver it?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170223/original/file-20170521-12217-1caiqf1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Providing green space can deliver health, social and environmental benefits for all urban residents – few other public health interventions can achieve all of this.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Anne Cleary</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Half of the world’s people now <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/half-worlds-population-live-urban-areas-un-report-finds/">live in urban areas</a>. This creates competition for resources and increases pressure on already limited green space. </p>
<p>Many urban areas are still experiencing active degradation or removal of green space. To reverse this trend and ensure the multiple benefits of green space are realised, we urgently need to move toward on-ground action.</p>
<p>However, there is no clear guidance on how to translate the evidence base on green space into action. There is limited information to guide green-space practitioners on how much is <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204614000310">“green enough”</a>, or on how to manage and maintain green space. There is also a lack of guidance on how to deliver the multiple benefits of green space with finite resources.</p>
<h2>Why we need green spaces</h2>
<p>A recent World Health Organisation (WHO) <a href="http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/environment-and-health/urban-health/publications/2017/urban-green-space-interventions-and-health-a-review-of-impacts-and-effectiveness.-full-report-2017">report</a> aims to provide guidance on how to tackle the uncertainties of providing such spaces.</p>
<p>There is a <a href="http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/environment-and-health/urban-health/publications/2016/urban-green-spaces-and-health-a-review-of-evidence-2016">substantial evidence base</a> to show that green space is good for us. It is associated with many <a href="https://theconversation.com/higher-density-cities-need-greening-to-stay-healthy-and-liveable-75840">health benefits</a>, both <a href="https://theconversation.com/living-here-will-make-you-fat-do-we-need-a-public-health-warning-57119">physical</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/biophilic-urbanism-how-rooftop-gardening-soothes-souls-76789">mental</a> – including reductions in illness and deaths, <a href="https://theconversation.com/reducing-stress-at-work-is-a-walk-in-the-park-57634">stress</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/most-people-just-park-themselves-so-how-do-we-promote-more-healthy-activity-in-public-parks-56421">obesity</a> – and a range of positive <a href="https://theconversation.com/greening-cities-makes-for-safer-neighbourhoods-62093">social</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/go-native-why-we-need-wildlife-allotments-to-bring-species-back-to-the-burbs-69631">environmental</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/an-environmentally-just-city-works-best-for-all-in-the-end-53803">equity</a> outcomes.</p>
<p>Providing adequate green space within our urban areas is therefore paramount. We need to preserve, enhance and promote existing green spaces and create new spaces.</p>
<p>Various political frameworks underscore the need for these spaces in our cities. For example, the <a href="https://habitat3.org/">New Urban Agenda</a> calls for an increase in safe, inclusive, accessible, green and quality public spaces. The <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg11">2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development</a> pledges to:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular, for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170155/original/file-20170519-12242-wm8nk3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170155/original/file-20170519-12242-wm8nk3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170155/original/file-20170519-12242-wm8nk3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170155/original/file-20170519-12242-wm8nk3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170155/original/file-20170519-12242-wm8nk3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170155/original/file-20170519-12242-wm8nk3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170155/original/file-20170519-12242-wm8nk3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rapid growth in cities like Brisbane increases the pressure on existing urban green spaces.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Moving toward action</h2>
<p>The WHO <a href="http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/environment-and-health/urban-health/publications/2017/urban-green-space-interventions-and-health-a-review-of-impacts-and-effectiveness.-full-report-2017">report</a> carried out a systematic review of the published evidence on green-space interventions. The review found a variety of intervention types have strong evidence for delivering a range of health, social and environmental outcomes.</p>
<p>These intervention types range from smaller green spaces, such as street trees and community gardens, to larger, more interlinked spaces, such as parks and greenways. This signals the need to think beyond the traditional urban park when considering how to meet the demand for green space among growing urban populations.</p>
<p>Another finding of the review was that urban green-space interventions seem to be most effective when a physical improvement of the space is coupled with social engagement.</p>
<p>This highlights the importance of understanding the intervention’s target audience. Sufficient time and resources must be devoted to engaging with this audience. This should happen both during the design and implementation phases and when the intervention is completed – and promoted.</p>
<h2>Learning from others</h2>
<p>The WHO report compiled case studies of urban green-space interventions from across Europe, and documented the common lessons from these. </p>
<p>This unearthed a range of findings. For example, fostering multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral collaborations during planning, implementation and evaluation is a key factor in creating a successful green space.</p>
<p>Another key finding was the importance of understanding that urban green-space interventions are long-term investments. They therefore need to be integrated within local development strategies and frameworks – such as urban masterplans, transport policies and sustainability and biodiversity strategies.</p>
<p>An example of an urban green-space intervention that showcases good practice, and which features as a case study in the WHO report, is the <a href="http://www.connswatergreenway.co.uk/">Connswater Community Greenway</a> in Northern Ireland. This project adopted a bottom-up approach and emphasised community engagement. A full-time community support officer was employed. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
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<span class="caption">Social engagement is an integral part of the Connswater Community Greenway intervention.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Connswater Community Greenway</span></span>
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<p>Having public engagement embedded from the start ensured the local community’s needs were well understood. The intervention’s design was responding to these identified needs. </p>
<p>Coupling this local understanding with the latest thinking on good practice led to an evidence-based design that was fit-for-purpose in the local context.</p>
<p>The project was also understood to be a long-term investment. A 40-year management and maintenance plan for the greenway was developed from the outset. </p>
<p>The WHO report represents an important step forward. As worrying trends in mental ill-health, obesity, social isolation, health inequalities and environmental degradation grow globally, there is a pressing need to implement equitable solutions – and green space has a key role to play in this. </p>
<p>Urban green-space interventions can deliver health, social and environmental benefits for all population groups – particularly among lower socioeconomic status groups. There are very few – if any – other public health interventions that can achieve all of this.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77393/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anne Cleary received funding from Healthy Land and Water and Griffith University. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ruth Hunter receives funding from research councils in the UK. They have not funded this work.</span></em></p>
Urban green spaces are most effective at delivering their full range of health, social and environmental benefits when physical improvement of the space is coupled with social engagement.
Anne Cleary, Nature and Health PhD Candidate, Griffith University
Ruth Hunter, Lecturer, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queen's University Belfast
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.