Green roofs, green walls and pop-up parks – and tools to help cities set urban greening targets – will be the focus of the new Clean Air and Urban Landscapes hub under the National Environmental Science Programme.
Launched today at the Koori Heritage Trust in Melbourne, the hub will also conduct experiments in urban re-wilding and model carbon emissions from Australian cities under a range of different planning and transport scenarios.
As part of its work, the hub will forge groundbreaking research partnerships with the Indigenous community aimed at incorporating Indigenous perspectives into urban design and planning.
The hub is leading the way in establishing new pathways for scientists to work in partnership with Indigenous people to make cities better places to live.
One of six hubs established under the National Environmental Science Programme, the Clean Air and Urban Landscapes hub will focus on collaborative, practical and applied research that informs on-ground action.
The Australian Government has allocated $8.88 million to the hub over six years.
The hub is addressing a significant gap in the way we go about planning our cities. There are currently very few approaches to incorporating Indigenous perspectives into urban design or planning.
The hub is bringing together scientific, traditional and community values as they undertake research projects ranging from measuring air quality in western Sydney to urban habitats for threatened species.
The hub’s research agenda for 2016 includes many projects that will deliver tangible results for Australian cities – new approaches, better data, and better methods for dealing with environmental challenges in urban spaces.
The Government’s vision for productive, liveable and accessible cities will be underpinned by research and expertise from the Clean Air and Urban Landscapes hub.
Policies must be informed by robust science – and that is what the National Environmental Science Programme is all about.
(ENDS)