Cool Streets Pilot Project (Blacktown - Australia)
From 2015 to 2016, the city of Blacktown, Australia, piloted a project related with green and cool streets. The project was very simple: to tackle the climate change effects and the impact of rapid urbanisation, planting trees in the streets helps to reduce carbon emissions, cool the air temperature and lower energy costs.
Gallagher Studio worked with the municipality of Blacktown in this project, and they were very careful in selecting the adequate tree size for the streets and the best location for each tree. The citizens were involved in the process through interactive participatory decision making: they had to decide on the layout and type of trees that they wanted on their street, focusing on enhancing environmental results and neighbourhood climate resilience.
The Cool Streets Pilot Project has won the 2017 Award of Excellence at the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) National Landscape Architecture Awards for this smart solution to deal with the problem of urban heat islands (the effect of the heat trapped in buildings that increases the air temperature in their surroundings). The greener environment is also healthier for the citizens, improving their quality of life.
Some of the results of the project show that it avoided 772 tonnes of CO2 emissions over a 40-year period and allowed for $84,000 average saving per house over 1 year in the streets where 20-year old trees were planted and $141,000 average saving per house over 1 year in the streets where 40-year old trees were planted.
Sources:
http://www.gallagherstudio.com.au/blacktown-cool-streets-pilot-project/
Improved Energy management;
Improved Health for Citizens.
Description of the specific objectives:
- Tackle the urban heat islands;
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
- Lower energy costs.
City of Blacktown; Gallagher Studio – Urban and Landscape Projects.