The CityGreen Lab Pty Ltd
It's all about examining and inspiring better ways of providing urban greenspace!
News! A Novel Approach to Auditing Outdoor Areas in Residential Aged Care Facilities
Strategies and guidelines for best practice environmental design typically have a singular focus and intended outcome, for example, green infrastructure management for urban cooling in a hotter climate.
However, when applied to specific situations such as aged care, matters such as accessibility, wayfinding, and safety are also critical.
We now propose a user-friendly Hybrid Environmental Design Audit Tool (HEDAT) to support facility managers, planners, and design consultants to inform the prioritization and targeting of interventions and monitoring of implementation and outcomes.
Titled “Environmental Design for Urban Cooling, Access, and Safety: A Novel Approach to Auditing Outdoor Areas in Residential Aged Care Facilities”, we explore how the quality of life for residents, visitors, and staff of ACFs can be supported by the provision of green infrastructure to improve the thermal comfort of outdoor settings and, if located appropriately, reduce the need for an increase in internal air-conditioning.
Combining various audit tools offer multiple benefits to meet a variety of needs for thermal comfort, health, and well-being, as well as cost-effectiveness.
In the absence of such a tool, using a place-based analysis, we developed a novel audit tool for external settings of residential aged care facilities (ACFs) incorporating urban cooling, Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), and Universal Design criteria.
Our first full research article from our Sunshine Coast case study is now available online in Land. https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/2/514
Sincerest thanks to our participants for their support & contribution to our research, and the anonymous reviewers of our manuscript for their helpful observations and suggestions.
#agedcare #CPTED #universaldesign #greeninfrastructure #accessibility #shading #evaporativecooling #urbandesign #landscape architecture #siteevaluation
Claudia Baldwin Tony Matthews Silvia Tavares
University of the Sunshine Coast
Griffith University - Cities Research Institute
(posted 26 February 2023)
News! Article published in Urban Affairs Review
Multiple factors shape urban greenspace provision, however understanding the role of leadership as a factor remains somewhat elusive.
Our second full research article from our Surrey case study is now available online in Urban Affairs Review https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/10780874221101393
Titled “How Leadership Influences Urban Greenspace Provision: The Case of Surrey, Canada”, we investigate how different types of leadership affected greenspace provision in Surrey - a dynamically changing mid-size city.
We reveal that here, both leadership and organizational culture influenced resources and decision-making supporting greenspace provision.
Aligned political leadership and organizational leadership witnessed a significant increase in Surrey’s urban greenspaces – the converse occurred in a later administration.
Findings provide insights into the governance of greenspace; especially how different types of leadership can play a pivotal role in effective greenspace provision.
Sincerest thanks to our participants for their support & contribution to our research, and the anonymous reviewers of our manuscript for their helpful observations and suggestions.
#cityofparks #leadership #qualitativeresearch #greenspace #governancefactors #localgovernment #cities #parks #urbanplanning #research #canada
Ayşın Dedekorkut Meg Holden Jason Byrne Cities Research Institute Simon Fraser University The CityGreen Lab Pty Ltd
(posted 4 June 2022)
News! Article published in Cities
With calls for more urban greenspace to remedy manifold urban challenges (e.g. poor physical & mental health, flooding, urban heat mitigation, biodiversity loss) few pause to question the viability of urban greenspace provision, especially its financial and administrative burdens for local government, nor whether simply providing more greenspace is efficacious.
This latest article from our Logan case study, investigates the perspectives of elected officials and local government officers towards greenspace provision. It elucidates key factors that affect provision:
- community expectations;
- governance tools; and
- financial resources.
We highlight the tension between supply and demand, the role of planning practices, and point to a critical issue: providing urban greenspace cannot be simply reduced to a matter of inadequate resources - community expectations are a pivotal and often over-looked factor shaping urban greenspace provision.
Available now online - free access only until 31 May 2022. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264275122001044?dgcid=author
Sincerest thanks to our participants for their support & contribution to our research, and the anonymous reviewers of our manuscript for their helpful observations and suggestions.
(posted 9 April 2022)
News! 2021 Planning Institute of Australia (QLD) - Commendation for Planning Research
Thanks to Planning Institute of Australia for the recognition (Commendation - Planning Research) of our research accomplishments at the PIA 2021 QLD Excellence in Planning Awards.
We are excited & thrilled!
Ayşın Dedekorkut Catherine Pickering Jason Byrne Meg Holden Griffith University
#urbangreening #parks #urbanplanning #localgovernment
(posted 9 April 2022)
News! Back-to-Back Winner of Parks & Leisure Australia's Research Award
The CityGreen Lab has won the 2021 Research Award for research into ‘A Better Approach to Providing Urban Greenspace’.
The CityGreen Lab is very excited to announce that we received the Parks & Leisure Australia 2021 National Award of Excellence - Research, for Çhris' PhD Thesis, titled "Is there a better approach to providing urban greenspace?"
This achievement backs-up last year's PLA 2020 Award of Excellence - Research for Chris for co-authors' literature review article "Factors Shaping Urban Greenspace Provision" that received both the PLA QLD and National Awards for Excellence.
Congratulations to all nominees and award winners.
(posted 8 April 2022)
News! Planning for Age-Friendly Cities
Planning Theory & Practice has recently published (September 2021) an issue of Interface focused on Planning for Age-Friendly Cities including a collaborative piece led by Dr Tony Matthews, with Prof. Claudia Baldwin, Dr Silvia Tavares and The CityGreen Lab's Dr Chris Boulton. Titled "Integrating Green Infrastructure with Accessible Design to Reduce Heat Stress on Seniors" it examines the challenge of heat stress in the urban environment specific to aged-care facilities. Editor Mark Scott says:
This paper draws on the authors’ work in Australia, with cities there now facing the prospect of 50 degree plus summers (Purtill, 2021). Their paper explores the potential of green infrastructure – networks of greenspaces and natural elements – to moderate extreme heat, focusing on the needs of older people. It focuses on three core questions: What type of place-specific green infrastructure interventions are sought? Where should they be located? How can they be integrated with accessible design?
While green infrastructure is widely recognised to reduce the urban heat island effect and mitigate rising temperatures, Matthews and colleagues also illustrate how poorly designed interventions may negatively impact on accessibility and the mobility of older age groups, while also identifying potential design and institutional barriers to better design. Their work seeks to integrate green infrastructure with accessibility to develop a monitoring and decision-making tool for appropriate and effective green infrastructure in the context of an age-friendly city.
(posted 4 October 2021)
News! Article published in Landscape Australia
The CityGreen Lab is excited to announce the publication of Landscape Australia, which this month (August 2021, Issue 171) features a new article by Dr Chris Boulton. Titled "Rethinking urban green space provision", this piece is a snapshot of the findings from case studies in Australia (Logan, QLD) and Canada (Surrey, BC), concerning the supply of green space in Australian cities faces challenges. Can we develop a more effective approach?
LAA Editor Emily Wong's introduction is:
"Discussions around crucial infrastructure are echoed by Chris Boulton, who examines how we can improve the provision of green space in our Australian cities. Identifying some of the challenges hindering the supply of urban green space, Boulton argues for developing a more nuanced and collaborative approach. Her article provides a launching point for rethinking both formal and informal elements of our built environment at a broader scale.”
Rethinking urban green space provision. The supply of green space in Australian cities faces challenges. Can we develop a more effective approach? Article by Chris Boulton.
(posted 30 August 2021)
News! AILA QLD 2021 Landscape Architecture Award - Research, Policy & Communications
We are joyed and humbled to receive our first AILA QLD Landscape Architecture Award - Research, Policy & Communications.
This is wonderful recognition of the importance & relevance of asking (& answering) "Is there a better approach to providing urban greenspace?"
The AILA QLD jury commented: "In the current times of a global pandemic, inner-city Green Open Space is more important than ever.... This research thesis contributes to the collective landscape architecture knowledge bank around best practice urban greenspace development... The communication, methodology, and considerations that were looked at are broadly transferable, communicating to designers, decision-makers, and scholars alike. This project outlines the drivers, constraints, and governing forces that impact greenspace with detail."
Full citation & details here: https://lnkd.in/gA_GbaK
Congratulations to all winners & entrants; sincere thanks to the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA), 2021 Awards Jury & State Sponsors.
Our gratitude also goes to the support of many including Ayşın Dedekorkut Jason Byrne Meg Holden #2021ailaawards #research #landscapearchitecture #urbangreenspace #parks #localgovernment
As a National Finalist, we eagerly await the announcement of AILA's 2021 National Landscape Architecture Award winners at the National Conference Gala Dinner in Perth on 14 October 2021.
(posted 29 June 2021)