Background of The CityGreen Lab

The CityGreen Lab was founded in early 2019 by Chris Boulton and established online on 27 March 2019.

Based on Australia's Gold Coast, my research is examining the factors that shape urban greenspace provision, in pursuit of a better approach. 

My expertise is municipal urban greenspace management, landscape architecture, environmental planning and crime prevention, under-girded by 25 years of professional practice. I kicked it all off training as a landscape architect with national and global practices. Then, drawn by the opportunity and satisfaction of supporting local communities to develop with limited resources, I invested the next 15 years of my career in local government, almost 10 of those were in senior management role.

Australia’s Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) awarded me an honorary Fellowship in 2012 in recognition of my commitment to the profession and outstanding leadership within local (municipal) government  serving as AILA Qld State President (2009-2011). The Australian Government awarded me an Endeavour Research Fellowship (2017-2018), to undertake research in Canada, as part of my doctoral work using comparative case studies as grounded research. 

I am recognised as a leader by my peers, offering inspiration and insight for individuals and learning communities through research and education about the values, challenges and opportunities for supporting healthy cities. Amongst my colleagues, I am known for my strong sense of personal responsibility, my strength as an incubator - pondering ideas and being inquisitive, as well as my commitment to service - I love to help!