A “green artery” of trees, cooling plants and green walls will run through the hottest and most barren parts of Adelaide’s CBD, with the state government promising $5 million for a range of greening programs.
The money will be split between greening projects led by the state government agency Green Adelaide, and grants and rebates for property owners.
There will be $2 million spent on the Greener City Streets Program and another $1 million for a project to create a “cool corridor” of planted streets and laneways through the city. There will also be $1.5 million in grants for green walls and roofs and $500,000 in water rebates for greening projects.
To be delivered over four years in partnership with the City of Adelaide and SA Water, are aimed at creating a “cooler, greener, wilder and more climate-resilient CBD.”
SA’s environment and water minister David Speirs said the Greener City Streets Program would be targeted based on heat and tree canopy mapping put together through joint state and local government investigations.
“Heat mapping data has been used to determine the warmest areas of the CBD and we will partner with the City of Adelaide to make a focused effort to green and cool these areas through planting trees and other plants and building green roofs and walls,” he said.
“The ‘cool corridor’ is a vision for a green walkway through the heart of the city through multi-use paths, shade and greenery that creates a more attractive and cooler city space for everyone to enjoy.
The “Wild Walls and Roofs” grants will provide CBD building owners with up to $50,000 to build green walls and roofs on commercial and residential dwellings, and the “Green Water Rebates” will trial the application of discounted water rates for new projects that are designed to cool and green Adelaide’s CBD.
“Green walls and roofs are an effective and alternative way to improve the visual amenity of the city, which improves wellbeing and encourages people to spend more time in an area which helps stimulate our economy,” said Speirs. “They are also a way to reduce heat impacts where there is little space for street trees and parks.”
The state government agency Green Adelaide is currently leading a push for Adelaide to become the next “National Park City, submitting its application to the London-headquartered National Park City foundation. Green Adelaide board presiding member Chris Daniels said, “These inner-city areas can play a valuable part in conservation, with trees along Leigh Street in the city already supporting the largest known roosting aggregation of native tree martins in South Australia.”
Source: Architecture - architectureau
