Positive Impacts of Greening in Sydney, Australia | Green space benefits on urban cities

Greening is transforming living environments and artifacts such as space, lifestyle, or brand image, into a more environmentally friendly version. Sydney, Australia proposed a greening Sydney plan in 2012, which was implemented to green the urban landscape. Physical greening of urban cities is important because it filters and improves the air we breathe, provides shade for our houses and streets, can regulate sunlight to our houses and streets, reduces urban runoff and stormwater pollution, improves the appearance, economic value, and liveability of our cities, and provides a connection to nature in our cities (Greening Sydney Plan).

“The Sustainable Sydney 2030 Strategy commits the City to become green, global and connected (Greening Sydney Plan).”

Sydney’s Greening Plan focuses on the importance of including biodiversity in urban areas. Sydney’s Greening Plan focuses on the multiple benefits greening an urban city may bring. Greening can benefit ecology, public domain amenities, social and physical aspects, and economics. Sydney has created numerous programs and plans to achieve these goals, for example, street tree planning program, open space renewal, acquisition of open space, community programs, open space renewal, and habitat creation.

“In 2002, American Forests identified canopy cover targets by land use— (15% in central business districts and industrial areas, 25% in urban residential and light commercial areas, and 50% in suburban residential areas). the city’s vision is for an increase of 50% by 2030 and 75% by 2050.”

In 2002 American Forests identified canopy cover, this is projected to increase to 50% by 2030 and 75% by 2050 image made by Kaylee Camara

Our mission is to bring light to the beneficial plans and programs Sydney, Australia has adopted in their Greening plan. Recognizing the role of cities and local governments in supporting biodiversity can influence other countries to adopt similar plans. Implementing plans and programs can help create more green urban cities along with providing new public spaces, economic ventures, and physiological benefits to city members. Our website is created to dig deep into the benefits of greening and implementing green spaces and the impact they have on both public and environmental health. Sydney’s program is created to green their city and we will reflect on the benefits or complications it has created in order to influence the future use and impact of greening. After researching Sydney’s plan, we can work towards policy change in cities near us to help promote greening.

The Sydney, Australia Greening Plan relates to an even larger impact of sustainable city work that could be expressed in economic terms and other greening technologies that would change urban development for the good of the wider society. Greening has numerous fundamentals and ideas to the process itself, and its innovative strategies could make cities better overall for their own citizens and the greater good of the overall society. A key challenge to greening in urban cities is that the government needs to shift towards a greener economy. The current understanding of the world around us will need to change if we want to see any difference in our future.

The Just Sustainability Model looks for four components:

Improving our quality of life and well-being
Meeting the needs of both present and future generations
Justice and equity in recognition, process, procedure, and outcome
Living within ecosystem limits

“The need to ensure a better quality of life for all, now and into the future, in a just and equitable manner, whilst living within the limits of supporting ecosystems.” (Agyeman, et al., 2003, 5)

The article, “Greening Sydney: attitudes, barriers, and opportunities for tree planting”, mentions how people’s opinions vary on greening and sustainability in urban areas based on their socio-economic backgrounds. Sydney’s greening plan must incorporate the diverse attitudes of the many different cultures located in the city, due to being the largest multicultural city in Australia. The article mentions how some people believe greening will be a “threat” to some urban infrastructures, indicating that tree removal is necessary for urban areas. The study shows that the attitudes regarding greening varied based on the individuals, income, education, and dwelling type. Sydney’s greening plan must consider the communities attitudes towards greening, along with properly educating the community on the many benefits greening will bring to the city. This will allow for more community members to become involved in programs regarding greening, which will benefit individuals’ social and mental well-being, along with positively impacting the economy and environment of the city.

David Tickle, a principal at international design firm HASSELL and who leads its urban design team, was interviewed in the article, “The Future of Sydney: Greening city more than just sustainability.” He wrote, “The starting point is talking to the community and then developing propositions or ideas about what the future of the city might be like.” Both articles mention how community involvement is a major factor when discussing greening in urban areas. Understanding the community’s needs and wants is important when developing plans to introduce more landscaping. Sydney’s greening plan will focus on prioritizing the people, by creating more enjoyable and healthier living areas, such as creating shadier, walkable streets, and reallocating street space to pedestrians.