Glorious green: how nature can revive and restore our cities
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Catherine Carter argues the importance of green spaces to our cities, ourselves and our resilience.
Hear the word ‘nature’ and most of us picture the wildness of a forest or a wide blue ocean. Ample evidence tells us that nature can revive and restore us.
But that nature must be at some distance away or even remote from us, right?
Wrong. Even a pocket park or a clutch of trees can be enough to soothe the soul. In fact, nature’s healing power works as well on a small scale – in a backyard, a community garden or a local park – as it does in the vast and untamed wild.
Last year, contact with nature ‘buffered’ the negative effect of lockdown on our mental health. But what would happen if our only accessible outdoor space was grey rather than green? How well would we survive another lockdown if nature meant “one poor tree” in a concrete square?
Dr Therese Flapper, Graciete Ferreira, University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Professor Paddy Nixon, Arabella Rohde, Shannon Battisson at the Salon Canberra event.
So asked Shannon Battisson, ACT Chapter President of the Australian Institute of Architects, at a recent Salon Canberra event. Hosted in partnership with the University of Canberra, the event gathered a powerhouse of property and construction industry leaders to explore how our city could ramp up its resilience.
Shannon argued that the inclusion of generous green spaces “synonymous with the Garden City ideals” lent Canberra its “deep rooted resilience” during lockdowns. But “it is those same green spaces that we are in very great danger of losing right now, as our city goes through its newest period of development.”
Tree canopy coverage and green space is shrinking all over Australia. One recent report found green space was lost in 69% of our urban places between 2013 and 2020. Canberra increased its vegetation slightly over the seven-year study period, but only thanks to more shrubs.
Shannon argued that Canberra’s access to green belts and parkland “was a purposeful decision by the people who came before us and something we need to make sure we decide to include as we move forward”. Future development must “leave space for trees, plural”.
Arabella Rohde, the Property Council’s new ACT Division President, noted the layers of complexity around Canberra’s successes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Strong leadership and collaboration between government, industry and the community were the fundamental ingredients that got us through, Arabella said. Canberra’s density also played a role, but the pandemic also “highlighted issues around space inequality,” Arabella said.
There is a reason why houses in Canberra’s leafy inner suburbs come with a hefty price tag. Affluence allows people to buy homes in areas with more green spaces, access to nature and space for physical activity.
“Canberra has a complex relationship with our spaces and how they’re used,” Arabella said. “The way we have used and designed open space hasn’t changed much in the last 30 years, but our conversations and expectations around open space have.” Canberra must start “supporting density through amenity”.
A recent NSW Government survey found 72% of people have gained a greater appreciation for their local parks and a massive 96% said they are using public spaces for exercise. This follows a report from the Property Council which found 86% of Australians would be enticed back to their CBD by more green space. This means more than parks. Think gardens on rooftops or laneways dotted with pot plants.
Gracieta Ferreira, President of Master Builders ACT, pointed to the potential for green space to emerge, phoenix-like, from the ashes of disaster. During Canberra’s 2003 bushfires “we lost our beautiful forests and the lungs of our city”. But a visionary response to rebuilding created a “monument to resilience” – the National Arboretum.
It is this long-term view that captures the imagination of Dr Therese Flapper, Canberra Division President, Engineers Australia. “Ramping up our resilience is not just about the last 18 months,” Therese argued. “It is about where we will be 100 years from now.”
So, let’s think big. Melbourne is capturing the imagination of its citizens with an innovative twist on the New York High Line that promises to enhance amenity, activate the waterfront and prepare the city for future pandemics. The $300 million Greenline project proposes four kilometres of connected parklands along the Yarra. Lord Mayor Sally Capp has said it will transform “some of the most unloved areas” and deliver “new perspectives of the city”.
Melburnians, suffering the longest lockdown in the world last year, certainly have a new perspective on what matters in their city. Shannon Battisson told the Salon Canberra audience that “loss of green space will be the greatest challenge to our resilience if we ever face something like COVID again”.
“We need to make a decision to prioritise space between and space for trees. If we never have a pandemic again, all we’ve lost is nothing.” But what we will have gained is more glorious green.
