A research project aimed at increasing green infrastructure in streets will include Alfrieda Street in St Albans.
Researchers at the University of Melbourne will engage residents, local councils and other stakeholders to develop and evaluate designs to add more trees and plants to streets in Brimbank, Wyndham and Brunswick.
The study aims to combat the effects of heatwaves, drought and flooding while increasing safety and livability in local communities.
University of Melbourne research fellow and workshop facilitator Dr Kiley Soanes said Alfrieda Street was chosen in consultation with Brimbank council.
“One of the most challenging sections of that street is the northern end, the residential area. It has a lot of those typical challenges….services underground, powerlines overhead,” she said.
Dr Soanes said typical solutions to overcome such problems include the use of tree pits, aerial cable bundling and planting specific tree species that are suited to the confines of the urban environment.
She also said particular roads in busy urban spaces can be modified, narrowed or restructured to accommodate for more green infrastructure.
“We need those environments to be liveable. Most areas are really underserved by public green space. There’s hardly any trees, hardly any places for people to get access to greenery,” Dr Soanes said.
“What worked in one place is not necessarily going to be picked up and applied. It has to reflect how people use the street and what people want to get out of it.”
University of Melbourne professor of urban resilience and project lead Sarah Bell invited locals living and working on or near Alfrieda Street to express their interest in joining the community workshops for the study, which will inform the research project and future plans for Alfrieda Street.
“Our approach is to work with local residents so that the street meets what their ambitions are and also that we can avoid things that people are worried about … .we involve them throughout the process,” professor Bell said.
Twenty to 30 residents will help inform the Alfrieda Street project.
More info: https://www.unimelb.edu.au/retrofit/blog/re-imagining-streets
