Green Urban Futures

The recently released Climate Change Science and Knowledge Plan for South Australia states that: “Responding to our changing climate requires South Australia to prepare and adapt. To do this well, we need to be equipped with the best science and knowledge.”

A project team supported by the Environment Institute at the University of Adelaide.

Adelaide’s climate challenges

Adelaide’s future climate is projected to be increasingly hot and dry, with the temperatures rising and rainfall declining. The increase in extreme temperatures is especially alarming.

The recent, rapid growth in the number of extremely hot days in Adelaide will potentially have catastrophic impacts on human health, including the elderly and people with comorbidities. These temperatures will also adversely impact ecosystems and biodiversity, and it is crucial to future-proof Adelaide against these changes as quickly as possible.

Responding to Adelaide’s climate challenges

Green Urban Futures is a multidisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Adelaide who have united to provide significant solutions to major climate challenges now and for the future.Our researchers have wide-ranging expertise that can establish South Australia as a global leader in providing ‘green urban futures’ such as trees, green walls and roofs, cool surfaces, and the infrastructure required to enable these solutions.

Partnering with Green Urban Futures

How will our team help?
Our team will identify problems and deliver integrated, actionable solutions to:

Better understand how to maximise the benefits (e.g., cooling, amenity, biodiversity, health) and minimise the costs of urban greening.

Identify the best tree mix to make Adelaide a truly green city that is resilient to a changing climate.

Assess the ecological behaviours and needs of different tree species, and how they translate to responses at different scales (e.g., lot, neighbourhood, suburb, city).

Increase our capacity to implement greening strategies (e.g., water supply infrastructure, soils) and assess their potential co-benefits (e.g., flood control, water quality improvement).

Understand the drivers of public acceptance and promote public participation in measures identified as most effective.

Evaluate scenarios that stress-test the performance of potential solutions under a range of critical, plausible, future conditions, e.g., population, climate, demographics.

Visualise and communicate green future alternatives through graphic, written, and conceptual methods.
Green Urban Futures areas of expertise
Green Urban Futures recognises that achieving a climate-resilient and ecologically vibrant city is not a case of re-imagining a static environment; instead, this transformation must be achieved in the face of hostile environmental change that is impacting all cities globally. By harnessing the power of world-leading research to foster the resilience of our natural and built environment, our university researchers can assist in delivering exceptional adaptations, and a green model for other arid cities to follow.

Green Urban Futures has the skill sets to provide significant data and solutions to:

Identify the best species for selection as street trees.

Monitor tree health, using both remote (e.g., hyperspectral, Normalised Difference Vegetation Index) and proximal (e.g., temperature, soil moisture, tree water status) methodologies.

Forecast and model water requirements for healthy urban forests and smart watering to reduce heat2.

Assist in planning for water sources and delivery for optimal use of this precious resource.

Design landscapes suitable for cooling residential areas as well as urban centres.

Assist with building design to minimise heat risk and monitor human health during peak stress periods; and analyse where the problem areas are and determine processes for decreasing future risk.

Better understand the social drivers of canopy loss and how to engage communities in the preservation of valuable trees.

We also offer research and social science skills to assess and promote public acceptance and participation in the measures identified as most effective in adapting to challenging environmental conditions. There is also potential for pilot-scale projects to be trialled in collaboration with the University of Adelaide, at its North Terrace, Waite, and Roseworthy Campuses.

"Trees are the best way to cool cities, provide visual relief, increase biodiversity, and enable people to be happier and healthier. Trees should not be seen as a cost or a liability — they are a benefit. Professor Bob Hill

Currently, we are not planting enough trees because they complicate engineering requirements for underground services. Trees are also being removed because there is the mindset that they have no value, and their removal comes without cost. Our priorities must change. Fitting trees into the existing and future infrastructure will not be trivial, but it is essential to sustain the long-term health of our city and its people.

Download our brochure:

Green Urban Futures.pdf