A cutting-edge, climate-first strategy to boost the sustainability and resilience of Launceston communities has taken out a top, national award for research excellence.
The Planning Institute of Australia awarded the prestigious accolade for the City of Launceston Urban Greening Strategy, delivered together by partners the University of Tasmania, City of Launceston, Tasmania-based startup Geoneon and WSP Australia.
The urban greening strategy is already in action across Launceston, with the aim to reduce the urban heat island effect by planting the right trees in the right places and better protecting water resources while remaining sensitive to heritage values.
Professor of Human Geography and Planning, Jason Byrne, said Launceston was likely to see a fourfold increase in heatwaves into the future, with research from the Menzies Institute already showing that there is a 9 per cent increase in deaths in Tasmania with low-intensity heatwaves.
“People laugh when we talk about Launceston experiencing life-threatening heat waves, but we’re acclimatised to cooler weather in Tasmania and we need to get on the front foot now to stop this worsening in the future and claiming more lives.”
“Planting lots of trees in Launceston will help reduce heat impacts – the trick is getting the right trees in the right place, with the right community buy-in.”
Professor Byrne said the strategy combined “high tech and a human touch”.
Combining solid community engagement, including interviews and workshops with many sectors of the community, with the Geoneon team’s highly innovative work created a data-led approach to tackling climate change.
Geoneon CEO and Co-Founder Roxane Bandini Maeder said her team used remote sensing, highly advanced artificial intelligence technology that mapped every tree in Launceston, satellite imageries for heatmapping and crunching of Australian Bureau of Statistics census data to inform the final strategy.
“This award shows what is possible when advanced technology meets local action," Ms Bandini Maeder said.
"By combining AI-powered satellite analysis with community insight, this project helped map where greening could make the biggest impact.
“It has been a privilege to work with the City of Launceston, UTAS, and WSP to strengthen climate resilience equitably.”
Oscar Hayes, Associate at WSP in Australia, said they had brought together the findings into an urban greening strategy that is sector-leading and said it was a “fantastic” body of work, with research shaping a strategy that is technically robust while also accessible and actionable.
“Urban greening at this scale is ambitious. It will require sustained public and private investment to plant and maintain the street trees needed to meet the strategy’s targets and make our streets more comfortable and enjoyable.”
The City of Launceston Mayor Matthew Garwood said Launceston residents had offered overwhelmingly positive feedback to the urban greening strategy and were enthusiastic about a transition to an urban forest.
“Launceston is known for its leafy streets, parks and reserves, but greenery only covers around 19 per cent of our urban areas, well below the national standard of 39 per cent,” Mayor Garwood said.
“This strategy lays out the path forwards into a more environmentally and people-friendly city – we have even hired our first ever Urban Forester to take the lead on our urban greening activities.”
"It's been a really exciting project to work on with our partners, and I think in the years ahead we'll see a much more integrated approach to greening our city centre and urban areas, creating places people love spending time in."