Greener Places is a draft Green Infrastructure policy produced by the Government Architect NSW to guide the planning, design and delivery of Green Infrastructure in urban areas across NSW. It aims to create a healthier, more liveable and sustainable urban environment by improving community access to recreation and exercise, supporting walking and cycling connections, and improving the resilience of urban areas.
The draft policy is for consultation with the community and stakeholders. It aims to promote discussion about what the final policy should address. All feedback on this draft policy will be considered and a final policy developed in early 2018.
Greener Places explains why a Green Infrastructure policy is needed, and the vision and objectives for its implementation. Green infrastructure should be developed as a network rather than separate elements. Green Infrastructure is essential and needs to be considered as an asset in its own right.
The documents supporting the draft policy include the following draft manuals/toolkits:
– Open Space for Recreation (Green Infrastructure for people); – Bushland and Waterways (Green Infrastructure for habitat and ecological health); and – Urban Tree Canopy (Green Infrastructure for climate adaptation and resilience).
Greener Places builds on the Sydney Green Grid – the design-led Green Infrastructure strategy developed to create a network of high quality green areas that connect town centres, public transport networks and major residential areas in Sydney.
Greener Places is a state policy which is assessed against agreed criteria, enabling better opportunities for industry to embed the benefits of a greener approach to projects. This in turn will create better places and landscapes.