Part II — How to Conduct an Urban Greening Programme

This section outlines some practical how-to steps that a community should follow in order to develop an urban green plan.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION
STAGE 1 — PRELIMINARY WORK
    1) Site selection
    2) Forming Working Group
    3) Workshop
STAGE II — PLANNING THE "GREEN PLAN"
    4) Map and Inventory
    5)  Establishing Goals
    6)  Design Plan
    7)  Work Plan
STAGE III — IMPLEMENTATION
    8)  Implementing the plan
    9) Monitoring
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
    Checklist
    Schedule Template
    Sample Workshop Outline

Introduction

The immediate question that arises is how can a community work together to improve the green space in the city. While planting trees and gardens seems like a logical place to start, it is very important to carefully plan the project before actually planting anything. The planning stage must include the input and participation of all the people who will be affected by the green space. It is especially important to target women, youth, and any minorities who live in an area to make sure that everyone is included. It is also important to establish clear goals for any green plan, and decide in advance on who will be responsible for each stage in the process. Finally, it is necessary to ensure that all planting is done in an environmentally and biologically appropriate fashion. Trees must be established in locations where they can reach full size without damaging buildings or coming into conflict with power lines or underground pipes. Similarly, the site for planting must be selected away from flooded areas or areas that are too dry to support a plant community.

It is also vital to remember that and urban green plan is a tool where community members can come together and strengthen ties of friendship and mutual support. As a result, it is necessary to take the extra time and involve community members at ever step of the way.

The following list outlines the different tasks that must be accomplished. Please note that every community is different and will have specific situations that will not fall into this list. Be flexible when using this guide (this guide is also presented as a list of questions as a word document).

Stage 1 — Preliminary Work

1) Site selection

If an environmental agency is planning on developing a programme to promote/improve the urban environment, it is first necessary to select a community to work in. Not all communities will be willing to participate in a programme, or have the available land to conduct a project. If it is a community that wishes to conduct a programme in their own neighbourhood, it is important to identify what the possibilities within that area are. Key points to consider are:
a) Available land — what land is available, or if there is little land, is it possible to use rooftops, balconies or other spaces for container gardens? If land is available, who owns the land and what arrangements can be agreed upon to green an area? Are there any plans to develop the land? Is the proposed green space in an area where people will have access to it?
b) Community participation — Urban green space must have public support. As people have strong opinions on the parks, trees and recreational areas there must be a strong degree of community support for green space to ensure that a project will be successful in the longer term.
c) Governmental Support — Municipal governments tend to be responsible for parks and trees. As a result it is vital to ensure that municipal officials are aware and approve of the planned project.

2) Forming Working Group

In order for an urban green plan to be supported by the community it must come from the community, be planned by the community, and be completed by the community. As a result the most important element in a successful urban green plan is having a well organized community working group. This group should be comprised of:
a) Community leaders
b) Stakeholders — government officials, parks board staff, local business owners, and anyone who might be affected by this project or be able to contribute to it.
c) Under-represented groups — it is important to specially target any possible under-represented groups, such as residents from different cultural backgrounds, women, the elderly, youth, or people who are traditionally marginalized from decision-making in the community.
d) Urban forestry experts — urban forestry experts should ensure that proposed plans are realistic biologically. While the experts should not unduly influence the outcome, they should provide the resources to ensure that appropriate species are selected, that they are planted at the correct time of the year, and that any plants are located in areas where they will thrive.

3) Workshop

The work shop should highlight:
q Benefits of urban forestry
q Health — stagnant water, micro-nutrients, flooding (that overflows sewers and carries disease), respiratory ailments
i) Environment — nutrient cycling, biodiversity, carbon sequestering, urban heat island, erosion, runoff, infiltration
ii) Community — sense of place, ownership, capacity building
iii) Economy — urban agriculture, urban forestry products, medicinal plants.
b) How to plan an urban greening project
c) the importance of good maintenance.

Here is an example of an outline for a workshop hosted in Thailand in May of 2000 where 50 community members were brought together to develop an urban green plan.

Stage II — Planning the "Green Plan"

4) Map and Inventory

Once the community working group has been educated through the workshop it is necessary to plan what urban greening activities should take place. The first step is to inventory or identify the areas that will be planted. The outcome of this inventory will be a map that should provide the basis for planning the urban green space. The map should include:
a) Existing urban greenspace
b) Utilities (both above and below ground)
c) Topography (are there any low spots, banks, hills, etc. that could influence the choice of species to plant?)
d) Buildings (large trees a cannot be placed too close to buildings or utilities)
e) Hydrology (are there any rivers, sewers, streams, or even poorly drained areas? Are there any areas that will flood a certain times of the year?)

5) Establishing Goals

The community must then decide what it is trying to achieve with its urban green space. Does it want community gardens? A shaded walk way? Or is it trying to stabilize a bank or fill a poorly drained area so that stagnant water will not accumulate. Before any planting is discussed the goals of the community must be agreed upon.

6) Design Plan

The community working group must decide what the physical layout of the green space will look like. Using the map as a guide, the community should develop a number of different options for how to use the space. It is important to include the advice of a forester or landscape architect at this stage to ensure that the proposals are realistic and that appropriate species have been planted. It is also vital to ensure that all stakeholders' opinions are expressed so that no one's needs are missed.

7) Work Plan

The next step is to develop a work schedule . This schedule should include what tasks need to be accomplished, when they should be accomplished and who is responsible for them. A blank sheet is included for the work plan.

Stage III — Implementation

8) Implementing the plan

According to the specific tasks that the community decided on the implementation will probably take three stages:
a) Site preparation, such as filling in low spots, adding top soil or compost, removing garbage or rubble.
b) Planting — it is important the planting occur at appropriate times of the year for the species that have been chosen.
c) Maintenance schedule — the community working group must be made aware that urban green space needs maintenance that must start immediately after planting.

9) Monitoring

In order to ascertain weather the project has been a success it is necessary to monitor the results. This should be done in two ways:
a) Community monitoring — By conducting surveys with community members it is possible to determine how satisfied people have been with the process.
b) Biological monitoring — By assessing the biological survival of each plant that was added and by monitoring how much maintenance is required it is possible to assess the biological success of the project.

Additional Resources

Checklist
This word document is a check list that highlights the above as a series of questions that the community can work its way through to develop a well organized and sustainable urban green plan. It should be notes, however, that this is a template only. No one series of suggestions will be able to address all the concerns in every community. As a result, if a community group is going to use this checklist it must be ready to adapt it to the immediate needs of any specific area.

Schedule
This word document is a black schedule where the community working group can determine the tasks must be completed, who will complete them and by what time.

Sample Workshop Outline
This work document is a brief outline of a workshop hosted by the Thailand Environment Institute and the International Centre for Sustainable Cities in May of 2000 for two communities in Bangkok.