The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is when building more homes where people want to live.
Over the next ten years, YIMBY Melbourne recommends:
Everyone loves trees. The year-round cooling and the shade in the summer, the organic form and the softening of the urban landscape. Not to mention the real, tangible benefits that a strong tree canopy provides for our city and those who live here.
People love street trees in particular. Unlike the private trees confined to individual backyards, the benefits of street trees are distributed to everyone. Whether walking the dog, cycling to work, or sitting by the window in the winter sun with your morning coffee—the presence of a robust street tree canopy only improves the day to day of city life.
Melbourne urbanists have been at the forefront of this love affair, as seen in their calls for more street trees on residential streets, such as between parking bays. And so, because street trees are good, YIMBY Melbourne believes we should have more of them.
This report provides a pathway to increasing both the number of street trees and the overall tree canopy across our city. This report has two key goals:
1. To provide an overview of current tree distribution across Melbourne.
2. To provide an evidence-based costing model for increasing tree canopy in the context of densifying Melbourne's missing middle.
We also provide a brief literature review of street trees, informing the costs and considerations that underpin the model.
The Missing Middle Street Trees report was put together by the YIMBY Melbourne team. The Research Lead was Paul Spasojevic.