Putting the Urban Greening Pieces Together - PolyU Weeks_Seminars PDF/Putting...Putting the Urban Greening Pieces Together ... Urban Greening has been defined as ^the art, ... Reduce

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Campus Sustainability Weeks

Putting the Urban Greening Pieces Together

Brenda Fung World Green Organisation

April 22, 2013

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PRESENTATION OUTLINE

What is Urban Greenery?

Benefits of Urban Greenery

Hong Kong Urban Greening at a Glance

Current Policies, Guidelines & Incentives

Greening Challenges faced by Hong Kong

Singapore Case Study

Hong Kong - Moving towards a Green City

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What is Urban Greenery?

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What is Urban Greening?

Urban Greening has been defined as “the art, science and technology of managing vegetated areas, and potential vegetated areas in and around cities for the psychological, sociological, economic, and aesthetic benefits green areas provide society.”

The entirety of green spaces has also been named the “green structure” of the city.

Often used in a development context. Making green or greener; urban greening as a development tool.

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Benefits of Urban Greenery

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Surface Type Maximum Surface Temperature(℃)

Average Surface Temperature (℃)

Relative Humidity(%)

Cement Surface 24.5 15.5 45.7

Lawn Surface 17.5 9.7 50.7

Urban Forest 9.5 6.1 55.8

Remark: Data taken from Kang et al.(2005)

Urban vegetation and landscaped public spaces can make a significant contribution to the environment: Lower the temperature 3 - 3.5℃ by shading and evaporative cooling Intensify the relative humidity by 5 - 10% Filter up to 70 - 80% of the pollution from the air, even retain 60% without leaves in

winter Reduce noise by 12db.

Below table shows how urban forest and lawn reduce the temperature and increase the relative humidity.

Urban Greening in General

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Roof Type Maximum Surface Temperature(℃)

Daily Temperature Variation(℃)

Hard Surface 57 30

Bare Surface 42 20

Green Roof 26.5~36 <3

Data taken from Wong et al.(2003)

Green roof covered with different kinds of vegetation can significantly lower the maximum surface temperatures in warm climate.

Below table indicates the daily temperature fluctuation of green roof is much slighter than those on conventional roofs.

Green Roof

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Measures Effects

Site Specific

Increase quality and quantity of public space

• Promote natural ventilation & minimize the use of A/C

• Invite more daylight inside a building & reduce use of artificial lighting

• Provide ample basic amenities and social and gathering places

Planting at street level

• Improve environment at pedestrian level to encourage more walking or cycling and therefore reduce the use of vehicles

• Extend indoor sight to outdoor and provide opportunities for local outdoor activities

Large Scale Increase use of

vegetation at district level

• Absorb CO2 emitted from buildings and transportations and release oxygen

• Provide shading for pedestrian & lower ambient air temperature

• Reduce storm water runoff volume and remove pollutants from the water itself

Environmental Benefits

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Mitigate Urban Heat Island Effect

In Singapore the mean temperature of Lim Chu Kang, where is well covered by vegetation, is 4.01°C lower than that of central business district area with only few vegetation.

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Reduce Air Pollution

Vegetation can remove air pollutants thereby saving money on medical expenses for air pollution-related health problems.

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Provide physiological, psychological and social benefits

People live near parks do more exercise

A shift in public spending from ‘grey’ projects to ‘green’ projects of just 0.5% could increase investment in urban green space by 141% (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2009)

Properties near to green parks and open spaces can have an average of 5-20% higher than those located far away or no green facilities (RICS, 2007)

Health, Social and Economic Benefits

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Hong Kong Urban Greening at a Glance

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Some Facts about Hong Kong

High Density Living – Hong Kong’s built-up areas account for only 24% of our territory, just under 260 sq. km. As one of the most densely populated urban environments in the world, with densities over 50,000 people/sq.km., Hong Kong residents are constantly exposed to stressful environments.

Environmental Pollutions– Hong Kong is now suffering from increasing environmental pollutions and needs every new development to help abate the problem, not add to it.

Climate Change - Changes in Hong Kong’s climatic factors that can be attributed to both global warming and localized urbanization include temperature rise in urban area, increasing number of very hot days and hot nights, reducing number of cold days, and rising sea level in the harbour.

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Hong Kong’s Target on Reducing GHG Emissions

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Urban Greening Can Make a Difference

Trees and other types of vegetation are integral to Hong Kong’s community character and enhance overall quality of life in Hong Kong.

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District Park

Victoria Park in Causeway Bay Central Park in Shatin

Urban Greening Opportunities

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Public & Private Housing

Public Housing Estate

Private Housing Estate


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Road & Pedestrian Walkway

Central – Commercial Area Junk Bay – Residential Area


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Podium Garden


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Retaining Wall


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Roundabout


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Current Policies, Guidelines & Incentives

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Urban Greening Relevant Policies, Guidelines & Incentives

1. Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines (HKPSG)

2. Practice Note (PN) / Joint Practice Notes (JPNs)

3. Greening Master Plans (GMPs)

4. BEAM Plus

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1. Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines (HKPSG)

HKPSG is a government manual of criteria for determining the scale, location and site requirements of various land uses and facilities.

It is used in the preparation of town plans and planning briefs and is a tool that helps to regulate development.

The document is under constant review to take account of changes in government policies, demographic characteristics as well as social and economic trends.

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HKPSG - Public Space Four Planning Principles

Quantity - Sufficient public space and recreation facilities.

Quality - Recreation facilities and public space provided should be of a high quality.

Good Practice - To provide easy access, encourage optimum usage and enable complementary improvements to the environment.

Vision - In deriving a vision for the district, we may need to consider a number of different attributes, e.g. the functions of the district, population structure, socio-economic characteristics, and so on.

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HKPSG - Public Space Hierarchy

Urban Areas - Metro Area and the intensive developed New Towns. Public space and recreation facilities should be easily accessible from home and workplace if applicable.

Rural Areas - Vast stretches of flat land & valley floors in the rural New Territories. Public space and recreation facilities may need to be concentrated in the more developed areas.

Countryside and Coastal Areas - Hill slopes, country parks, and coastal areas. Recreation use should be of low intensity and compatible with the rural character and the natural environment, and should co-exist with other uses without causing adverse impacts.

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HKPSG – Public Space Category

Local Public Space – Located within the residential neighborhood with at least 500m2 in urban areas and a maximum building site coverage of 5% .

District Public Space – Centrally located to serve a wider area with at least 1 ha in size and a maximum building site coverage of 10%.

Regional Public Space – At prominent locations in the urban areas with at least 5 ha in size and a maximum building site coverage of 20%.

Public space is required to meet both the active and passive recreational needs of the population and it is classified as follows:

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HKPSG - Public Space Standards for Provision

Public Space Category

Provision Standard Remarks

Regional Public Space

No standard 50% counts as District Public Space in the Metro Area

District Public Space

10 ha per 100,000 persons (i.e. 1m2 / person)

• Subject to slope correction factor • Active/passive ratio is applied • Not applicable to industrial, industrial-

office, business and commercial areas, rural villages, and small residential developments in the rural areas

Local Public Space

10 ha per 100,000 persons (i.e.1m2 / person)

• Subject to slope correction factor • No active/passive ratio • Primarily for passive use • In industrial, industrial-office, business

and commercial areas, the standard is 5 ha per 100,000 workers (i.e. 0.5m2 per worker)

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HKPSG – Landscaping: Greening Guidelines

Intend to enhance the quality of living environment through active planting, and proper maintenance and preservation of trees and vegetation.

A holistic and balanced approach should be adopted to strengthen the commitment to greening.

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HKPSG – Landscaping: Greening Guidelines Detail

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HKPSG – Landscaping: Greening Guidelines Detail

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2. Practice Note vs. Joint Practice Notes

Practice Note APP - 152 Joint Practice Notes 1 & 2

Issued by

• Buildings Department in Jan 2011

• Buildings Department, Lands Department and Planning Department first issued in 2001 and recently revised in Feb 2011.

Purpose

• Promote guidelines on building design which will enhance the quality and sustainability of the built environment in Hong Kong.

• Provide incentives to encourage the incorporation of green features in building development.

Compliance

• Mandatory compliance • 3 key design elements are

prerequisites for granting Gross Floor Area (GFA) concessions.

• Voluntary compliance • Set out the criteria and conditions

for exempting the GFA calculations.

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Practice Note APP-152 Sustainable Building Design Guidelines

Three key building design elements to enhance the environmental sustainability of our living space are identified. They are:

building separation

building set back

site coverage of greenery.

The objectives are to achieve better air ventilation, enhance the environmental quality of the living space, particularly at pedestrian level, provide more greenery and mitigate the heat island effect.

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Practice Note APP-152

Building Separation

For site areas greater than two hectares or with continuous building width of greater than 60 metres, an intervening space equivalent to 20% to 33.3% of the total frontage area of the building or buildings be required.

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Building Set back

On streets less than 15-metre wide, new building developments measured from ground level to a height of 15 metres should be set back to provide a space with a width of not less than 7.5 metres measured from the centre line of the street.


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To improve the environmental quality of the urban space, particularly at the pedestrian level and to mitigate the heat island effect, new building developments with site areas of 1,000 m2 or more, shall be provided with greenery areas at the pedestrian zone, communal podium roof / flat roof / main roof, slope and retaining structure, where appropriate, to meet the minimum site coverage of greenery as specified in the table below.

Site Coverage of Greenery


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Joint Practice Notes 1 & 2

The package of incentives includes a list of green features that may be exempted from Gross Floor Area (GFA) and/or Site Coverage (SC) calculation.

Some Green and amenity features covered in Joint Practice Notes 1 & 2 • Communal podium gardens for non-residential buildings • Communal sky gardens for residential buildings • Communal sky gardens for non-residential buildings • Balconies for residential buildings (must be open on at least 2 sides) • Wider common corridors and lift lobbies for residential buildings • Acoustic fins • Wing walls, wind catchers, and funnels

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Example on GFA Concessions

Highest Density Resident Zone 1

Medium Density Resident Zone 2

Lowest Density Resident Zone 3

Non-Domestic

GFA Concession (Green/Amenity

Features)

2 Storey 3 Storey 1 Storey 1 Storey

Equivalent to 10% of the site coverage of the

tower

Equivalent to 5% of the site

coverage of the tower





Remark: These figures are extracted from the recent Hong Kong’s Government study’s findings on 97 buildings of varied types based on the old Joint Practice Notes 1 & 2.

Joint Practice Notes 1 & 2

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3. Greening Master Plans (GMPs)

Civil Engineering and Development Department has introduced the Greening Master Plans for urban areas since 2004.

The largest project of its kind in dense urban areas in the world.

Greening Master Plans seek to define comprehensively the greening framework of selected areas with coherent themes and plant species to promote a clear district identity.

Implementation in three stages:

Short term - conforms to the existing layout of the districts and be implemented within 1-2 years

Medium term – has to assocate with other private developments

Long term - ultimate greening vision “Connectivity”, trying to create green corridors that link to the existing greenery

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Green Master Plans for Hong Kong and Kowloon areas

Tsim Sha Tsui (completed in 2007) Centra (completed in 2007) Mong Kok and Yau Ma Tei (completed in 2009) Sheung Wan, Wan Chai and Causeway Bay (completed in 2009) Western District (expected to be completed in mid-2011) Southern District (expected to be completed in mid-2011) Eastern District (expected to be completed in mid-2011) Sham Shui Po (expected to be completed in mid-2011) Kowloon City (expected to be completed in mid-2011) Wong Tai Sin (expected to be completed in mid-2011) Kwun Tong (expected to be completed in mid-2011)

Green Master Plans initiative to the New Territories – starting from end of 2010

Greening Master Plans (GMPs) - Progress

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To reflect Central's role as the financial centre of Hong Kong, the GMP for Central adopts 'Heart of Gold' as the theme, which is realized through plants with golden, yellow, orange or red flowers

and foliage (e.g. Hibiscus tiliaceus, Plumeria rubra and Peltophorum pterocarpum), supplemented by trees with a large crown (e.g. Ficus microcarpa and Cinnamomum camphora) to enhance the

greening effect and to provide shade to pedestrians.

Central – Heart of Gold for Central

Greening Master Plans (GMPs) - Examples

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Green Kaleidoscope is proposed for the core area using a variety of planting designs and species to enhance the environment and reinforce the characters of existing landmarks.

Mongkok – Green Kaleidoscope

Greening Master Plans (GMPs) - Examples

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BEAM Plus is the green building assessment system to measure, improve and label the environmental performance of buildings.

BEAM Plus is:

The leading initiative to assess, improve, certify and label the environmental performance of buildings

A comprehensive standard and supporting process covering all building types, including mixed use complexes, both new and existing

A means by which to benchmark and improve performance

A voluntary scheme developed in partnership with, and adopted by the industry, at a level that makes it one of the leading schemes in the world

A driver for and means by which to assure healthier, higher quality, more durable, efficient, and environmentally sustainable working and living environments

4. BEAM Plus

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Outdoor Space & Landscaping

Site Aspects (SA) Material Aspects

(MA) Water Use

(WU) Bonus

SA P1 Minimum Landscaping Area - planting on site equivalent to 20% of the site area (residential site >1000m2)

SA3 Neighborhood Amenities - basic services and recreational facilities within 500m from the site

SA7 Landscaping and Planters - proportion of materials used for hard and soft landscaping, large expanses of greenery but minimize watering and maintenance requirements

SA8 Microclimate around Buildings - wind velocities, shading or roofing system for pedestrian, AVA

SA9 Neighborhood Daylight Access - Vertical Daylight Factor, viewing angle

SA15 Light Pollution – ensure that the exterior light does not create unnecessary light pollution

BEAM Plus – New Buildings

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SA7 Landscaping and Planters – use previous materials for a minimum 50% of hard landscaped area; compliance with the existing trees and legislation

MA6 Sustainable Forest Products - encourage the use of at least 50% of timber products from sustainable sources

MA7 Recycled Materials - promote recycled materials to be used in exterior surfacing work, structure, and features

MA9 Regionally Manufactured Materials - materials manufactured within 800km from the site



(MA) Water Use

(WU) Bonus

BEAM Plus – New Buildings

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WU3 Water Efficient Irrigation - reduce the reliance on municipal fresh water and encourage the harvesting of rainwater as well as recycling grey water for irrigating

WU4 Water Recycling - encourage the harvesting of rainwater and recycling grey water for the whole waterworks

BONUS

SA5 Ecological Impact - conserve natural environment by weighting indicators like naturalness, habitat diversity, non-recreatability, and so on.



(MA) Water Use

(WU) Bonus

BEAM Plus– New Buildings

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1. Problems in the Greening Industry

2. Issues in BEAM Plus

3. Government Failure

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1. Problems in the Greening Industry

Wrong Trees & Wrong Places

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Lack of Expertise – Landscape Architects

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Lack of Expertise – Landscape Contractors and Arborists

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Poor Maintenance

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Focus on setting environmental standards for individual building level – small scale.

Social and economic elements of sustainability are not included at the moment.

Building impacts on the surrounding neighborhood is not taken into consideration.

2. Issues in BEAM Plus

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3. Government Failure

a) Lack of Government’s Vision & Long-term Commitment

b) Lack of Intra- and Intre-departmental Coordination

c) Lack of Recognized and Accepted Scheme

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a) Lack of Government’s Vision & Long-Term Commitment

No a long term commitment from the highest levels of government.

The government has neither an adopted vision nor a clear policy for the greening.

No administrative or legislative means on mandatory provision of greenery.

Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines – standard designs lead to poor quality

Greening Master Plan is implemented in a piecemeal approach and no on-going evaluation and monitoring

Joint Practice Notes 1 & 2 are somehow attributed directly or indirectly to the wall-effect and urban heat island effect.

Building Department’s GFA Concessions policy requires green coverage of 20-30% – not cover all private developments, in particular this policy is most likely not to benefit the old districts like Sham Shui Po and Mong Kok.

Lack of measures to control the quality of urban greening.

Lack of greening at pedestrian level and hence low walkability.

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Over 10 government departments work on different greening projects.

Each has its own house rules, regulations, standards, guidelines and codes of practices.

The Greening, Landscape and Tree Management (GLTM) Section established in 2010 is responsible largely for coordinating all the urban greening issues.

GLTM is led by a Principal Assistant Secretary, who is three levels down from the Secretary.

b) Lack of Intra- and Intre-departmental Coordination

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Government does not provide an industry recognized skills training system for greening industry

It results in lack of greening education and training for professionals, supervisors and workers in the industry.

In 2009, 100 internationally certified arborist in Hong Kong, of whom 70 to 80 worked for the government.

The most experienced arborist has less than 10 years working experience and only a few qualified arborists are available in the private sector.

Government outsourcing policy leads to shortage of highly skilled artisans and semi-skilled workers.

c) Lack of Recognized and Accepted Scheme

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Singapore Case Study

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Singapore Case Study – Successful Criteria

Strong leadership – starting with the former Prime Minister Mr. Lee Kuan Yew

Strong and continuous commitment from the government of the past and the present

A clear vision set in 1960s – creating a green and clean city: from “Garden City” to “City in a Garden”

Policy Commitment

Strong Institutional Framework – A single Authority

Integrated Approach

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Singapore Case Study – Evolution of Institutional Framework

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Singapore Case Study – A Single Authority “National Parks Board (NParks) “

Chief Executive Officer

Assistant Chief Executive Officer

Corporate Development & Services Cluster

Deputy Chief Executive Officer

Professional Development & Services Cluster

Assistant Chief Executive Officer Park Management

& Lifestyle Cluster

Advisor to NParks & Chief Executive

Officer Gardens-by-the-Bay

Responsibilities: • Parks • Parks Development • Lifestyle Business

Responsibilities: • Gardens-by-the-Bay

Responsibilities: • Conservation • Industry/CUGE • National Biodiversity Centre • Policy & Planning • Singapore Botanic Gardens • Streetscape • Horticulture and Community • Gardening

Responsibilities: • Communications & Community Engagement • Corporate Development • Finance • Resource Management

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Singapore Case Study – National Training Institution

Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology established in 2007 is a joint effect between NParks and the Singapore Workforce Development Agency.

Provide various of horticulture and landscape skills training programmes for all levels of landscape industry.

Adopt the Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) and other certifications systems in its training programmes which are nationally recognized.

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Singapore Case Study – Integrated Approach

The notion of building a green city has always been embodied in the national policy as well as the Singapore Green Plan.

Greening considerations are requested to be incorporated into the planning process at an early stage.

Road Codes was first introduced in 1976 to mandate provision of planting verge along main roads and it is still in force.

Private property developers are requested to provide roadside trees and set aside space for green buffer in their development.

Two heritage preservation schemes: Heritage Tree Scheme and Heritage Road Scheme.

Green Corridor connects nature areas, open spaces and parks to urbanized areas in the whole country.

The Land Information Network manages data of some 13 million trees in Singapore.

LUSH Programme is designed to encourage private developers to add more greenery on the different levels of the high rise buildings.

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Hong Kong - Moving towards a Green City

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Moving Forward…

1. Hong Kong needs to form a Statutory Greening Agency

2. BEAM Plus - Shift to Larger Scale

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1. Hong Kong needs to set up a Statutory Greening Agency

The current institutional arrangements, policies and practices are neither efficiency nor effectiveness.

Now is the Right Timing - a new administration and increasing public awareness of the issue.

Why?

Chief Executive commits to an urban greening policy that assigns highest priority to the greening in all relevant decisions in the government.

A clear vision is set to unite all related parties and have common goals to work towards.

An integrative approach is employed to help put in place the necessary policies and measures to achieve the vision.

Foster a stronger partnership with key stakeholders in the industry

How?

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A Statutory Greening Agency’s Functional Responsibilities

Professional Development

Assessment, Survey & Research

Conservation

Community Engagement &

Communications

Policy & Planning

Streetscape, Parks and Recreation

Vision

Goals

Go

als

Goals

Go

als

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Top Priorities under the Statutory Greening Agency

To develop a comprehensive and integrated overall urban greening policy with a set of the short, medium and long term goals and targets, together with the action plans to achieve those goals and targets.

The policy should also be flexible enough to suit different government departments or agencies circumstances and needs

To introduce policy incentives or regulations to encourage private sector to provide or, even better, increase greenery coverage in their developments.

a) Provision of Greening in Public and Private Lands

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To involve people of different backgrounds and positions, from the professional level down to the grassroots’ level in the society

To create more awareness about the benefits of urban greening and to encourage cooperation among the government and citizens in the community as well as neighborhood-based cooperation

To create a sense of challenge and ownership among the society and eventually trigger effective change.

b.) Community Engagement

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c) Professional Development

To take the lead in providing training opportunities for all levels of the industry

To set up a dedicated professional development division under the greening agency to work closely with the key stakeholders in the industry.

To conduct regular assessment on the skill requirements and the needs of the industry and accordingly devise the government and industry recognized training and education programmes that address those needs.

To put an accreditation system for greening professionals in place to ensure consistent practice and standards.

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d) Monitoring System

To conduct regular assessment and survey of plants, particularly for trees planted in public areas.

To compile an inventory of plants and provide a better understanding of the plants and their health in the city.

To enter collected data into a Geographic Information System (GIS) so that it could be made available and accessed by relevant parties in the industry or even the public.

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Expand environmental sustainability to include social and economic aspects, i.e. from individual buildings to entire neighborhoods or even district level.

NEIGHBOURHOOD

Region

DISTRICT

SITE

2. BEAM Plus – Shift to Larger Scale

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Develop different BEAM Plus schemes specifically for residential buildings, commercial buildings, neighborhoods and interior projects. Develop landscape and public space requirements that would be specific to fit into each individual scheme.

Comprehensive Environmental Performance Assessment Scheme for Buildings (CEPAS) commissioned by the Buildings Department provides a holistic assessment tool which is tailor-made for the Hong Kong context. Some criteria from CEPAS could be incorporated into BEAM Plus.

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Thank you!

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Documents

Putting the Urban Greening Pieces Together - PolyU Weeks_Seminars PDF/Putting...Putting the Urban Greening Pieces Together ... Urban Greening has been defined as ^the art, ... Reduce