Mark Bowater, Auckland Council & Tracy Talbot, OPUS
Introduction:
Auckland has a clear vision to become the world’s most liveable city. With over 4,000 parks, covering 50,000ha, it is already a green city. Or is it ?
The Council has set ambitious goals to create a low carbon Auckland, to reduce energy use by 40% by 2040, water use by 20% by 2025, and zero waste by 2040. Yet the city is growing at 3% per annum, nearly twice the rate of Sydney.
Auckland’s parks are a critical contributor to the liveability of the city – conserving rich natural heritage, and providing places where people can touch nature. They form a key part of the green infrastructure network, helping to manage stormwater, improve air quality, and mitigate climate change.
In response to growth, over the next 10 years, Auckland Council will invest more than $190m into upgrading the playing capacity of sports parks. This is a prime opportunity to apply green design philosophies.
Approach:
The Parks Sport and Recreation department is championing environmental sustainability, low impact design philosophies, and innovative use of green technologies.
The department has partnered with Opus to create a green infrastructure strategy, underpinned by best practice research. A key outcome is a comprehensive set of green engineering/infrastructure design guidelines that inform park development. To help tell the story, a 3D graphic visual has been created of a “model” sustainable sports park.
Outcome:
Paradigms are changing already with new LED sports floodlighting and hybrid natural/synthetic turf installation.
Guided by green infrastructure design principles, an exciting journey to more sustainable parks has begun.
