Move over Agenda 21, we have a new contender for the world’s most boring urban planning related conspiracy theory, Resolution 24/3! Seriously, don’t read it. It’s boring. However as a supporting study, the UN has put together a book of case studies on planning best practices in cities around the world, which is actually interesting. I found the Melbourne case study particularly interesting, and would like to dig into it more:

Melbourne developed a new approach to urban planning, through an ecosystem-based climate adaptation programme, embracing what the City refers to as ‘nature sensitive’ urban design and planning. This approach emphasises the services that nature provides to the city and focuses on how it can be protected, restored, created, enhanced and maintained within the urban setting. The urgency posed by the current impacts of climate changes resulted in the City creating a multi-million dollar integrated ecosystem-based climate change adaptation program in 2010 – the ‘Urban Landscapes Adaptation Program’.

The primary goal of this programme was to reduce drought vulnerability and to cool the city by 4°C in an effort to safeguard its citizens and the ecosystem services of its environmental assets from the impacts of climate change. The programme is underpinned by two strategies: the Open Space Strategy, which aims to increase green space by 7.6% and the Urban Forest Strategy, which is projected to double the City’s tree canopy to 40%.