The Australian Financial Review (AFR) has recently published two articles regarding the Vision202020 program and one of them showcases Josh Byrne & Associates’ (JBA) work with the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority (MRA) at the Perth Cultural Centre (PCC).
The ‘City Feeding the City: Urban Orchard Bears Fruit’ article by James Sherbon, covers the MRA’s project brief for the PCC development initiative and the design response from JBA Director Josh Byrne and his team.
“We didn’t want this to be a typical public space design, it needed to be something different. We wanted to support MRA’s sustainability objectives, and we thought one way to do that was to create a community garden that was a shared resource for all. The design included extensive vegetable beds and planter boxes for fruit trees made from recycled rubble. The old street furniture was rejuvenated by local artists and the whole space came to life” Byrne says.
The second of the articles, ‘Adding to the Stock of Green Space’ by James Dunn, covers the 202020 Vision, a mission to create 20 per cent more and better urban space by the year 2020. The 202020 Vision is a national initiative between business, governments and community groups established in 2013 by Horticulture Innovation Australia Ltd, the Australian horticulture industry’s not-for-profit R&D arm, in conjunction with the Nursery and Garden Industry Australia.
JBA Director Josh Byrne is quoted in the article through his advocate role in the 202020 Vision,
“Certainly there are some great innovations that people often see as attention-grabbing and sexy – that is, green roofs and vertical gardens – but the role of trees in creating urban forests is also critically important. We shouldn’t shy away from the challenge of getting more trees into built-up urban environments.”
JBA has submitted several exemplar projects to the 202020 Vision including the PCC Urban Orchard, PCC Urban Wetland and the Onslow Community Garden in the Shire of Ashburton.
JBA is also working closely with HIA Ltd to identify the barriers to the adoption of the 202020 Vision Goals. This work covers:
- Understand the regulatory/policy environment of the Living Green Supply Chain at Federal, State and Local levels and how this influences town planning and sustainable development.
- Identify the barriers within the Living Green Supply Chain at Federal, State and Local levels to enable better allocation of resources to overcome these barriers.
- Provide a plan that details and ranks the opportunities to better influence participants of the Living Green Supply Chain at Federal, State and Local levels.