From Policy to Action: Co-Designing Research With Local Government to Advance Urban Greening

Area of Science:

• Urban planning and environmental economics.
• Policy implementation and public administration.

Background:

• Australian cities face greenspace loss despite policy support.
• Undervaluation of urban greenspace benefits in local government decision-making hinders implementation.
• A gap exists between urban greening policy commitments and practical execution.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a locally relevant economic framework and decision-support tools for local governments.
• To operationalise urban greening policy goals by integrating economic assessments.
• To address the undervaluation of urban trees and greenspaces in local government.

Main Methods:

• An 18-month co-design methodology was employed with two local governments in Adelaide, Australia.
• Workshops and stakeholder engagement were used to co-develop economic scenarios and refine a modelling framework.
• A prototype decision-support tool and communication resources were collaboratively developed.

Main Results:

• A co-design process facilitated shared understanding and locally relevant economic scenarios.
• An economic modelling framework was developed to quantify urban tree costs and benefits.
• A prototype Urban Greening Decision-Making Tool and communication materials were created.

Conclusions:

• Bridging the policy-implementation gap requires genuine, trust-based partnerships between researchers and practitioners.
• Collaboration must be approached with humility, flexibility, and a focus on partners' priorities.
• Co-creating research and outputs is essential for effective urban greening policy implementation.