Mitigating Urban Noise & Improving Air Quality

In Australia, each State rail network has an abundance of unused land along the margin corridors of train tracks. These margins are fenced from public access for safety which is sensible. The fenced boundaries are in most cases ugly and unkept. The margins are not landscaped which is not sensible.

The rail network margin corridors could be planted with low maintenance indigenous trees. The benefits would provide:-

• aesthetic biophilic screening for residents living beside rail lines and for travellers in trains
• improve air quality through photosynthesis and filtering particulates from the air
• carbon sequestration
• noise attenuation for urban residents close to train lines
• mitigate the impacts of Urban Heat Island effects especially as rail networks use granite stones between rail tracks which have high thermal storage capacity. The thermal storage creates a hink sink corridor through urban areas.
• improve urban plant diversity
• provide urban habitats which would be protected from predator cats & dogs

The majority of local councils have 'tree planting strategies' which is admirable, however many streets in Sydney & Melbourne cannot accommodate trees due to footpath widths plus shading from highrise buildings can restrict the necessary sunlight trees require..

As realty prices continue to soar in all Capital Cities, the local & state governments cannot afford to buy back green space for urban use so it would be prudent to mandate green roofs for all new high-rise residential developments. The green roof areas would provide benefits for the residents; provide environmental benefits and promote medium density housing..

Going back to my first suggestion about landscaping train network available land. The governments already own the land so the only cost would be for the trees. Considering the benefits this would be a progressive acheivable & sensible strategy.

I always welcome intelligent feedback from followers of this blob.

Think Green - regards Matt Dillon (President / Green Roofs Australasia.