Public rooftop gardens spanning an area the size of a large city park would grow across the CBD’s high-rise buildings under an ambitious plan by lord mayoral hopeful Nick Reece.
As part of his re-election pitch, Reece has pledged $3 million in grants to help building owners create new public rooftop gardens and green walls.
The roof garden at Parliament House.Credit: Jason South
Reece said the city’s rooftops were an underused resource and the funding could help transform them into a new “Royal Park in the sky”.
“Using buildings to create more green space is not just about aesthetics – it helps reduce energy costs, cleans the air, and creates a better Melbourne for all of our residents and visitors,” he said.
But Professor Marco Amati, an expert in urban greening from RMIT University, said it was costly and complex to retrofit a green roof onto a building and questioned how far Reece’s $3 million election pledge would go.
“You need to ensure it doesn’t leak and that the soil is thick enough for things to grow,” he said.
Garden designer Paul Bangay in the grounds of Stonefields, central Victoria.Credit: Brendan McCarthy
As part of Reece’s plan, renowned landscape designer Paul Bangay has agreed to provide advice on park and green space design in a new role as Garden City Ambassador.
Mapping from the City of Melbourne reveals that more than one-third of the city’s rooftops – 3.28 million square metres – could be retrofitted into green roofs as they have low or no constraints.