The Embedding Green Infrastructure Best Practice Toolkit

E2Designlab assisted the City of Yarra to create a toolkit that will help Council assess their own practices against best practice green infrastructure guidance. It provides a resource manual to help the implementation of green infrastructure become streamlined, cost-effective, and business as usual. The toolkit is applicable to all Victorian Local Government. E2Designlab delivered the following three parts of the toolkit:

• Self-assessment Tool: The self-assessment tool provides Local Governments with a quick and easy, traffic light method for identifying key challenges and opportunities to embed green infrastructure into Council operations as business-as-usual. The tool is to be used as a starting point for Councils to assess their needs for embedding green infrastructure.
• Economic Framework: The economic framework provides a comprehensive understanding of both upfront and lifecycle costs and benefits of green infrastructure. It provides a template for sound and transparent green infrastructure business planning, internal Council budgets, and as well as State and Federal project funding applications.
• Design Guideline: The design guidelines support the successful integration of green infrastructure into three types of common streetscape works: new kerb outstands, kerb and channel upgrades, and footpath renewals. The guidelines also assist with developing Council processes and systems, building staff capacity, fostering internal communication and collaboration, and setting expectations on works where Green Infrastructure needs to be considered/included. The guide is intended for Council officers who are involved in infrastructure planning, design, construction and maintenance.

The toolkit is available online through the City of Yarra's website, here.