Concrete jungle Hong Kong to get diverse array of plants on urban streets in drive to green the city
About 20 tree and shrub species can now be found across urban areas but this will increase to 120, with city planners shown how to ‘match plants to places’
Concrete jungle Hong Kong will have a greater diversity of trees and shrubs in future, as part of a government plan to place at least 120 varieties of plants along the city’s streets to make the environment more pleasant, especially for pedestrians.
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A cornerstone of the strategy, now being reviewed by the Development Bureau, is a guide for urban planners to match plants to places, by assessing factors such as the area’s traffic flow and layout of pedestrian pathways, and then recommending suitable trees and shrubs.
Landscape architect Patrick Lau Hing-tat, a long-time champion of better greening in the city, said about 20 tree species could be found across the city’s urban areas.
His team at urban design firm Earth Asia Design Group helped craft the guide and expand the pool of recommended plants by studying their tolerance for pruning and roadside pollution, adaptability to variations in the climate, and how attractive they look, among other things.
For example, Hing Fat Street in Tin Hau, which is off a main road and has sidewalks with tree planters, was matched with six types of plants, including the Indian gooseberry and Hong Kong gordonia.
