Footpaths, tree cut-outs and social contagion drive citizen greening in the road verge

Abstract

Verge gardening is a citizen-led form of public urban greening where residents plant and maintain understorey and trees in the road easement, and it has the potential to significantly increase the diversity and complexity of street greenery which is, most commonly, mown grass and monocultures of street trees. In Melbourne, Australia, two forms of verge gardening – understorey planted by residents and street trees planted by residents– were investigated. The distribution of verge gardens was tested for correlation with a range of urban form and social factors that included the proportion of garden in residential parcels, the proportion of the street set aside as road verge, age of street deve..