This paper describes the evolution of local government asset management practice since 2003, from its 'risk based' origins, with reference to Newcastle City Council as a case study.
The paper describes how a risk based mindset has informed past and current management culture and decision making for green urban infrastructure such as street trees, parks, bushland and creeks. The author contends that green infrastructure provides a fundamental beneficial contribution to urban environments - that is not typically recognised in traditional 'cost benefit' decision making:
"In the absence of quantified tree benefits the costs of trees remains the foundation for decisions" (p1).
Council estimates indicate that the Newcastle LGA has over 70,000 trees planted along public streets - with hundreds of thousands more on private and public land within the local government area.
In recent years Council has made a "quantum leap" and incorporated natural resources, including street trees, as an asset group in their own right into corporate asset management systems. It was argued that public trees imposed costs on council's assets budget, and therefore should be planned for. An Tree Asset Management System (TAMS) is subsequently being developed in-house by Council.
The TAMS is complemented by council's Urban Forest Policy (2007) - see Related Resources. The Conference Paper describes the journey taken and stakeholders engaged to develop a Urban Forest Policy for council; and maps out the evolution of related policy issues and activities from 2003 - 2009 in Table 2.
Both of these frameworks hallmark a shift from a risk driven, reactive maintenanct approaches to proactive street tree management that seeks to plan and budget for the renewal and maintenance of an urban forest 'canopy' into the future.