Living Fences in Buenos Aires: Improving Quality of Air

The Living Fences initiative seeks to raise awareness for local air quality concerns, generate commitments and actively address air pollution by planting green living fences. The initiative was inspired by the Breathe/Respirar Project (BRP), a research action programme initiated in a school community in Sheffield (UK) that started experimenting with green barriers to reduce the air pollution the schoolyard was exposed to due to its location close to traffic. BRP has also a strong focus on knowledge exchange and mutual learning and fostering international collaboration between Buenos Aires and Sheffield was encouraged for mutual knowledge sharing and learning, involving schools, students, city councils and researchers. This collaborative partnership is facilitated by regular communication and several rounds of feedback. The Living Fences initiative, led by the Landscape Architecture programme at the University of Buenos Aires, received enthusiastic support from academics from different disciplines, government institutions, professional and business circles and interest groups. This initiative also includes training that enables small horticultural businesses from disadvantaged peri-urban areas of Buenos Aires to acquire the skills needed to build and install the green fences in inner city schoolyards, thus strengthening local community engagement.

Overview

Type of instrument:

Knowledge, communication and innovation instruments›Knowledge and/or innovation

Challenges addressed

Green space management (e.g. accessibility)
Air quality
Reconnection to the biosphere / environmental education
Human health, comfort and well-being

Consideration of nature-based solutions:

Green fences present green infrastructure to improve urban air quality. The design of the green fences involved planting in three strata: 1) Ivy (Hedera helix) constituted the first line between the exterior and the interior of the schoolyard growing vertically over the railings. This species was chosen because it adapts easily to different sites and has minimal water requirements., 2) Non-invasive canes (Phyllostachys aurea and Bambusa multiplex) constitute the second level of the living fence, facilitating density and height., 3) The third strata is made up of (shorter) plants (17 species in total) that aligned with the premises concerning a landscape architecture that is aesthetic, recreational, sensory and has environmental benefits and/or environmental education value, such as re-connecting with nature and increasing biodiversity. The green fences have also the potential to contribute to human health and climate regulation, increase communities' sense of ownership and social cohesion, increase quality and quantity of green and blue infrastructures and create new employment opportunities.

Targeted (peri-)urban areas:

Allotments, community gardens or agricultural areas

Other

Good practice characteristics:

Support multifunctional NBS

Locally appropriate

Potential to be replicated / upscaled

Innovative

Inclusivity

Governance

Non-governmental actor(s)

Initiating body:

Researchers, university

Details about how the instrument was designed:

The design of this initiative has been coordinated by the University of Buenos Aires and the University of Sheffield, but has also involved governmental authorities such as the Ministry of Education (Green Schools Unit) and the Ministry of Public Spaces (Urban Anthropology Unit).

Targeted actors:

Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)

Researchers, university

Citizens or community groups (CBOs), NGOs

Details about the implementation:

The implementation process of the living green fences in Buenos Aires drew on international experience with Urban Living Labs, local expertise in environmental education for sustainable development (which also takes into account aspects such as people's well-being, equality, rights and equitable distribution of resources). Moreover, insights on the impact of urban greening policy on inequalities and fragmentary development in the city were considered. The project’s implementation in Buenos Aires required a participatory process with several rounds of trial and error to identify and enrol stakeholders in a broadly defined green infrastructure initiative. Multiple partners from national and local government, university, environmental NGOs and volunteers, including school personnel are thus involved in the implementation. The green fences initiative is linked to the Buenos Aires Green Plan, which aims to create more green spaces in the city.

How did the government support the instrument?:

There was a joint work with two local government units from the City of Buenos Aires. The main partners were at the Urban Anthropology Directorate, who are in charge of coordinating citizen participation in questions related to public space. They supported the initiative by introducing the project to Work with various stakeholders and engaged in the co-production of green infrastructure applications for the city. The second unit, was at the Department of Education. There was also a joint work with the Green Schools programme. They supported the initiative by introducing us to schools with interest in developing a green fence and helped us with approval, planning and management process.

Financing

Sources of funding:

Public national budget

Private Foundation

Budget:

100 000 € 500 000€

Details about instrument financing:

Grants for the first outreach and planting activities in Buenos Aires were provided by the British Council (international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities)and British Academy (UK). Further sponsors include the Grantham Foundation, British Academy, European Research Council, Henkel and green horses.

Monitoring, evaluation and impacts

Is a monitoring framework in place?:

Yes

Specific monitoring strategies are currently being developed. Researchers from Sheffield and Buenos Aires will monitor the impact of the green billboards on air quality and other environmental, health and wellness and quality of life indicators.

Achieved outcomes and impacts:

Two fences were installed in two schools and the first run was completed in the first school with a reduction in the concentration of air pollutants. Biodiversity increases in the second school and the green spaces are spontaneously used more by the children to play and learn in nature. With the first living fences planted, further impacts and benefits were identified: i) Engaging City Government: The project obtained recognition from the City Council and engaged with multiple departments within local government, most notably the Buenos Aires Ministry of Education and its sustainability education programme., ii) The Breathe Deep Experimental Training Course provided an opportunity for people who are working, or hoping to work, in landscaping to receive training and practical experience of creating living fences and schoolyards., iii) Applied learning with University of Buenos Aires students involved them in research, analysis, design and implementation of the first living fence and school yard in Buenos Aires., iv) school-based activities with children and teachers: 5th year primary schoolchildren took part in an arts-based workshop facilitated by environmental educators using art, music and games., v) Exchange and collaboration: in order to extend the network of academic and professional collaboration, UBA and the Sociedad Central de Arquitectos convened an international conference in Buenos Aires on green infrastructure in Latin American cities.

Success factors and lessons learned:

There is still much to learn about living fences, including the optimal design for improving air quality as well as the multiple social and environmental co-benefits that this layer of vegetation brings. While the first aspect is site-specific, which is crucial in the case of schoolyards to ensure the environmental health of children, the second aspect can and must be applied at multiple scales and linked as much as possible to wider networks of nature-based solutions. This means that strategically designed (in cooperation with the local community) and maintained green fences in schoolyards, in synergy with longer-term education and awareness-raising activities, can bring multiple socio-ecological benefits in the short term. In addition, the importance of integrated cooperation with policymakers to secure funding and enable wider application was recognised as well as exploring opportunities for integrating the living fences with other related activities such as in the Green Schools programme. And the level of awareness of air quality should be assessed before the issue is highlighted.

Sources and further information

References

List of references:

Fabio, V., Kanai, J.M. and Astbury, J. (2020) A new landscape architecture: the living fences experience of Buenos Aires. 4D Journal of Landscape Architecture and Garden Art, 38 (55-56). pp. 54-64. ISSN 1787-6613

Redondo Bermúdez, M.d.C.; Kanai, J.M.; Astbury, J.; Fabio, V.; Jorgensen (2022) A. Green Fences for Buenos Aires: Implementing Green Infrastructure for (More than) Air Quality. Sustainability 2022, 14, 4129. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14074129

Interview(s):

Written feedback received from the University of Buenos Aires and University of Sheffield.

Further documents

Weblinks:

https://oppla.eu/casestudy/23347

https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/geography/research/projects/breathe

https://riberaba.org.ar/proy/proyecto-respirar-breathe/