Cool stuff: The ‘depaving’ trend turning hot streets into green oases

SPOTLIGHT / Hot stuff

Alfred Place Gardens in London, before and after.

Think for a second about how much of the world we’ve covered with asphalt. Conservative estimates put it at one million square kilometres – the size of South Australia or Egypt. Heavy, dense and dark, asphalt absorbs heat and robs the soil beneath of oxygen and water. It’s one of the prime contributors to the urban heat-island effect, where cities are 2 to 10 degrees hotter than the surrounding countryside (unshaded asphalt can reach 75 degrees during a heatwave). “We’re building new suburbs with vast expanses of unshaded asphalt, black, heat-absorbing roofs and not nearly enough trees,” says Dr Thami Croeser, a research fellow at the Centre for Urban Research at Melbourne’s RMIT University.

Which is why an international trend for depaving is picking up pace, following a successful example in Colombia’s Medellin, which has reduced temperatures by two degrees thanks to an extensive tree-planting and depaving program. Paris plans to remove half of its 140,000 parking spaces, while in London, projects like Alfred Place Gardens have converted grey streets into green oases.

Back home, plans are also underway to remove asphalt and plant millions more trees: Melbourne has its Cambridge Street Reserve in Collingwood, while Sydney is introducing more “pocket parks” like the one at the intersection of Clovelly and Carrington roads in Randwick.

The time to fortify our cities is now, warns Croeser: “Air-conditioning alone won’t save us from the worst effects of climate change.” Greg Callaghan

LISTEN / It’s a long story

The BBC’s five-hour radio adaptation of Rushdie’s novel succeeds on its own terms.

Despite the height of my to-read pile of new books, I’d been thinking of rereading an old favourite, Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children. Then – on library app Libby – I stumbled across BBC Radio 4’s dramatisation of it. With a five-hour running time (as compared with 600-odd pages), this 2017 production, directed by Tracey Neale and Emma Harding, could never match the layered complexity of the novel – which is set in India as the nation gains its independence from British colonial rule in 1947 – but succeeds and entertains in its own way. With stellar vocal performances and the liberal use of music and sound-effects, this wasn’t just a well-told story that transported me to Bombay in a turbulent time in history but also an arresting sensory experience. One that, for the time being, has scratched my Rushdie itch. Paul Connolly

SHOP / Picture this

Add up to 10 seconds of audio to each image with this camera.

Ever wished you could add sound to your images? The FujiFilm Instax Mini LiPlay ($249) is a hybrid pocket-rocket of a camera with a nifty sound function that can record 10 seconds of audio. The sound grab is then converted to a QR code and added to your image. Compatible with card-sized Instax Mini film (sold separately), this groovy little newcomer allows you to edit and print your favourite digital captures or use the direct-print function that turns it into a smartphone printer. Meanwhile, the app includes more than 60 additional design frames and film effects to enhance your image and a “save printed image” function for that all-important export to social media. Frances Mocnik

COOK / Simple pleasures

Chef Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s new book takes a joyous approach to feeding loved ones.

Julia Busuttil Nishimura believes miraculous things happen in a kitchen when you make fresh produce your focus. To leaf through her new book is to accompany her on a personal journey, each recipe a nostalgia-laced love letter to the people and places that have taught her something joyous about feeding the people she loves; it’s all so relaxed you can almost hear Dean Martin singing Volare. Her tomatoes on toast, inspired by lunch on a sunny Roman piazza, had me flying out the front door to the shops. So, too, her poached and marinated prawns. I could go on. In short, Good Cooking Every Day ($45) pulses with that galvanising magic that all good cookbooks share – the one that makes you think, I can make this and, by god, I’m going to do it today. Sharon Bradley

Oroton’s cotton twill vest leans into utility vibes of recent runway shows.

WEAR / Make yourself useful

In fashion, “diffusion line” – the term given to a brand’s secondary, often less expensive label – can sometimes be a dirty word. Not so with Australian heritage brand Oroton, whose “Everyday” range leans into “cozzie livs” while manifesting all the design nous one expects from the house. There are bags, shorts and scarves, but the pick of the bunch, this cotton twill vest in “Wheat” ($229), leans into the utility vibes of the newest Proenza Schouler range shown at New York Fashion Week. Runway vibes at a runaway price. Melissa Singer

EAT / In a nutshell

Melbourne chef Joey D’s addictive pistachio butter.

Pinterest’s trend reports are always worth a look. The most recent update announced a 240 per cent surge in “pistachio butter” searches. Tap into the frenzy with locally made Crema di Pistachio ($19 for 220g) from Chef Joey D. The Melbourne chef – owner of Grazia restaurant – already makes a highly fancied chilli crisp. This spread is similarly addictive, made with a higher pistachio component than similar products. It’s good swirled through vanilla ice-cream, whipped with ricotta and stuffed into cannoli, and – let’s be realistic – from the jar. Dani Valent

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