Cool Streets^© partnered with Hobsons Bay City Council to trial two street pilots in Altona Meadows. Hobsons Bay located in Melbourne’s western suburbs has low tree canopy coverage compared to the rest of Melbourne’s suburbs and council’s goal is to increase tree canopy cover across the LGA.

Using the Cool Streets Method^©, resident’s views changed dramatically. On one street, over half of residents chose small trees, the layout with the worst environmental outcome at the beginning of the process. By the end, after information on the environmental and economic benefits were shared, 80% of residents selected a mix of evergreen and deciduous street trees - the best layout for the environment. This demonstrates that information sharing and allowing residents to take the lead in decision making can have substantial environmental benefits.