Abstract

This document is a resource for anyone planning or assessing new low carbon precincts. Its advice complements existing policy and may be of use to developers, planners, policy makers and the community—anyone who is seeking to understand how to create sustainable urban outcomes.

Abstract

For far too long, neighborhood development has been primarily about brick-and-mortar solutions to building and rehabilitating neighborhoods. The world of city building has drastically changed, and it requires a more diverse and more integrated range of solutions to empower social vibrancy and restore ecological health.

Is your local grocery store within walking distance…and is there a sidewalk for you to trek there safely? Does your neighborhood boast high-performing green buildings, parks and green space? Do bikes, pedestrians and vehicles play nicely together on the road?

This project analysed the role of building and planning policy and regulations in delivering sustainable buildings and cities. It reviews policy and best practice, analyses VCAT data and cases, and draws on focus group results.

As part of the CRC for Low Carbon Living this scoping paper focuses on the Low Carbon Precincts (Program 2) however, it also examines aspects of how the Engaged Communities (Program 3) can help with the implementation of low carbon precincts e.g.

The debate about the transition away from fossil fuels has focused on costs, but right here in Australia we have examples of the benefits of sustainable new energy sources for our cities.

Recent decades have seen urban resilience becoming a more popular term internationally both within academic and policy circles. However, relatively little attention has been paid by the literature to the policy implications of striving towards more resilient urban systems and the challenges introduced by the complex, multi-level and multi-actor policy network that forms their context.

Countries across the globe are likely to face significant challenges in coming years that will test the resilience of their cities. However, there is often a lack of proactive evidence-based analysis of available options and their outcomes as well as indicators of success or progress.

The combined challenges of climate change, finite resources, population growth and aging infrastructure demand a shift toward more resource-efficient, low-carbon sustainable cities. This may be achieved through new forms of eco-infrastructure delivered at the district scale.

This paper discusses the significance of urban rail in sustainable development through a number of case studies.