New Capital Cities planning System supports sustainability

The nation's leading green building organisation has today welcomed the Australian Government's announcement of a new capital cities planning system.

The Department of Infrastructure has adopted new reforms which will require states and territories to develop capital city strategic plans by 2012 that meet national criteria for transport, housing, urban development and sustainability.

According to Romilly Madew, the Chief Executive of the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), a longer-term strategic approach to urban planning is required if Australia is to successfully meet the challenges of climate change, productivity, population growth, housing affordability and sustainability.

"We hope this new strategic planning system will deliver better outcomes across cities, where we not only address climate change, but also face up to a future nation which will be home to more than 35 million people by 2049.

"With that in mind, we must look at how we manage our precious resources, minimise our environmental footprint and create cities that are healthy, liveable places that address community needs well into the future," Ms Madew says.

The GBCA is currently working on the development of a sustainable precinct framework that will establish an independent, national language to guide the development of sustainable communities.

"Our precincts framework will provide valuable support for the federal government's sustainable cities agenda," Ms Madew explains.

"There is a real need for frameworks, models, tools and case studies that promote the delivery of new sustainable communities and the revitalisation and retrofitting of existing ones, and we look forward to working with the Australian Government to support its capital city planning initiative," Ms Madew concludes.

The GBCA is also collaborating on two projects focused on developing sustainable cities. Ms Madew chairs the Australian Sustainable Built Environment's Constructing Cities for the Future taskgroup which is considering the complex interaction between the factors that shape urban land use, transport services and greenhouse gas emissions. Ms Madew is also on the Built Environment Meets Parliament (BEMP) committee which released a discussion paper, Principles for planning sustainable communities, at this year's event

About the Green Building Council of Australia
The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) is Australia's leading authority on green building. The GBCA was established in 2002 to develop a sustainable property industry in Australia and drive the adoption of green building practices.

The GBCA has more than 760 member companies who work together to support the Council and its activities. The GBCA promotes green building programs, technologies, design practices and processes, and operates Australia's only national voluntary comprehensive environmental rating system for buildings - Green Star.

About the precinct project
Developed in collaboration with industry, government, specifically government land organisations, academia, professional associations and practitioners, this new framework will include a rating system that assesses communities against best practice sustainable benchmarks.

Once complete, the precincts framework will be applicable to both new and existing communities, and will cover all building types and land uses.

About BEMP
The annual Built Environment Meets Parliament (BEMP) summit is co-hosted by the following industry associations: Association of Consulting Engineers Australia, Australian Institute of Architects, Green Building Council of Australia, the Planning Institute of Australia and the Property Council of Australia.

Contact:
Karen Jamal
Communications
Green Building Council of Australia
Phone: 0412 179 135
Mobile: 0412 179 135
Email: karen.jamal@gbca.org.au