The Building Up and Moving Out report, released by the House of Representative Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport and Cities, seeks to mark out a holistic and integrated approach to urban planning that will support and deliver the future needs of Australia’s major cities and regions.
The report proposes the development of a National Settlement Strategy that will establish a vision for what cities could and should look like over the next fifty years and provide a pathway to achieving this vision.
The report makes 37 recommendations to the Australian government, including:
- nationally consistent guidelines for urban green space and establish a clear trajectory to continued carbon emissions reductions (recommendation 10)
- extending the Smart Cities and Suburbs Program (recommendation 17)
- maintaining the Co-operative Research Centres (CRC) focus on urban issues (recommendation 24)
- supporting the broader application of rating systems, such as the Green Building Council of Australia’s Green Star program, to urban regeneration (recommendation 25)
- adopting an approach to infrastructure project appraisal that includes:
- wider economic, social and environmental benefits
- costs and returns over the life of the infrastructure
- cost of the project suing a discounted rate of 4 per cent.
ASBEC and GBCA each delivered individual submissions and evidence to the Committee last year and are pleased to see that elements of these submissions were reflected in the overall report and its recommendations.
The report recognised the significant role that the Australian government must occupy in driving the sustainable and resilient development of our cities.
More information here