Can Network City deliver a sustainable future?

Abstract

'Network City', the new regional planning strategy for metropolitan Perth, Western Australia, was finalized in 2004. It sets the framework for urban development for a 25 year period to 2029. Its preparation has provided the impetus for a new debate on urban form and sustainability. That debate, and also the production of the strategy, has taken shape through a new collaborative planning process which required a significant change in the practice of planning as genuine attempts were made to engage the wider community.This paper reports on the new planning approaches established during the development of the new regional planning strategy. It describes the procedural changes to plan production aimed at creating a community planning strategy. The new spatial framework is outlined and the way in which it is envisaged that more sustainable city outcomes can be achieved through changes to planning practice.