Principles of Design for ensuring Sustainable Urban Centres

Abstract

The future ability of urban centres in Australia and around the globe to adapt and respond to big challenges of climate change, economic development and social inclusion, will depend on how well we embed structural and social resilience within these built environments. Such a complex urban resilience agenda presents a major collective challenge for designers, planners and engineers to work out with politicians, developers, financiers and community leaders. Central to achieving integrated design responses for thriving centres is the challenge of mobility, ensuring transit corridors that enable cool, comfortable and reliable transitions between home and workspaces, education, health facilities, entertainment and recreation. Refocusing design efforts on interstitial spaces between destinations will require collaborative processes and co-creation in a design space currently dominated by siloed approaches to traffic management, transport planning, precinct design and engineering, architecture and landscaping. With the aim of bridging these silos, this study – by an interdisciplinary team spanning engineering, science, business and planning – evaluates key literature to create a Place Making Framework that comprises seven principles and associated practices to address critical components of structural and social resilience within the built environment. The paper applies the framework to four urban fabric types, highlighting opportunities and considerations for regeneration development projects, towards urban environments where people can thrive in ways that are good for people and planet.