A recent study for the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute called Towards a new development model for housing regeneration in greyfield precincts, led by me, has identified areas where innovation is needed in order to establish a viable development model:
- New urban policy capable of articulating a long-term strategy for targeting regeneration in the middle suburbs;
- Establishing an urban regeneration agency with responsibility for greyfields as well as brownfields;
- A digital spatial information and planning platform with associated tools capable of identifying the most prospective precincts for regeneration, and providing capacity for stakeholder engagement in visualising development options;
- New urban designs for low-rise (four to six storeys) medium-density precincts with high environmental performance (energy, water, waste) and high residential and social amenity;
- Innovative construction processes and changes to the labour force capable of providing more attractive and affordable solutions to medium-density housing developments. (Industrialised processes that include combinations of prefabricated panels, service systems and interiors that can provide fast turnaround options for replacing existing low-density housing);
- A range of finance models capable of being matched to traditional private sector for-profit developments as well as hybrid private/community not-for-profit projects;
- Proactive community engagement that radically departs from the established “placatory” or “adversarial” models that often come into play with populations targeted for redevelopment;
- A new planning code capable of accommodating compact city strategies.
To continue applying 20th-century solutions to a 21st-century urban problem will not deliver cities that are competitive, productive, liveable and environmentally sustainable.
In this context, greyfield regeneration joins other “wicked” urban challenges – along with stormwater and reuse of waste water, renewable energy systems and zero-waste system – confronting governments, industry and communities.
