Towards a systems-based approach to planning infrastructure

source: ECOS, no.149 (2009)
"ECOS issue 149 reports on a collaboration between Sustainable Ecosystems (CSE) and Queensland Water Infrastructure (QWI) to implement a systems-based approach to major infrastructure projects – starting with the Traveston Crossing Dam – aimed at reducing negative environmental and community impacts."

Transitioning to water sensitive cities

Source: International Water Centre
"This report summarises the key findings, issues and actions arising from five national capacity building and leadership workshops on Transitioning to Water Sensitive Cities in Australia The five workshops, each of two days, were held in each of the state capitals during February 2009. A further workshop was held in Canberra in May 2009 to report on the findings of the state capital workshops and to facilitate a faster take-up of water sensitive cities projects and initiatives."

Sustainability 3.0: building tomorrow's earth-friendly communities

source: Planning, vol.75,no.5 (May 2009)
"Sustainability has been described as the next wave of innovation, following on the heels of the digital and infonnation age and taking us in profoundly new directions in renewable energy, green chemistry, and resource efficiency. There can be little doubt that we are on the cusp of entirely new ways of producing and living in our resource-constrained world. If history is any guide, these innovations may have consequences for many years to come. Profoundly new ways of envisioning cities and urban life art already emerging, and cities hold the greatest promise for addressing global sustainabiliiy."

Urban ecosystems

Source: Springer Link
Urban Ecosystem is an international journal devoted to scientific investigation of the ecology of urban environments, and policy implications. Please enjoy free access to the electronic version of Urban Ecosystem for the month of May and don't forget to check out the 1st Special Issue on Urban Soils.

Construction and establishment guidelines: swales, bioretention systems and wetlands

Source: Healthy Waterways
"The new Construction and Establishment Guidelines - Swales, Bioretention Systems and Wetlands has been prepared to address the lack of guidance and protocols around on-ground outcomes when it comes to water sensitive urban design. It provides civil and landscape specifications, step by step construction and establishment procedures and protocols, and sign-off checklists as well as forms for certification and compliance. It was developed in collaboration with leading practitioners, local government compliance officers and contractors, and includes a set of A3 sheets which can be laminated and taken on-site for handy reference. The guideline is supported by a training course offered by Water by Design. While the guideline has been produced for South East Queensland, it has relevance across much of Australia."

Floodplain management in NSW: adapting for sea level rise

Source: Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia
"Sea level rise due to climate change has the potential to significantly influence floodplain management in NSW. This paper provides a description of the likely effects of a sea level rise of up to 1 m on urban developments. This is followed with a preliminary quantitative assessment of the increase in number of building floors inundated, frequency of inundation and magnitude of flood damages for several case studies. Adaptive strategies to manage the potential problem for both existing and future developments are then discussed. These strategies include amendments to Flood Planning Levels to account for the rise in design flood levels, planned retreat from an area, levee construction, raising buildings and constructing new buildings to accommodate a sea level rise."

Irrigation of urban green spaces

Source: CRC for Irrigation Futures
"In this report a comprehensive review is provided of the benefits of urban green spaces and the potential impacts of long-term water restrictions on parks, sports grounds and public gardens. This sector is estimated to account for 27% of the implied cost of longterm water restrictions. A Triple Bottom Line approach is used to examine the environmental, social and economic benefits of urban green spaces and the maintenance of these values using irrigation during drought. The economic aspects are broadly covered in this report."

The development of place attachment in parks

Source: CRC Sustainable Tourism
"This report provides a summary of the literature pertaining to the development of place attachment. In presenting an overview of the literature, the reports also
focuses on the use of the concept of place attachment in the development of a proposed urban park setting, a key requirement of the study. In so doing, the report
provides a list of recommendations for the use of the concept in the urban setting."

Queensland urban drainage manual, vol.1 (revised)

source: Dept. of Natural Resources and Water
"The second edition of the Queensland Urban Drainage Manual has a primary focus of detailing the hydrology and hydraulics of drainage systems to assist town planners and developers to implement standardised stormwater systems in urban areas."

Climate resilient cities

Source: UN Pulse
"The UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), World Bank, and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) have published Climate Resilient Cities. According to the World Bank press release, the document provides a tool for city governments in the East Asia Region to better understand how to plan for climate change impacts and impending natural disasters through sound urban planning to reduce vulnerabilities."

Simulation and Modelling of Urban and Regional Sustainability: workshop proceedings

source: CSIRO
"Within a highly complex and inter-connected world, enhancing simulation and modelling of urban and regional sustainability transitions is an essential part of how we can understand, respond and adapt to the dramatic changes around us.
The workshop aimed to achieve an understanding of existing regional and urban models and their analysis techniques in order to identify pathways towards sustainable regional and urban policy development, planning and management. The initial keynote address was given by Mr Alan Stokes, Executive Director, National Sea Change Taskforce."

Australia under construction

"The Australian nation is a work in progress. From its beginnings as a settler society through to present day concerns about ‘broadbanding the nation’, the nation-building narrative has resonated with Australians. The very idea of nation-building has both excited the popular imagination about what we might achieve as a society and a nation, and has occasioned despair about missed opportunities. The eleven authors contributing to this monograph reflect on these, and other themes from a variety of perspectives."

The law of building green

"This paper from attorneys at Stoel Rives is the first edition of a guide to business and legal issues in sustainable building and development. It covers topics ranging from sustainable design to assessing risks and opportunities in green building projects to tax and other incentives to green buildings."

The Gehl report: a blueprint for greener, more vital, connected CBD

Sydney's heart needs a major rearrangement to make the best use of its natural assets, and rescue pedestrians from clutter and an over reliance on cars, according to acclaimed Danish urban planner Jan Gehl.