Creating Places for People is a collaborative commitment to best practice urban design in Australia. Released at the end of 2011, the protocol is the result of two years of collaboration between peak community and industry organisations, States, Territories, Local Governments, and the Australian Government. The protocol does not take a one size fits all approach. It provides broad principles for urban design that take into account the unique characteristics of a location, people’s enjoyment, experience and health, and encourages excellence and collaboration in the design and custodianship of urban places.
The United Nations has declared 2012 the International Year of Cooperatives with the intention of raising public awareness of the invaluable contributions of cooperative enterprises to poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration. The Year will also highlight the strengths of the cooperative business model as an alternative means of doing business and furthering socioeconomic development.
The Gwangiu Cities Declaration sets the way forward towards the greening of cities through improved planning and intelligent management. Released at the conclusion of the Summit of the Urban Environmental Accords held in Korea on 11-13 October, the Declaration calls for the development of an Urban Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the UN Convention for Climate Change. It also recommends the development of metrics to measure and report urban sustainability and to encourage the development of policies, regulations and innovative market mechanisms to accelerate the transition towards greener urban development. The Declaration calls for action across five major sectors:
The Guardian The future of urban living site is dedicated to the future of the built environment. As well as articles exploring the philosophy of the way we will live in the future, it will also report on a debate featuring high profile names from the world of architecture and building planning. At the heart of the discussion is a challenge to develop new ways of thinking and working, analysing the political, economic, social and technological aspects of the urban spaces of tomorrow.
A new suburb being built south of Melton in outer Melbourne is set to create a benchmark for Victoria by officially becoming Australia’s first water neutral suburb. Toolern will capture and reuse stormwater and recycled water to greatly reduce the suburb’s demand for potable water, and will be the first suburb in Victoria where a potable water substitution target is being included in its precinct structure plan.
The Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) will take place in Brazil on 4-6 June 2012 to mark the 20th anniversary of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), in Rio de Janeiro, and the 10th anniversary of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg. The objective of the Conference is to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development, assess the progress to date and the remaining gaps in the implementation of the outcomes of the major summits on sustainable development, and address new and emerging challenges.
The OECD Towards Green Growth strategy provides a practical framework for governments in developed and developing countries to seize opportunities that arise when the economy and the environment work together. The strategy includes tools for delivering green growth, guidance for policy makers and indicators for monitoring progress.
The Griffith University Environmental Futures Centre Fact Sheet Biodiversity and urban design: birds, ‘burbs and Brisbane’s bushland provides information on Brisbane’s significance as a “hotspot” for bird biodiversity, the impacts of urbanisation, and approaches to sustain the city’s bushland-dependent bird diversity.