Developed in collaboration between three levels of government, community and industry experts, the protocol is aimed at promoting excellence in place making. It outlines broad principles for urban design together with case studies showcasing examples Australia-wide, including Paddington Reservoir Gardens in Sydney, Northbridge Piazza in Perth and SWI South Bank Urban Village in Brisbane.
Chair of the Council of Capital City Lord Mayors (CCCLM) and Lord Mayor of Hobart Damon Thomas said the protocol reinforces the importance of designing cities and urban places in which people want to live, work and visit.
“Our cities are home to the vast majority of Australians, over 16 million people. They are inevitably busy and vibrant places, home to a mix of daily activity; trade, travel, work, leisure, schooling. The challenge we face is to design our cities to enable this array of activity to occur effectively, so that a diversity of needs are met and people feel engaged and safe.
“As civic leaders, we are at the coalface of working with local communities in creating public spaces; designing everything from walkable streetscapes through to influencing the look and feel of buildings.
“Place making is at the heart of what local government does. We are specialists in ‘place’. We strongly welcome the Federal Government’s acknowledgement of the importance of urban design for the economic, social and environmental benefits it can deliver. Well designed places are prosperous, engaging and sustainable.
“The urban design protocol is an important tool which will inform and equip government and industry practitioners involved in designing our cities and suburbs. The protocol marries high level principles with practical examples which demonstrate what can be achieved.
“The protocol has been developed with the involvement of all capital cities and we welcome its release as an important step towards achieving more quality, world-class design outcomes in urban Australia.”