Low-Carbon Sustainable Precincts: An Australian Perspective

Abstract

Australia's urban built environment contributes significantly to the nation's greenhouse gas emissions; therefore, encouraging urban development to pursue low-carbon outcomes will aid in reducing carbon in the overall economy. Cities and urban areas are configured in precincts, which have been identified as an ideal scale for low-carbon technologies that address energy, water and waste. Even though new governance models and systems are being created to enable low-carbon precincts to operate with a degree of independence within a broader centralised utility structure, greater effort is required to refocus governance on this smaller scale of delivery. Furthermore, at this time, no consistent carbon accounting framework is in place to measure emissions or emission reductions at this scale, thereby limiting the ability to acknowledge or reward progressive, sustainable low-carbon developments. To respond to this situation, a framework is proposed that could form both the basis of a carbon certification scheme for the built environment and provide a platform for generating carbon credits from urban development.

Density, the Sustainability Multiplier: Some Myths and Truths with Application to Perth, Australia

“…The need to adopt the new urban infrastructure of decentralised energy, water and waste systems is rapidly becoming mainstream policy [86]. The massive gains in decarbonising a city in a short period of time are appealing to urban policy makers across the globe.…”

Space Technology for Decarbonising City Precincts

“…There has been a lot of attention directed at reducing carbon emissions at the national level, and to a lesser extent at the building scale. However, far less notice has been given to low carbon construction at the precinct scale even though neighbourhoods are based on precincts, and new development within brownfield and greenfield areas are often planned at this finer scale [5].…”

“…Parallel to this escalating community concern is municipalities are being handed greater responsibility for planning their precincts, and subsequently they need to be more transparent and accountable for major infrastructure decisions that affect the city's carbon footprint [5].…”

“…Offering up complex, location specific problems, solutions need to be found through communal and creative problem solving at the finer, precinct-scale level. Thus, decarbonising cities require all international, national, and local governments, non-governmental organisations, research institutes, universities, local communities, and the private sector to collaborate, share ideas, methodologies, knowledge and expertise [5].…”

“…Similarly, new management strategies are required that can support low and zero carbon technology options that aim to enhance people's lifestyles and create a cleaner Planet. Today, an opportunity exists to re-imagine, reinvent and reinvest in the world's cities to restore the Earth's natural balance and safeguard a future whereby the next generation can proudly take over its stewardship [4,5].…”