海角社区

Breaking Boundaries: Innovative Approaches to Planning

Friday 1.30pm-2.30pm

• Tom Kennedy 海角社区 (Assoc.)
• Dr Kimberley Reis 海角社区 (Assoc.)
• Alex Cohn 海角社区 (Assoc.)

Tom Kennedy 海角社区 (Assoc.)
Yes in Faith’s Backyard – A Divine Housing Intervention

Queensland’s zoning approach has resulted a missed opportunity to deliver housing for all. Inequality is increasing as a result. Whilst established, high amenity communities have been preserved with limited growth, affordable housing has been pushed to the urban fringe, creating a locational disadvantage. Long-term neglect of affordable housing delivery has been exposed by the housing crisis, with unaffordable market housing leading to skyrocketing waiting lists, currently exceeding 45,000 applicants.

A realignment of housing delivery and equitable development outcomes can herald an inclusionary planning revolution. This revolution starts with rethinking how we can look at all land in our neighbourhoods. Rigid systems can be reshaped with agility, embracing "first principles" to achieve inclusive and sustainable developments, regardless of zone.

We are proposing an innovative approach to realign housing delivery and equality. YIMBY Qld have partnered with faith-based and not-for-profit organisations, such as the Brisbane Catholic Archdiocese and The Salvation Army, who have significant and well-located landholdings to deliver affordable housing, in alignment with their mission.

Abundant, well-located vacant church land presents a unique opportunity. By collaborating with faith-based organizations, we can transform these spaces into launching pads for vibrant, holistic communities.

Certainty and cost are crucial factors for affordable housing projects. Utilizing existing land holdings tackles these challenges head-on. Expensive land acquisition is avoided, and the project is shielded from the uncertainties of interest rates and holding costs. This approach simplifies the process and enhances feasibility, especially in today's challenging construction market. This collaborative approach has garnered widespread support from various groups, including community housing providers, the Property Council, the SEQ Council of Mayors, and the UDIA. This broad backing underscores the urgent need for well-located affordable housing options within our communities.

As our cities grow and demographics shift, we need a "lifecycle" of housing options. We must think beyond zones to see opportunities. We must prioritize a wide range of affordable housing options, well-integrated into existing neighbourhoods. This isn't just about affordability; it's about liberation. Affordable housing in desirable locations empowers residents, fostering diverse and connected communities where everyone thrives.

If we truly believe in the housing for all, then housing must come first. Finland’s successful model offers a glimpse of hope. We will examine Finland’s housing policy, that has resulted in reduced homelessness, with whole of society benefits – estimated at €15,000 per homeless person transitioned to supportive housing – through reduced healthcare, social services and criminal justice costs.

In conclusion, the long-term neglect and unsuitable planning settings for social and affordable housing has been exposed by the housing crisis. However, this situation can be capitalised upon through inclusive planning policies, that put housing first. Together, we can build a more equitable and sustainable future, that provides dignity and shelter to our most vulnerable, with whole-of-society benefits.

Dr Kimberley Reis 海角社区 (Assoc.)
Co-designing local food futures with emerging planners: An account of Griffith University and community partnerships in the City of Logan

With the cost-of-living crisis, the revealed that in the past year 3.7 million Aussie households reduced the quality and variety of their food choices including skipping meals or going whole days without eating. Many people are too embarrassed to ask for help. The recent inquiry into the supermarket duopoly of Coles and Woolies will investigate their pricing practices and the barriers to competition that have resulted in our food affordability crisis. It is important for us, as planners, to be thinking critically about how we are at risk of normalising reliance on food aid as a way of life. How could this possibly fit our visions, as planners, for healthy and vibrant communities?

For the City of Logan, the socio-economic profiles demonstrate the prevalent experience of intergenerational food disadvantage over time. Local food relief agencies report that over 47,000 people are relying on food relief in the Logan region. The City of Logan hosts a major population growth corridor that presents challenges for interrupted supply of food as food demand increases and cost of food rises. Due to the demands of population growth, the Logan area increasingly experiences loss of peri-urban and rural arable land, entrenching reliance upon food supplies from further distances around the nation that further perpetuates the negative externalities borne from ‘food miles.’ In the mainstream, the prospects for locally-based food systems are often considered as ‘fringe’ and somewhat naïve for addressing the seemingly insurmountable challenges of food security.

The recent notes the critical importance of university graduates contributing to food security in a changing climate. In the university sector, we must produce graduates that are ready for a changing world. Griffith University’s articulates our values for our students to apply their knowledge to exercise influence and make meaningful lifelong contributions to their communities.

As a university lecturer in social and environmental planning and a researcher in planning for local and regional food systems, I’ve been working with first year Environmental Planning students in Griffith’s Urban and Environmental Planning Degree, Logan City Council, and community groups to question the notion that we can remain as stewards of our food future. Through student co-design projects in planning for local food systems in Logan, we have collectively shown ways to co-produce meaningful and impactful food alternatives. This presentation shows examples of how the future of climate conscious food planning can change the way we shape vulnerable communities.

The planning profession needs future practitioners who appreciate the importance of integrating local food systems into the fabric of our lived environments. This presentation addresses the question: If we want our cities to be future-proofed, what changes do we need to make to the way we plan for food, and the way we teach future planners?

Alex Cohn 海角社区 (Assoc.)
Plan for the future, not the past

Following the 2024 海角社区 National Planning Congress “Reinvention: Planning in a time of change” outcomes, and aligned with 海角社区’s commitment to be relevant, effective and innovative to its membership, “Planning for the future, not the past” presentation will reinforce these aspirations for the profession.

During his presentation Alex will invite us to reflect on our professional practice, reassessing our planning mindset along with the scale and timeframes intersections we use for planning. As planners, we must facilitate continuous change and adaptability, improve our awareness of upcoming technology’s negative impacts and engineer ways to revert them resourcefully. Becoming aware and taking responsibility for our over consumption of earth resources, will compel us to re-examine how we plan for the uncertain future, and as importantly, to be Kind Humans and help Humankind.