Draft spatial framework for Perth and Peel - Case Study Example

According to John Day, Western Australian Minister of Planning, “Directions 2031 reconfirms the themes identified in previous strategic plans, which were to better use existing infrastructure and provide for a more sustainable city.” Sustainability is defined as meeting the triple bottom-line of economic growth, environmental health and quality of life. This more sustainable city will require “328,000 more dwellings to accommodate an additional 556,000 residents” as the population rises from 1.

66 million to 2.2 million by 2031, Day writes. The region of Perth and Peel will have to grow in population while also becoming more compact and more sustainable. Gary Prattley, Chairman of the Western Australian Planning Commission says, “its purpose is to spatially define how we think the city should grow, identify structural changes necessary to support that growth, and identify planning and policy priorities for implementation.” The draft spatial framework is to include a concept of how we think the city should grow, the policies and plans to support that growth, and practical steps toward implementation.

Prattleys Vision Statement contains a precise outline of the history of urban planning in the Perth and Peel Region. “Western Australia has an enviable history of metropolitan planning starting with the adoption of the Stephenson-Hepburn plan in 1955. The Corridor Plan followed in 1970, Metroplan in 1990 and Network City in 2004.” These first three urban planning documents “focused primarily on the identification of new urban growth areas to cope with rapid population expansion,” according to Directions 2031.

They were from the era of suburbanisation and urban sprawl. They tried to guide the growth of the urban and suburban area. However, beginning with the Network City plan in 2004 a major shift in urban planning emerged. The Network City document is subtitled, A Milestone