Promoting sustainable urban development in fast growing city-regions : practices from Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong

The Asia‐Pacific region is characterised by rapid population growth and urbanisation. These trends often result in an increasing consumption of land, which in turn lead to spatially expansive and discontinuous urban development. As a consequence, local communities and the environment face strong pressures. Many cities in the region have developed policies to tackle the issue of rapid growth and its associated consequences, for example climate change. The broad aim of this paper is to identify the nature, trends and strategies of growth management in major Asia‐Pacific city‐regions, and their implications for natural resource management and infrastructure provision. More specifically, this research seeks to provide insights on sustainable urban development practice, particularly on the promotion of compact urbanisation within the Asia‐Pacific’s fastest growing regions. The methodology of the paper includes a detailed literature review and a comparative analysis of existing strategies and policies. The literature review focuses on the key concepts related to sustainable urban growth management. It also includes existing applications of urban growth management approaches and planning information system in managing growth. Following the literature review, the paper undertakes a comparative analysis of the strategies of major Asia‐Pacific city‐regions of Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong in terms of their approaches to sustainable urban development. The findings of the paper provide a clear understanding of the necessity of sustainable urban development practices. It contributes to the development of a substantial base for further research. Ultimately, this research aims to shed light on sustainable urban development by providing insights on the management of growth, natural resources and urban infrastructures.

Sustainable Australia : containing travel in master planned estates

Low density suburban development and excessive use of automobiles are associated with serious urban and environmental problems. These problems include traffic congestion, longer commuting times, high automobile dependency, air and water pollution, and increased depletion of natural resources. Master planned development suggests itself as a possible palliative for the ills of low density and high travel. The following study examines the patterns and dynamics of movement in a selection of master planned estates in Australia. The study develops new approaches for assessing the containment of travel within planned development. Its key aim is to clarify and map the relationships between trip generation and urban form and structure. The initial conceptual framework of the paper is developed in a review of literature related to urban form and travel behaviour. These concepts are tested empirically in a pilot study of suburban travel activity in master planned estates. A geographical information systems methodology is used to determine regional journey-to-work patterns and travel containment rates. Factors that influence selfcontainment patterns are estimated with a regression model. This research is a useful preliminary examination of travel self-containment in Australian master planned estates.

Research Monograph : Sustainable Australia : Containing travel in master planned estates

Low density suburban development and excessive use of automobiles are associated with serious urban and environmental problems. These problems include traffic congestion, longer commuting times, high automobile dependency, air and water pollution, and increased depletion of natural resources. Master planned development suggests itself as a possible palliative for the ills of low density and high travel. The following study examines the patterns and dynamics of movement in a selection of master planned estates in Australia. The study develops new approaches for assessing the containment of travel within planned development. Its key aim is to clarify and map the relationships between trip generation and urban form and structure. The initial conceptual framework of the report is developed in a review of literature related to urban form and travel behaviour. These concepts are tested empirically in a pilot study of suburban travel activity in master planned estates. A geographical information systems (GIS) methodology is used to determine regional journey-to-work patterns and travel containment rates. Factors that influence self-containment patterns are estimated with a regression model. The key research findings of the pilot study are: - There is a strong relation between urban structural form and patterns of trip generation; - The travel self-containment of Australian master planned estates is lower than the scholarly literature implies would occur if appropriate planning principles to achieve sustainable urban travel were followed; - Proximity to the central business district, income level and education status are positively correlated with travel containment; - Master planned estates depend more on local and regional centres for employment than on the central business district; - The service sector is the major employer in and around master planned estates. It tends to provide part-time and casual employment rather than full-time employment; - Travel self-containment is negative correlated with car dependency. Master planned estates with less car dependent residents, and with good access to public transport, appear to be more self-contained and, consequently, more sustainable than the norm. This research is a useful preliminary examination of travel self-containment in Australian master planned estates. It by no means exhausts the subject. In future research we hope to further assess sustainable travel patterns with more detailed spatial analysis.

Enriching relationships : community engagment toward sustainable coastal futures

Coastal communities face the social, cultural and environmental challenges of managing rapid urban and industrial development, expanding tourism, and sensitive ecological environments. Enriching relationships between communities and universities through a structured engagement process can deliver integrated options towards sustainable coastal futures. This process draws on the embedded knowledge and values of all participants in the relationship, and offers a wide and affordable range of options for the future. This paper reviews lessons learnt from two projects with coastal communities, and discusses their application in a third. Queensland University of Technology has formed collaborative partnerships with industry in Queensland's Wide Bay-Burnett region to undertake a series of planning and design projects with community engagement as a central process. Senior students worked with community and produced design and planning drawings and reports outlining future options for project areas. A reflective approach has been adopted by the authors to assess the engagement process and outcomes of each project to learn lessons to apply in the next. Methods include surveying community and student participants regarding the value they place on process and outcomes respectively in planning for a sustainable future. All project participants surveyed have placed high importance on the process of engagement, emphasising the value of developing relationships between all project partners. The quality of these relationships is central to planning for sustainable futures, and while the outcomes the students deliver are valued, it is as much for their catalytic role as for their contents. Design and planning projects through community engagement have been found to develop innovative responses to the challenges faced by coastal communities seeking direction toward sustainable futures. The enrichment of engagement relationships and processes has an important influence on the quality of these design and planning responses.

Smart buildings for healthy and sustainable workplace: scoping study report

Deficiencies in the design and operation of office buildings can give rise to high social, environmental and economic (triple bottom line) costs. As a result, there are significant pressures and incentives to develop ‘smart building’ technologies that can facilitate improved indoor environment quality (IEQ), and more energy efficient operation of office buildings. IEQ indicators include lighting, ventilation, thermal comfort, indoor air quality and noise. In response to this, the CRC for Construction Innovation commissioned a six-month scoping study (Project no. 2002-043) to examine how different technologies could be used to improve the ‘triple bottom line’ for office buildings. The study was supported by three industry partners, Bovis Lend Lease, Arup, and The Queensland Department of Public Works. The objective of the study was to look at the history, trends, drivers, new technologies and potential application areas related to the operation of healthy and efficient office buildings. The key output from the study was a recommendation for a prototype system for intelligent monitoring and control of an office environment, based on identified market, technical and user requirements and constraints.