A City of Perth project that encouraged innovative solutions to planning issues has been recognised by the Planning Institute of Australia.
 

The project, 'What If – Ideas for the City of Perth’, won the Minister’s Award at the annual Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) National Awards for Planning Excellence held in Hobart.


The ‘What If’ project involved inviting ten architectural, town planning, urban design and landscaping consultancies to submit ideas on how different parts of the city could be dramatically improved, modified or refreshed.

 

Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi said the award recognised that the ‘What If’ project was a way to overcome planning challenges and to encourage healthy discussion surrounding the future development of Perth.

“As well as engaging with some of the brightest minds in our local planning industry, the 'What If' project also captured the imagination of Perth residents as demonstrated by the thousands of people who visited the accompanying public exhibition,” she said.

“The project allowed us to broaden our thinking and all parties involved should be congratulated for their dedication to delivering new concepts for our city.”

PIA National President Dyan Currie said the project was an excellent example of how the planning profession is becoming more visionary and creative in planning sustainable communities for the future.


"This urban design project was designed to encourage innovation and stimulate community debate around certain areas in the City of Perth without the traditional constraints of a formal brief," Ms Currie said.

 

The projects and the companies who worked on the 'What If' project included; covering the Mitchell Freeway in front of Parliament House to ‘reconnect’ the city and West Perth (Jones Coulter Young); covering the railway east of Barrack Street to the Swan River and making use of the new space created (Roberts Day Group); covering the railway reserve between Thomas Street and City West (Taylor Burrell Barnett); Green City --- suggesting ways the city can respond to climate change and have a sustainable future (Hassell); and Populate Perth --- planning for a population threshold that will help stimulate the city economy and contribute to its vibrancy (Woods Bagot).


Award winners in other categories at the PIA National Awards include:


The President's Award
Winner: - Landcom with Kenesis and Simpson + Wilson.
Project: PRECINX Landcom Sustainability Tool.


Lifetime Achievement Award:
Winner: Chris Buckley LFPIA CPP - Queensland.


Social and Community Based Planning
Winner: SGS Economics & Planning In conjunction with Environmetrics
Project: Dollars and Sense: The Community Value of Victorian Public Libraries.


Media
Winner: Jason Dowling & Clay Lucas - The Age.
Project: Project Melbourne.


Environmental Planning or Conservation
Winner: Hansen Partnership - In partnership with Sustainable Built Environments.
Project: Local Government Planning for Sustainable Buildings Guide.


Rural and Regional Planning
Winner: Department of Primary Industries.
Project: Strategic Planning for Adaptation to Climate Change in Regional Systems - A Case Study: South West Victoria.


Student Project Award 2011 - Tertiary
Winner: Paul Bormann - University of Melbourne.
Project: An Investigation into the Optimisation of the Frankston City Bus Feeder Network.


Student Project - Secondary
Winner: Alice Doring, Stuartholme School
Project: Report Primary data


Planning Scholarship Research or Teaching
Winner: Robert Freestone FPIA CPP
Project: Urban Nation: Australia's Planning Heritage


Australian Young Planner of the Year 2010
Winner: Laura Gannon - Queensland.