Michael McKeown
Director, Jensen Plus
Michael McKeown is a leading urban designer, planner and strategic thinker, with broad experience working with communities, developers and all tiers of government. He is committed to creating well-designed, greener and fairer cities, and works collaboratively with communities across metropolitan and regional Australia.
REGENERATIVE PLANNING IN REGIONAL CITIES : Regenerative + climate positive town centres, main streets + neighbourhoods
The concept of sustainability has been widely integrated into the built environment vernacular since the early 1990s. ‘’Sustainability’’ is an expectation in planning and is actively promoted by planners and designers in our decision-making and projects.
But despite four decades of planning for sustainable outcomes, we are witnessing an acceleration rather than a moderation in climate change and its serious and negative impacts on communities. At the same time a housing and cost-of-living crisis suggests that the economic and social pillars of the sustainability ‘’Venn diagram’’ are also out of alignment. This has us questioning if the sustainable planning paradigm has fallen short or failed altogether?
A shift from pursuing the balanced goal of sustainability, to embracing a ‘’regenerative model’’ for planning, focuses on cultivating positive and restorative change within local environments, communities and economies. The emerging regenerative model signifies a visionary approach for planners that seeks to reveal new narratives in the planning and design of our urban and regional environments. For us working in a small planning and urban design practice, this is an opportunity that allows for innovation, reimagining, and the implementation of change through planning projects. It even influences the values and purpose of the business within which we work.
So how can regenerative planning ideas be practically applied?
In this presentation we will look at regenerative approaches to city-scale plans, residential development, town centre planning and street design, and urban greening. Using Jensen PLUS case studies from regional cities and places including Mildura, Port Pirie, Toowoomba, Kangaroo Island and Alice Springs we will explore the role of emerging techniques such as climate-positive design, and also the power of collaborative design with communities to achieve regenerative planning outcomes.
