Ideas for a Water Sensitive Sydenham to Bankstown Urban Renewal Corridor

Summary

The research synthesis project was led by the CRC for Water Sensitive Cities (CRCWSC) who, in conjunction with experienced researchers and practitioners from the government and industry, undertook an innovative and collaborative co-design process to promote water sensitive outcomes for the Sydenham to Bankstown Urban Renewal Corridor (Corridor).

The Sydenham to Bankstown Corridor is identified in the Greater Sydney Commission’s Greater Sydney Region Plan and Eastern City and South District Plans and includes 11 centres along the Sydney Metro Southwest Metro rail line from Sydenham to Bankstown.

The project adopted a collaborative approach to explore and co-design solutions around the role of water in delivering a sustainable, resilient, productive and liveable Sydenham to Bankstown Corridor.

The participants included urban planners, urban designers, engineers and environmental management and natural resource specialists from the City of Canterbury Bankstown and Inner West Council, Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, Greater Sydney Commission, Sydney Water, Cooks River Alliance and observers from Bayside Council, Hornsby Council, City of Sydney and Strathfield Council. Participants attended a series of scoping meetings, workshops and site visits. The independence of the CRCWSC allowed the project to focus on ideas outside of statutory processes and constraints of existing governance structures.

The project delivered high-level, corridor-wide water sensitive cities principles and context-specific typologies for water-sensitive urban design (WSUD) solutions. Two case studies based on the Marrickville and Campsie precincts detailed how locally appropriate water sensitive initiatives can be applied at the precinct, street and building scales.