Regulation and legislation

Our research on regulation and legislation has identified some interesting findings, including these highlights:

• This thought piece sets out the agenda for transformative cities, and advocates using hybrid systems to drive this transformation. These hybrid systems combine critical existing infrastructure with flexible decentralised local solutions as part of their urban renewal program. (Harnessing hybrid systems for transformative cities)
• We assessed the shortcomings and opportunities of the legal and regulatory frameworks for water sensitive cities in Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia. Each jurisdiction has a wide range of tools within its legislative framework to support water sensitive cities objectives. However, they are scattered throughout the regulatory framework and so we need a more coordinated and streamlined approach.
• We made 15 specific recommendations about how existing regulatory settings and levers may be changed to encourage innovation in water sensitive service delivery. Examples include removing identified impediments to water sensitive service delivery and suggesting ways to strengthen the enabling environment for water sensitive service provision. (Becoming a water sensitive city: a comparative review of regulation in Australia)
• Imposing binding legal duties would help relevant public authorities achieve ecological restoration aspirations for Australian wetlands and waterways. (Legal duties for restoration of waterways and wetlands: a Western Australian analysis and case study)

You will find a range of research reports on regulation and legislation under the categories below.

System wide legislative and regulatory assessments

• Conceptualising urban water regulation: the Melbourne system
• Becoming a water sensitive city: a comparative review of regulation in Australia
• Water technology and the urban environment: water, sewerage, and disease in San Francisco and Melbourne before 1920
• Toward effective change in urban water policy: the role of collaborative governance and cross-scale integration
• “Next practice” governance for water sensitive cities)
• A review of existing funding models, economic regulatory frameworks, policies and mechanisms

Statutory land use planning

• Enabling water sensitive urban development: planning and governance opportunities for Perth
• Enabling water sensitive greenfield development in Townsville
• The influence of statutory land use planning on water sensitive design practices
• Room for Improvement: Influence of Statutory Land Use Planning on the Adoption of Water Sensitive Urban Design Practices in Australia
• Policy framework for water sensitive urban design in 5 Australian cities

Wetlands

• A legal obligation to restore wetlands by environmental water allocations
• Legal duties for environmental water provisions in Western Australia
• Legal duties for restoration of waterways and wetlands: a Western Australian analysis and case study

Alternative water supplies

• The interaction of risk allocation and governance arrangements in innovative urban stormwater and recycling projects
• Expert opinion on risks to the long-term viability of residential recycled water schemes: an Australian study
• The capitalized value of rainwater tanks in the property market of Perth
• The risky business of water sensitive innovation: a legal analysis of risk allocation
• Regulatory renovation for managed aquifer recharge using alternative water resources: a Western Australian perspective

Other

• Regulatory performance of audit tournaments and compliance observability
• Conceptualising social and economic regulation: implications for modern regulators and regulatory activity