Tools for creating cooler suburbs win at the 2021 Greater Sydney Planning Awards

The Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils won the Great Sustainability Initiative at the 2021 Greater Sydney Planning Awards. These annual awards recognise collaborative, innovative and bold initiatives that will deliver benefits to communities, the economy and the environment.

The Western Sydney consortium of stakeholders – which includes the CRC for Water Sensitive Cities and key CRCWSC partners Monash University, Edge Environment and HARC – won for its Urban Heat Planning Toolkit and Cool Suburbs design support tool.

The CRCWSC contributed to developing the Cool Suburbs design support tool which promotes climate sensitive urban design. The tool uses a rating system to score the ‘cooling’ performance of a development (or suburb) based on the portfolio of urban heat interventions adopted.

“These awards have recognised great city-shaping ideas, great placemaking, great developments and great community engagement”, said Geoff Roberts, Chief Commissioner, Greater Sydney Commission.

“The Panel applauds this nomination which tackles some of our biggest risks in Western Sydney, namely the detrimental impacts of extreme heat and urban heat on human health, economic productivity, infrastructure resilience and the environment.”

The CRCWSC is proud to be involved in such an important project. “The CRCWSC’s contribution was instrumental in transferring urban heat science into an accessible industry facing rating tool,” said Malcolm Eadie (CRCWSC Commercial Manager).