There is increasing awareness of the benefits of green infrastructure within our communities, as it contributes to liveability through improved amenity, community wellbeing, urban cooling and environmental health.

In the face of declining access to water, more intense rainfall events and increasing urban heat, it is critical that we design our communities to be able to respond to these new conditions.

This course will provide participants with practical information on how, through the application of water sensitive principles and practices, we can design our communities to be more climate resilient and optimise green infrastructure outcomes. This will include an understanding of critical site contexts and conditions that influence the choice and success of solutions, including tips and tricks for managing issues raised by other disciplines. We will also discuss the differences between planning in greenfield areas and precincts and incorporate the latest guidance from the State Government including the recently released State Planning Policy 2.9 Water and the Urban Greening Strategy.

Suitable for  

Planning professionals and allied professions, including local and State government planners, consultant planners, councillors and design professionals across Western Australia.

The concepts and discussion will also be of interest to infrastructure providers, engineers and landscape professionals.

Learning outcomes

·       Understand the principles of water sensitive urban design (WSUD) and how it contributes to liveability and climate resilience.

·       Understand the process of considering water as part of land use planning, design and development of greenfield areas and precincts.

·       Knowledge of types of WSUD and green infrastructure solutions and key design criteria.

·       Recognise the critical contexts that influence WSUD solutions and outcomes.

·       Knowledge of potential responses to critical issues including bushfire risk, water availability, shallow groundwater, POS functionality, maintainability, community support and cost.

·       Optimising outcomes through multi-disciplinary teams.

About the presenters

Shelley Shepherd MPIA (Fellow) and Helen Brookes from New WAter Ways.

New WAter Ways is the WA capacity building organisation for water sensitive urban design. It is governed by DPLH, DBCA, DWER, WALGA, UDIA and the Water Corporation. Shelley is the Program Manager.

Helen and Shelley are also Directors of Urbaqua, a not-for-profit environmental organisation that works to support and deliver water and environmentally sensitive outcomes in Western Australia. Helen and Shelley assisted the DPLH in the update of State Planning Policy 2.9: Planning for Water, including preparation of the Planning for Water Guidelines.

Helen has over 20 years’ experience in the environmental and water sectors, which has been gained whilst working as a consultant in Australia and in the UK, and as a regulator with the UK Environment Agency.  She has significant technical experience in hydrologic and hydraulic modelling and conceptual design of drainage and wastewater networks, receiving water quality modelling, statistical analysis and assessment of future risk. Helen is also a member of the Western Australian Planning Commission.

Shelley has over 20 years’ experience in environmental and water planning, gained from working within both State Government and the private sector. She is a strong advocate for the ability of the land use planning system to deliver innovative development outcomes and liveable communities which respond to environmental and climatic conditions. Shelley is a Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia, Member of the State Design Review Panel and Certified Level 2 Bushfire Assessor.

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