From post-pandemic recovery, to housing supply and sustainability- urban planners play a key role in shaping Australia’s future. But with great responsibility comes great challenges- and opportunities. Speaking with Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) recently, Urbis Group Director – Planning, Ray Haeren explains.
Q: In the recently published Senate Inquiry into house affordability and supply, the planning industry was singled out for its impact on housing supply. What did you make of this?
A: It seemed like a cheap shot – to hold planners responsible for the supply factor when we know there are multiple levers at work. The planning system can definitely be used to put obstacles in front of opportunities for development but that’s certainly not its purpose.
Housing density remains an issue, in terms of community acceptance and delivery. A significant proportion of housing is built in areas that lack infrastructure. Often on the outer fringes, these areas might be seen as affordable but the costs of living can increase further out and there’s often less of a green canopy.
We need to see better alignment between state and local government in deciding where it’s most appropriate to create housing density – social housing and housing for older people too – so we create locations based on the metrics of amenity, employment and transport.
We don’t want cost to be the sole driver but we also need to look at what other levers can be pulled. A National Settlement Strategy would help us focus on where we should create amenity first, as we know this is a key determinant of where people choose to live.
In terms of supply, we also need to understand factors that impact housing affordability outside of the planning system. These may be out of our control but it’s worth considering how we might better engage with them.