Neighbourhood Planning for

Metropolitan Brisbane:
Putting Planning into
Practice
Authors: Elise Tsang & Faezeh
Samadani

Introduction
In the planning industry, there are
many authority organisations that are
involved and play significant roles.
Planning is evolving and growing more
complex issues, these issues require
attention and need to adapt with the
changing environment and political
circumstances
(Rider,
1982).
Population growth has caused impacts
on society which planning needs to
address; these include the allocation of
depleting resources, investigating the
trending patterns of behaviours,
planning for improvements to society.
The different levels of government play
different roles within the planning
sector and local planning is the tier of
government that has the most contact
with the public and deals with
community interests. Neighbourhood
planning is a sector of local planning
that is dealing with the issues that have

arisen over the past years and is a way

that the government is planning for a
sustainable society.

professional development in the public

sector.

This paper will hope to provide an

insight into the understanding on
planning theory and practice of
neighbourhood planning through the
lens of our practical experience as
planners for Brisbane City Council. Our
practicum experience entailed in
undertaking an accessibility study for
Dutton Park- Fairfield in Brisbane,
forming part of the new neighbourhood
plan for the area. In undertaking this
work we feel like we gained an insight,
not only into the effectiveness and
relevance of the councils policies in
the area, but how the theoretical
approaches to planning issues are
applied in the professional practice.
We will provide a brief summary of the
relevance of planning, in particular
highlighting the interests of local
government plays in neighbourhood
planning, to an approach that seeks to
achieve good planning outcomes
through the steps of neighbourhood
planning. We will then provide a brief
reflection on our experience working in
this area and relation our experience to

Relevance of Planning/Local
Government Planning
Planning is becoming more publicly
acknowledged and has become more
actively involved in society. Planning is
engaged
in
many
economical,
environmental and social aspects of
the society and is being faced with
many emerging issues. In Australia,
the three tiers of government have
different responsibilities within the
aspect of planning. The federal
government is predominantly aiming to
generate overall achievements that is
required to be reached as a nation
which is guided by international
treaties and global awareness projects
that have been signed at a national
level. The state government prioritises
the federal government's list of issues
in each of the states interest while
focusing on the issues that are most
affected by the state (Denhardt,1985).
The state government would then
generate guidelines, goals and plans
that must be implemented in order to
provide sustainable outcomes and
meet the requirements of the federal

goals. Local governments will use the

state governments interests to create
local planning schemes to reach
objectives and meet the overall
achievements.
Local planning is being faced with
many complex planning issues, as
planning is evolving the issues that are
being faced by society are becoming
more unpredictable (Rider, 1982).
Local planning is the most specific of
all the tiers of government, as it deals
with the specific needs of communities
which will require more flexibility to be
able to address distinct issues. In order
to address these issues, much
research and analysis is necessary for
each of the local planning areas to gain
thorough understanding of the current
circumstances and issues. The local
government have many sectors that
are each responsible for a range of
tasks within local planning. The sectors
work together on projects to help
improve
and
enhance
current
neighbourhoods to becoming more
sustainable for the future. Public
consultation and involvement is also a
significant aspect of local planning
where the local government is required
to inform, consult and engage with the

public to gather local knowledge of the

local area. Public involvement has
recently
been
adopted
as
a
requirement into the planning process
and is a key feature to successful
planning (Zimmerman, 2007). By
incorporating the views and ideas of
the public, planners are able to
understand the local patterns and
behaviours of the area. This will
provide the planners with more
information and ideas to generating
plans to solving problems for the area.
Local governments are recognised as
managing for the local communities
infrastructures (Denhardt,1985). The
community generally understand that
the local governments look after the
necessities such as roads, water
systems, sewage, rubbish collection,
electricity etc. Local government
planning deals with maintaining these
infrastructures, guiding building and
development and the stresses of these
on the community and also catering for
the future growing population.
Neighbourhood planning in Brisbane is
legally bound by the Brisbane City Plan
2014. The Brisbane City Plan 2014
considers the environmental, social

and
economical
factors
while
managing population growth within
planning for neighbourhood plans. The
Brisbane City Plan 2014 helps facilitate
for economic prosperity, protect
character development, provide for
open space, include standards for new
development and reflect improved
infrastructure such as new transport
routes.
There are steps and processes to
developing a neighbourhood plan
which are followed as a guide. The first
step is background research of the
plan area including demographics,
current trends and patterns of traffic
behaviours, character of the suburb,
conditions of the current environment
and the land-use. Strategy preparation
and consultation is the next step of the
process, this involves generating goals
and
aims,
the
brief
of
the
neighbourhood plan, finding issues that
are occurring within the plan area,
assessing the problems with the
legislation and guidelines. Putting all
these elements together and setting a
format is the draft neighbourhood plan
preparation stage. Public notification is
the stage where the local government
notifies the general public of the

neighbourhood plan area and other

stakeholders
about
the
draft
neighbourhood plan being prepared
the government may also raise
awareness
of
public
consultation/informing events. State
interest review will review the draft and
determine whether the neighbourhood
plan will be undertaken and if the plans
are approved adoption of the plans will
be conducted.

Planning for Neighbourhood

Planning

The concept of planning forms the

key incentive in urban policy both in
Australia and overseas (Simmie,
1987). A key strategy development
in broadening the planning agenda
has been the evolution of
neighbourhood planning, which is
replicated in the planning schemes
of all major capital cities in Australia
(Quirk, 2007, p22). Neighbourhood
planning seeks to manage change
and accommodate growth and
better protect valued environments
at a local level. Neighbourhood
planning provides a powerful set of

tools for local people to get the right

development for the community
where
the
drive
of
the
neighbourhood is aligned with the
strategic needs and priorities of the
wider local area. From more of
residential perspective, unifying
neighbourhood planning within the
residential area provides benefits
for society in ensuring and
accompanying
the
economic
growth, refining peoples quality of
life, and protecting the natural
environment
(Department
for
Communities
and
Local
Government, 2012).

their objectives in terms of what is

really in the long-term public
interest. The planning theory, which
seeks how neighbourhood plans,
ought to be, or to be produced is of
the latter type. It must discourse
and connect to the general
environments in which the plans are
produced to an understanding of
the neighbourhood plans. This
section is concerned with why and
how neighbourhood plans come to
have a particular content. It is,
therefore, concerned with the
associations between explanatory
theory and planning practice.

The difference between theory and

planning practice will be discussed
in regards what neighbourhood
planning will set out to achieve for
the community. The overarching
drift in some residential sector
would seem at odds with the
objectives
of
neighbourhood
planning policy that seeks greater
centralisation for Brisbane. As a
result, it would seem that planners
face future challenges in defining

The
explanatory
theory
progressively seeks to connect the
elements of planning with the polity
in order to explain the matters of
land-use plans. In Brisbane these
relationships stand out in some of
their most obvious forms. The
neighbourhood plan may also be
typical of the kind of land-use plan
being produced in the 5km radius
for the central business district
(CBD) of Brisbane.

In saying that, this planning theory

could not be placed if planners not
put it into planning practice across
Australia or even the globe. We
need to agree with the application
of the neighbourhood planning
concept to community planning,
purpose is for better living,
particularly in the residential areas
where most activities are held.
Certainly the emphasis is on what
can be done in the larger cities to
bring into them something of the
values found in the smaller
communities. Professor Richard T.
Ely of Wisconsin wrote once the
material advantages of the city are
designed for adults and not
children. He mentions housing,
traffic congestion; noise and
dangers of the street have
enhanced
the
cost
and
inconvenience of raising children in
the city. He said there is no reason
why a city could not be so planned
and the houses, streets and other
features so adjusted as to make the
urban home in the city as good. In

saying that, what has happened to

neighbourhood unit in application
what was behind the original
thought in developing a method
which could be applied to the replanning of existing cities and
particularly to the development of
new communities.

Reflection of Practicum Experience

Planning Practicum is a core course
within the Urban and Environmental
Planning Undergraduate degree that
requires practical experience within the
planning field. We were fortunate
enough to be accepted by Brisbane
City
Council,
working
in
the
Neighbourhood Planning and Urban
Renewal sector. The Neighbourhood
Planning sector creates neighbourhood
plans and local planning projects for
different areas within Brisbane city. All
neighbourhood plans must abide by
the
Brisbane
City
Plan
2014,
incorporating all local environmental,
social and economic factors of the
neighbourhood plan area. During
placement, the Dutton Park-Fairfield
Neighbourhood Plan (DPFNP) was in
the very early stages of commencing.

The DPFNP draft project brief was

provided and an accessibility study of
the major road within the Plan area
was given to us for assessment. The
accessibility study is part of the
background research process used to
inform the team members working on
the DPFNP.
Our practicum experience entailed
undertaking an accessibility study on
land
use
planning
for
the
Neighbourhood Planning and Urban
Renewal sector of Brisbane City
Council. The accessibility study being
undertaken will aid the Dutton ParkFairfield Neighbourhood Plan. The
Dutton Park-Fairfield area is classified
as a new neighbourhood plan area
under the planning scheme that has
potential for growth to cater for the
growing population. Our role was to
undertake a site visit on Annerley Road
and assess the accessibility of the road
that will be used as background
research for the team members. The
fieldwork consists of generating an
assessment criteria to critique a
number of elements of the plan area
including
amenities,
accessibility,
safety and streetscape. On completion
of this work, a parcel map was

generated by hand for each of the

identified elements, and the data was
entered into each of the relevant areas.
These
maps
provide
visual
representation of the data collected in
a succinct format for the other team
members to understand easily.
The relevance to our work in this
regard was to gather some data to
council about the neighbourhood, in
particular providing information about,
accessibility study of the roads and
streetscape, amenity, safety, traffic, in
particular the ratio of cars travelling to
and from the suburb. The results were
collected and compiled into maps
accompanied by written descriptions
and
generated
into
a
report.
Presentations about the findings were
also presented to program partners
which is needed to inform all the other
partners of the DPFNP of the
background information that is required
for each of the partners to have sound
knowledge of. The work fills an
important gap in the knowledge
regarding the current accessibility
study of the suburb to cater for the new
demand for neighbourhood plan. It is
proposed that in future the information
gathered will be available in the house

for the council to help guide future

developments of neighbourhoods and
be a source of reference.
Ostensibly this work sought to gauge
the effectiveness of Brisbane City
Councils
neighbourhood
planning
policy in achieving one of its objectives
within the CBD. In order to establish an
effective and relevant neighbourhood
policy, it was vital for the council to
provide a planning outcome that
addressed
the
process
of
neighbourhood planning development
in a way not only provides vital
information to the council's direction,
but also providing useful development
for the community to potentially open
up
opportunities
for
further
development within Brisbane suburbs.

Professional Development in the

Public Sector
We undertook work experience at
Brisbane
City
Council,
holding
approximately 500 employees. Due to
the council size and experience within
the marketplace, it has an extensive
and
well-developed
suite
of
professional development opportunities
for employees at all stages of their

career. The council actively supports

the
continuing
professional
development and lifelong learning of its
employees through in-house training
opportunities.
In-house training offered by the
company is compulsory and is
delivered by either internal trainers and
web-based training quests. Courses
that are offered are both planning and
non-planning related in nature, and
some include; a formal induction,
business orientation, risk management,
codes of conduct, and occupational
health
and
safety.
All
these
professional development opportunities
are undertaken during business hours
and time spent is allocated to
dedicated training budgets.
Throughout the practicum experience,
we were able to gain a better
understanding of how the public sector
operates and more specifically, how
local government functions. The
planning sector of Brisbane City
Council has many different branches of
planning that work together to
undertake
neighbourhood
plans.
Communication is a crucial part of
neighbourhood planning in order to

gather all information between the

branches of planning and working
together to reach the brief of the plan.
The professional employees within the
council have come from a range of
different backgrounds of professions
which, enhance the skills and generate
initiative ideas. Weve come across
many professional individuals have
introduced us to different computer
programs used in planning and
databases. Other things weve learnt
include the neighbourhood planning
processes and the practical side of
plan making, how to present work in a
professional manner whether it is a
formal
or
informal
meeting,
presentation, piece of writing and even
e-mails, the operations of local
planning. The details of how a
neighbourhood plan is prepared,
conducted and planned has become
very familiar. The whole practicum
process was a valuable experience,
from the application stage to the
interview, and actually experiencing
how planning works in practice.

Conclusion
Important issues remain to be
addressed in the implementation of
neighbourhood
planning
policy,
particularly as local government tackle
the issue of complementing the
balance
of
economy
and
neighbourhood
development.
Undoubtedly, it is fundamental to
address the objectives of theory and
practice and how to better implement
those policies for the future which,
could further the smart growth agenda
exemplified in neighbourhood planning.
In this regard, pragmatic planners and
planning methods will be required to
ensure these two objectives are both
adequately addressed without being at
the expense of the other. Through the
practicum experience, it is recognised
that putting theory into practice does
not always work as theory suggests.
The central importance will be planning
methods and practice that are
communicative and open, whilst not
forsaking the collection of data. In this
regard, in contrast to those who hail
the relevance of the planning
profession, planners more than will be
required to ensure the growth of
neighbourhood planning are achieved

in the most effective, equitable and

sustainable manner.
Through the practicum experience, it
was found the future of the planning
profession lies heavily on the capacity
to expand one's knowledge in the
professional world, respond and adapt
to challenges. The education of
professional development of planners
plays a fundamental role in ensuring
we possess the appropriate knowledge
base and skill set in order to effectively
meet challenges either inside or
outside the workforce.

Local government framework and

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