The State of New South Wales, particularly Greater Sydney, is undergoing a significant change. The population projections by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) forecasts an approximately 7.1 million people in the Greater Sydney Region by 2041, which is about 2 million more than the current population. Therefore, urban renewal projects play an important role in facilitating growth and creating urban places. It is critical for urban renewal projects to unlock opportunities to create better places and to improve liveability. Transformative urban renewal looks at new ideas, high-quality designs to create places for people.
CM+ Associate Will Wang, with colleagues Catherine Ng, Martin Virveste, and Stephanie Qiu attended an Urban Development Institute of Australia NSW (UDIA) briefing, Transformative Urban Renewal, part of their Young Leaders’ Event Series. .
The speakers were:
- Rick Graf – Development Director at Billbergia Group
- Sarah Thompson – Project Manager at APP Corporation
- George Dunstan – Civil Engineer at Arcadis
- Jenna Keyes – Associate Director, Urban Design at Group GSA
The speakers were involved in various award-winning placemaking projects, sharing their experiences in delivering high-quality urban renewal projects.
Key speaker Rick Graf presented Billbergia’s multi-award winning Wentworth Point Community including the Bennelong Bridge linking Wentworth Point and Rhodes Peninsula. Creating developments that are people oriented and community focused would in turn be beneficial to the developments themselves, as it would improve amenity, connectivity, the sense of community, therefore liveability. He emphasised on the importance of maintaining top standards throughout design and construction stages.
Sarah presented the Blackwall Reach Regeneration Project in London, a redevelopment of an affordable housing complex; George shared his experience in recreating Tumbalong Park in Darling Harbour; while Jenna talked about her involvement in a foreshore masterplan in Coffs Harbour.
The key message from the event was the importance of collaboration among various design disciplines to achieve better project outcomes. In addition, the speakers also emphasised the role in which communities played in the design process, and how by listening, understanding and respecting the diverse voices within our communities can lead to successful delivery of urban renewal projects.
Recently promoted Will Wang is an Associate at CM+. Will is an urban designer with experience in a wide range of urban development projects for clients in the private and public sectors and a thorough understanding of the NSW planning system.