Western Sydney Local Health District’s (WSLHD) Centre for Population Health has been awarded the prestigious Community Wellbeing and Diversity Award at this year’s Planning Institute of Australia’s (PIA) National Awards for Planning Excellence.
The PIA National Awards for Planning Excellence recognise outstanding achievements in planning and community development across Australia that demonstrate innovation, leadership, and excellence in planning practice.
The Community Wellbeing and Diversity category honours initiatives that improve access to social infrastructure and promotes community cohesion, safety, and cultural diversity.
The Healthy Higher Density Living for Families with Children: An Advocacy, Planning and Design Guide (The Guide) is a pioneering initiative developed by the WSLHD Centre for Population Health, in collaboration with the City of Parramatta and Cities for Play.
This Guide stands as the first of its kind in Australia, aiming to inform and influence the planning, design, and advocacy efforts to create healthier, more inclusive high-density living environments for families with young children.
The Guide provides best practice examples of how to enhance liveable outcomes by providing actionable solutions at the building and neighbourhood scales.
It also includes a checklist of the key design guidelines and a comparison to the Apartment Design Guidelines.
The PIA National Awards jury noted, “Both issues of social planning and statutory planning are explored in the Guide.
It is underpinned by a thorough analysis of available literature and strong collaboration between health and planning experts, local government and community.
If the innovative concepts and designs outlined in the guide are incorporated into higher density developments, this will enhance higher density liveability and will support more families to make that choice, resulting in sustainable, compact cities that meet diverse needs.”
“This award reflects a powerful shift in how we approach urban planning, recognising that the health and wellbeing of communities, especially children, must be central to the way we design high-density housing and neighbourhoods,” Helen Ryan, WSLHD Healthy Places Coordinator said.
City of Parramatta Lord Mayor Cr Martin Zaiter said the prestigious award recognises the hard work and dedication of all teams involved in bringing The Guide to life.
“Parramatta is experiencing rapid growth with 70 per cent of residents set to live in high density dwellings by 2036,” Cr Zaiter said.
“Collaborating with WSLHD on this document provides us with an opportunity to showcase how we can create more liveable high-density environments for families with children in our community.
“We want Parramatta to be the best place to live, work and play, and as our community rapidly grows and transform into a global City, we need to make sure community wellbeing remains a top priority.”
The WSLHD Centre for Population Health continues to collaborate with a range of stakeholders including Local Councils and key Government Agencies to identify opportunities to embed principles of the Guide in planning strategies and policy.
Download the guide (PDF 11.77MB)
If you think you could use the Guide in your work, please contact the Healthy Places team: WSLHD-CentreForPopulationHealth@health.nsw.gov.au