Elise Tsang 2800322 4017ENV

Faezeh Samadani
Planning Practicum
2799295

PRACTICUM JOURNAL
ARTICLE
Bachelor of Urban and Environmental Planning,
Griffith
University
Due Date:
15/05/2015

Course Convenor: Sonia Kirby

Neighbourhood Planning for Metropolitan

Brisbane:
Putting Planning into Practice

[PRACTICUM JOURNAL ARTICLE]

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
that 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.
2

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 ParkFairfield
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 how 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

relate our experience to

professional development in
the public sector.

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
economic, 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
an
overall
achievement that is requiring
to be reached as a nation that
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

Neighbourhood Planning for Metropolitan Brisbane:

Putting Planning into Practice
Elise Tsang and Faezeh Samadani, Griffith University
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
3

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 bounded
by the Brisbane City Plan
2014. The Brisbane City
Plan 2014 considers the
environmental, social and
economic
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

[PRACTICUM JOURNAL ARTICLE]

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
4

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).
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 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

Neighbourhood Planning for Metropolitan Brisbane:

Putting Planning into Practice
Elise Tsang and Faezeh Samadani, Griffith University
plans come to have a
particular content. It is,
therefore, concerned with the
associations
between
explanatory
theory
and
planning practice.
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
5

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

[PRACTICUM JOURNAL ARTICLE]

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
Park-Fairfield
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
criterion 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
6

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
are 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

Neighbourhood Planning for Metropolitan Brisbane:

Putting Planning into Practice
Elise Tsang and Faezeh Samadani, Griffith University
employees. Due to the
council size and experience
within the marketplace, it has
an extensive and welldeveloped
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 or webbased
training
quests.
Courses that are offered are
both planning and nonplanning 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
7

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
that 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,
and the operations of local
planning. The detail 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.

[PRACTICUM JOURNAL ARTICLE]

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
8

Neighbourhood Planning for Metropolitan Brisbane:

Putting Planning into Practice
Elise Tsang and Faezeh Samadani, Griffith University
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.

1
0

[PRACTICUM JOURNAL ARTICLE]

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