Green cities of the future

We ask Green Building Council of Australia’s CEO Romilly Madew questions about the latest trends in green buildings, sustainable urban development and more in the lead-up to the Green Cities 2015 conference, which is being held from 17-19 March 2015 at Melbourne’s Grand Hyatt.

What three key technologies, trends or new building methods do you think will potentially provide the most benefit for green cities of the future - in terms of achieving: carbon neutrality, water positivity and zero waste?

There are many advanced technologies - such as building information modelling (BIM), use of ‘big data’ and sophisticated building management systems - that now give us detailed insights into how to design, build and operate more effective buildings. Our challenge is to apply this technology to the precinct or city scale so that we can model future performance of our cities and make investment decisions accordingly. Ultimately, good design, good technology and good performance must work together to create green cities of the future - and so carbon neutrality, water positivity and zero waste will be a product of those design, technology and operations initiatives in collaboration.

It’s all very well having a carbon-neutral, water-positive and zero-waste urban development, but if people don’t want to live there, it’s not sustainable at all. What are the key elements that must be integrated into urban developments to make them liveable and socially and economically viable?

“First life, then spaces, then buildings: the other way around never works,” as acclaimed urban design specialist and architect, Jan Gehl, puts it.  This is why the Green Star - Communities rating tool encompasses economic and social sustainability. The ‘Liveability’ category, for instance, rewards projects that encourage healthy, active communities through parks, playgrounds, cycleways and footpaths, as well as through local food production. The ‘Economic Prosperity’ category encourages projects to consider proximity to employment and education opportunities, and access to high-speed internet. Strategies for improving housing affordability, developing local skills and enhancing investment in community infrastructure are also encouraged.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of high-density urban development and do you believe this type of development is a sustainable option for Australian cities in terms of meeting the challenges of future population growth?

Undoubtedly, the 20th-century model of city development no longer works in a resource-constrained world. Our cities cannot continue to expand without consequences to our environment and our quality of life. But population growth brings with it great opportunities to enhance the liveability and sustainability of our cities.

At Green Cities 2015, Professor Rob Adams will be leading a discussion about how we reinvent our cities to make them enduring and extraordinary places for people. He says “intensification”, not “dispersion” will drive our cities in the 21st century. His model of urban development focuses on more people living along transport corridors. This ‘smart growth’ can help us get more ‘bang for our buck’ out of our current infrastructure and require less spending on future infrastructure. It can also help us create more dynamic, diverse and vibrant cities.

Larry Beasley (widely considered the ‘father of Vancouverism’), another keynote speaker, believes there is great potential and profitability within our existing city footprints - but that each city needs to develop its own indigenous model of growth.

Higher density is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, the ‘Great Australian Dream’ is evolving. The Grattan Institute’s report, ‘The Housing We’d Choose’, on the housing preferences of residents of Sydney and Melbourne, found that more than half of households would rather live in a multi-unit dwelling in the right location than in a detached house in the wrong location. There isn’t necessarily one ‘sustainable option’, but many solutions to be considered depending on climate, location, environment, economy, population and a range of other key factors.

Why is transport so important for sustainable urban development and what do you predict will be the winning transport options for the sustainable cities of the future?

We can’t continue to rely on the motor car as our primary source of transport - it’s inefficient and energy-intensive. There will always be a need for cars, but we need to invest more in public transport to enhance both the sustainability and liveability of our cities. People’s ideas around car ownership are already beginning to change - car-pooling and car-sharing schemes like Car Next Door and Uber are growing in popularity as people recognise that there are environmental, economic and social benefits of having less cars on the road.

There are many exciting innovations that will change the way we get around. Kent Larson, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab’s Changing Places group, inspired us at Green Cities 2014 when he shared the work he’s doing on the CityCar, which features a folding chassis to occupy a small footprint when parked, or the GreenWheel - an electric motor that can be adapted to any bicycle and enable older people, or those with physical disabilities, to vary the amount of energy they expend while cycling.

Do you think renewable energy is an important element for green cities of the future? Why or why not, and if yes, how do you think it can be integrated more effectively in the future?

In a sunny, windy continent like Australia, investment in renewable energy is a no-brainer. Photovoltaics on roofs and wind turbines are increasingly being used on buildings, but we are beginning to see precinct-wide renewable energy systems. I’m inspired by the work of Lend Lease on Barangaroo South, for instance. Lend Lease is committed to ensuring the entire precinct is carbon neutral, and has installed more than 6000 square metres of solar panels, which covers nearly all of the buildings’ rooftops.

One of the key areas in which we will see massive change is in the storage of energy; there is amazing work going on in battery technology, energy storage initiatives and use of current systems as ‘supply answers’ rather than just ‘demand assets’. Once we can store the renewable energy we produce for use at peak times, and can overcome those massive transmission losses and energy infrastructure costs, the return on investment of renewable energy solutions changes considerably.

Do you think decentralisation of utilities (water, waste and energy) is important for green cities of the future? Why or why not?

It’s not only vital for green cities, but for resilient cities. When our buildings are carbon or water positive, they are not only putting back into the environment, but they are also more adaptive and resilient to a changing climate.

In your opinion, what type of government assistance has provided or could provide the most benefit for future green city urban developments?

We need our governments to commit to meeting best practice benchmarks for sustainable communities. Some of Australia’s most significant urban renewal projects, such as Barangaroo South and the Parramatta Square in Sydney, Caloundra South and Ecco Ripley in Queensland, Bowden and Tonsley in Adelaide, and Alkimos Beach and Waterbank in Perth, not to mention the University of Melbourne’s Parkland Campus in Melbourne, are applying the Green Star - Communities rating tool to ensure they meet best practice benchmarks for governance, design, environment, liveability, financial prosperity and innovation. We need our governments to commit to meeting these benchmarks for all new urban development projects.

We also need to work with our governments to encourage them to provide a range of incentives - both financial and non-financial - for projects to ‘do better’, to go the extra mile, and to aim for higher benchmarks. Financial incentives might include grants, programs and funding opportunities; non-financial incentives often achieve greater market transformation and may include expedited planning procedures for green developments, education, training and skills opportunities, additional floor space ratios for higher-quality buildings, and commitments to own and occupy only certified developments so as to provide more consistent demand to the market.

About Romilly Madew

Romilly Madew is passionate about creating sustainable buildings, communities and cities. Since 2006, Romilly has led the Green Building Council of Australia, and has a global reputation as an influential advocate and change agent. Romilly chairs powerful task groups and steering committees on the built environment, and is Deputy President of the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council. She is a board member of the World Green Building Council, which is mobilising the global efforts of more than 100 green building councils.