Understanding alternative landscape design options for planning more sustainable regions

Understanding the future scenarios for landscapes is a worthwhile challenge when being able to map and demonstrate the outcomes of decisions and other drivers.

Future scenario maps can become a shared foundation for complex decision making. This project developed future scenarios for north-eastern NSW using the Steinitz approach to engage people, to organise complexity and resolve the knowledge, needs and desires of the people.

The project provides information that contributes clarity and confidence in people for a good decision. The outcome of the research is capacity and a worked example of the Steinitz approach to scenario development in an Australian specific context. The principal researcher for this project was Dr David Brunckhorst of the Institute for Rural Futures, and UNESCO Centre for Bioregional Resource Management at the University of New England.

Project Objectives

The project set out to:

1. contribute knowledge to guide development of future sustainable landscapes, enterprises and industries in rural and regional Australia.
2. contribute further design principles for processes and evaluation of landscape (including urban and regional planning) redesign alternatives.
3. contribute a transferable methodological tool (approach and process).
4. Postgraduate research training and capacity building; and publications.

Specific goals:

• Adaptation, development and application of an alternative landscape futures, scenario analysis and design approach, different to any used in Australia to date.
• A small scale trial on north-eastern NSW - through case study application with regional stakeholders, trial the methodology in a local regional context.
• Provide a product that is useful to regional Shire/Council areas, in a regional context, for making better long-term decisions on agriculture, environmental protection, local and regional development, services, and DA, LEP/REP processes.
• Evaluate the approach and methodology, its practical application and transferability (particularly for areas of regional Australia experiencing complex interacting pressures of change on land use and natural resources).
• Provide a product that is useful to an LWA ‘Redesign’ toolbox, with broader communication of the potential application of the approach for other regions and contexts.
    

Publications and Resources

None listed

Citation

Land & Water Australia. 2009. Understanding alternative landscape design options for planning more sustainable regions. [Online] (Updated June 24th, 2009)
Available at: http://lwa.gov.au/node/2950 [Accessed Tuesday 26th of April 2011 06:22:26 AM ].