Shaking up the planning system
The current 100-plus page planning report does nothing to capture hearts and minds of councillors or the community. Ethos Urban’s director Michael Rowe thinks it’s time for technology to shake things up.
“Planners are still working the way we did when the typewriter was first invented,” Rowe (pictured) says.
“Planners work closely with architects, engineers and other professionals who are using technology to do their work better. But planners, and the system in which they operate, are still heavily reliant on long written reports.”
Rowe has spent the last decade writing these reports, having worked on some of the largest and most complex planning projects in New South Wales. Among these are Lendlease’s Barangaroo South, Brookfield’s Wynyard Place and Frasers Property Australia’s Edmondson Park town centre.
He says the technology is “already there” to take the paper out of planning, and points to building information modelling, fly throughs, and virtual and augmented reality as examples.
“Planning is one of the major risks in the development process.”
One way we can help mitigate that risk on a project is to manage communication with key stakeholders better.
“Writing long, inaccessible reports, which is the status quo in the industry, doesn’t lend itself to the objective of communicating why a development is a good idea.”
Rowe says the decision makers and community considering rezonings and development applications often face several challenges.
“Why do we assume that people have the skills to accurately interpret detailed architectural drawings, or have the time to read and understand 100-page reports?”
Rowe is currently developing a prototype of a new planning model for the 21st century, and will be presenting that model at The Property Congress in October.
“Instead of writing a site description, why don’t we use the fly through so people can see it?” he asks.
Imagine a property owner being able to plug in their address to see how shadowing will impact them? Rowe calls this a “curated assessment” that can help people make more informed decisions about a potential development, and which in turn can minimise the number of objections.
But a digital revolution in planning won’t happen overnight, Rowe warns.
“Currently, councils expect multiple hard-copies of an application, so the idea that we will get people moving to VR headsets overnight is a step too far. It will be an evolution, not a revolution,” he says.
“When you undertake good consultation, you educate people. And when they understand, they are more likely to get on board with what you are proposing.
“Helping people understand the planning outcomes will lead to better results for everyone – faster approvals, better decisions, more community buy-in and ultimately better outcomes.”
Michael Rowe will be sharing his insights on how virtual planning assessments can shake things up at The Property Congress in October. A limited number of tickets are left. Don’t miss out!