According to an executive of a leading sustainable real estate company, Brisbane is currently on the right track to becoming a well-planned and sustainable city.
Stuart Penklis, Mirvac‘s Head of Residential said that smart development is the key to a sustainable enhancement of Queensland’s way of life as Brisbane’s population is expected to grow to 4.2 million by 2050.
As part of Brisbane’s Sustainable City Framework, the Council plans to have a Compact Urban Form to achieve a more compact development within and around regional activity centres and public transport nodes and corridors.
Having a more compact development means having higher density accommodations around the inner ring of Brisbane. As more people live in areas close to transport and activity centres, the need for car travel will be reduced, encouraging locals to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle.
In Rosemary Kennedy and Laurie Buys’ study called the Dimensions of Liveability: A Tool for Sustainable Cities, they have found that people prefer to live in high-density areas due to the walkable access to services, recreation, and work. Such liveability aspects are important for environmental, social, and economic reasons.
Since the Council considers increasing the density within the city limits, the Mirvac head also cited that providing energy and having cost-efficient homes should also be prioritised by the Council.
An example of a pioneer green energy development in the area is Mirvac’s Ascot Green development at the Eagle Farm Racecourse.
With their solar initiative, the nine-storey building will have solar panels and batteries installed on the rooftop recreation deck that will take advantage of the sunny subtropical environment in the area. Individual apartments will be connected to the renewable power source to help residents reduce electricity costs by as much as 70 percent.
Such initiative not only addresses the community’s concern on the rising energy prices. It also helps the government achieve its target of having zero net emissions by 2050.
