Page 2378 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 31 July 2018
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By contrast Savannah, in the state of Georgia, is a thriving and dynamic city. It has a diverse economy with the manufacturing, transport, military, public sector, higher education and tourism industries forming the basis. It has capitalised on its port, the fourth largest in the US, and has capitalised on the unique heritage and history of the city.
Savannah is the United States’ first truly planned city, founded in 1733. Its city centre is based on the Oglethorpe plan. The original plan sets out a city in 24 squares. Sadly, only 22 of those remain, although plans are afoot to reinstate the missing two squares. Each of the squares is surrounded by civic buildings and beyond that are private homes. There is a strong focus on high quality public spaces, and it was evident that people use and highly value those spaces and enjoy the environment of their communities. The original plan had a strong emphasis on equity, in particular with respect to equal access to high quality open spaces and civic buildings, and all lots for residential use were the same size.
There is strong citizen involvement in the city centre. A self-funding foundation helps the community and local government to protect and preserve this unique plan and the buildings within its historic core. Savannah residents are very proud of their city; that is clear. However, they do not want their city to become a museum and they recognise that it needs to move with modern times.
Interestingly there is now such great demand to live in the city centre that they are looking to expand, replicating its desirable characteristics. As part of that work they have reviewed the planning rules around the city centre and found, ironically, that those rules would in fact prevent development in the style of the Oglethorpe plan which is so strongly desired and valued by the community.
This resonated with the Chief Planner, Ben Ponton, who recently announced a review of the Territory Plan, due to commence in 2019, following the completion of the planning strategy refresh later this year. Mr Ponton has made public statements, with my support, about his desire to get us all thinking more about the outcomes we want for our city. We need to think more about outcomes and be less focused on a multitude of quantitative rules that may not necessarily deliver on what we all aspire to for our great city. But to do this well, we need to make sure that we have the right tools in place. The government is already doing the groundwork in this regard.
I remind my colleagues in this place and the broader Canberra community that the government announced funding to establish the capital city design review panel in the recent budget for 2018-19. This is an important first step in building confidence as we move towards an outcomes-based planning system. It is an exciting time for planning in the ACT.
In Savannah there was strong recognition that new construction must allow for affordable options for young people and for service workers, who are the foundation of their thriving tourism industry. That includes affordable accommodation close to their place of work in order to reduce travel time and costs. Some of our learnings here also will find their way into the government’s draft housing strategy being led by
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