Urban renewal and regeneration in Sydney, Australia: Council reflections on the planning and development process

Recent metropolitan strategies for Australia’s cities promote a vision for the renewal of the ‘middle’ suburbs, where urban-design-led regeneration will not only lead to vibrant, sustainable communities, but also contribute to meeting housing supply targets. At an abstract level, the arguments appear logical. In the absence of detailed policy, however effective governance structures and public funding, it can be anticipated that urban renewal will take place in an ad hoc way with little regard to either the impact of housing affordability or the broader social, economic and environmental outcomes which may be delivered. A fragmented response is compounded by the fact that the actors involved are typically small scale and local: to date, this is not the territory of large national developers. This paper draws on interviews with local council staff and outlines a series of issues which they consider important in shaping renewal in their middle-ring suburbs in Sydney.