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The role of WSUD in contributing to sustainable urban settings

chapter
posted on 2018-01-01, 00:00 authored by Beau BezaBeau Beza, Joshua Zeunert, Frank Hanson
Water sensitive urban design (WSUD) is a concept widely accepted and partially acted on throughout Australia's federal and state governments. The concept, however, is currently applied at the local municipal level by linking with existing corridor and precinct structure plans, urban planning/legislative frameworks (e.g., Clause 56.07–04, Victoria), and service provisions (e.g., drainage guidelines). However, to realize WSUD outcomes at the applied municipal level, coordination and cooperation of developer, client, consultants, the local government and respective water authority is essential. Unfortunately, much of the planning and design-related WSUD material is focused on stormwater management. In terms of WSUD, management at the municipal level is a key term to reflect upon, as the handling and control of water is essential so that its design and use minimizes risk to built features and people. The other aspect to management, directing, has been largely relegated in WSUD to a service role, where harvested stormwater is used for maintenance-related issues such as greening roads and street verges, open space areas, and a city's landscape designs and features. To move away from this predominantly service role and into a more progressive application of WSUD, the human/water interaction may be better achieved through the merging of contemporary insights of sustainability with those of WSUD when realizing built outcomes.

To act more sustainably, applications of WSUD in suburban and city settings will need to shift toward a wider dynamic use where, for example, harvested stormwater is used to produce environmental outputs that contribute to and enhance urban sustainability, rather than simply maintain the built setting. Relatively new concepts such as healthy and livable suburbs potentially help provide contemporary links with WSUD, which can be used to promote sustainability and provide economic and/or social benefits to communities. This chapter examines the role WSUD has in contributing to urban sustainability through a discussion of its current role and its potential for enhancing sustainability.

History

Title of book

Approaches to water sensitive urban design: potential, design, ecological health, economics, policies and community perceptions

Chapter number

18

Pagination

367 - 380

Publisher

Elsevier

Place of publication

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

ISBN-13

9780128128435

ISBN-10

0128128437

Language

eng

Publication classification

B1 Book chapter

Copyright notice

2019, Elsevier Inc.

Extent

27

Editor/Contributor(s)

Ashok Sharma, Ted Gardner, Don Begbie