Reducing Bushfire Risk by Planning and Design: A Professional Focus

Abstract

While links between planning and resilience are increasingly touted as fundamental to managing urban settlements, there are limited practical examples. This paper provides an example via regulatory processes, in parallel with the exercise of professional discretion. Using analysis of diverse urban planning proposals in bushfire prone areas of Victoria Australia, a systematic and site-specific approach for bushfire risk assessment is set out. A three-step process is proposed as a basis for delivery of design solutions to manage bushfire risks. The paper concludes by arguing that professional judgement is a fundamental part of bushfire risk reduction within a regulatory framework.

Keywords::

• risk
• resilience
• bushfire
• professionalism
• planning

Acknowledgements

We thank all the respondents who participated in the interviews and Bushfire Urban Planning subject students at the University of Melbourne from whom Figure 2 was adapted.