Understanding Infill: Towards New Policy and Practice for Urban Regeneration in the Established Suburbs of Australia's Cities

Abstract

A major challenge for urban Australia and its fast growing cities in particular is the provision of an adequate supply of appropriately located, affordable and sustainable housing across a range of dwelling types. A related challenge involves attempts by the metropolitan planning agencies in the capital cities to restrict residential sprawl and deliver more compact cities. Residential infill in the established suburbs has emerged as one of the principal urban planning policies designed to address this dual challenge. Infill targets, typically in the 50–70 per cent range, are now integral to all capital city planning strategies. This article examines the current pattern of infill housing development in Melbourne, Australia's second largest and fastest growing capital city. It highlights the existence of two infill segments—brownfields and greyfields—each with distinctive patterns of development that need to be better understood if urban regeneration is to figure significantly in delivering more liveable and sustainable cities. Current urban policies, programmes and practices are lacking an effective response to redevelopment of the greyfields.

当今澳大利亚城市地区，特别是快速发展的那些城市，最大的问题就是提供位置合适、价格合适、能持续发展的各类户型的住房。由此附带产生的一个问题，就是各大首府城市的城市规划机构试图控制城市无限制扩展，发展紧凑型城市。为了兼顾两者，大多数城市采取往成熟市郊填充居民的做法。目前所有首府城市规划战略都包含这一目标，填充率一般在50%到70%之间。本文考察目前澳大利亚第二大也是发展最快的城市墨尔本的填充式住房开发模式，特别关注两个填充地段：棕色地带和灰色地带。这两种地带各有千秋，值得认真研究，以便让城市变得更宜居更具可持续性。目前的城市政策、计划和实践中都缺少对灰色地带进行有效再开发的机制。

Keywords::

• Infill housing
• urban regeneration
• greenfields
• greyfields
• brownfields
• compact cities
• urban policy

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the CRC for Spatial Information, the Victorian Department of Planning and Community Development and the City of Manningham for their support of the research presented in this article and the development of the ENVISION software. AURIN is funding the further development of ENVISION on its e-Research portal. The views expressed in this article, however, are those of the authors.