This document is a resource for anyone planning or assessing new low carbon precincts. Its advice complements existing policy and may be of use to developers, planners, policy makers and the community—anyone who is seeking to understand how to create sustainable urban outcomes.

The resource is structured into four main sections:

Background – provides an overview of drivers and definitions that are useful for discussing sustainable design approaches. This includes a brief introduction to relevant global agreements, the challenges faced by Australian cities and the advantages that precincts offer for delivering sustainable urban outcomes.

Sustainable precinct themes – outlines the approaches to sustainable built form and infrastructure and categorises them into themes to be considered when planning for a sustainable precinct. Each theme includes a general discussion followed by a series of related principles to achieve more sustainable outcomes. The themes cover transport, harnessing the natural world, the optimisation of structures, and the creation of precinct-scale systems for energy, water and waste.

Delivering sustainable precincts – the processes required for the delivery and ongoing management of sustainable precincts. The emphasis is on the human processes that drive change and shape and manage new systems and business models.

Checklist – a collation of all the principles to assist with project planning, development briefs and development assessment.