No, Minister! We have to define our new purpose

BRIEFING NOTE #8

This is a series of briefing notes to yet another new housing minister. Here are some dangers to avoid, some well-trodden paths to be bypassed, and some barriers to thinking that need to be overcome (if we are serious about bringing about change)…….and, oh yes, here are some thoughts on how to deliver this change! Please stick around long enough to make it happen.

Nothing will be served by writing yet another policy, adding to the stockpile of failed policies that have constipated the system. The temptation may be to try again, yet most of what we’ve tried in recent decades, has just given rise to more complex rules and regulations. In reality, the conditions that gave rise to the establishment of the planning, design and development system have so fundamentally changed, that it is best to take a fresh new look at where we may be going.

We need a vision that initiates a NEIGHBOURHOOD ENABLING MODEL, that aims to unlock the potential of many bottom-up ideas and actions by many people and scale these up to build great urban neighbourhoods. The first draft vision for the new initiative need not be perfect - in fact, it should have room for others to help shape it. Here is a potential starting point for defining a simple purpose:

LET’S BUILD THE URBAN SOCIETY WE ALL WANT.

‘The Government is committed to radically transforming the way we shape our urban environments to deal with the challenges of a continuously changing and increasingly complex world. We cannot do this alone. We must work together with people to harness the collective power of many small ideas and actions to build a better urban society for all our citizens and scale these up over time.

True urban society only evolves where compact urbanism meets human and social capital, both set within an enabling environment. If we can use the inherent creativity and goodwill that lies in the people to build this compact urbanism, we will achieve even better outcomes.

We must focus on urban neighbourhoods as vital building blocks of socially diverse and mixed-use models of development for cities and towns. Appropriately intense development with vibrant, connected and resilient public spaces, infrastructure and built form that can adapt to change over time are essential to deal with unpredictable future needs.

Government is best placed to provide the essential starting conditions that will release the potential for good neighbourhoods to emerge over time. We do not have to do everything—we will facilitate putting in place the essential urban structure, the grain and the platforms to create truly open, collaborative and responsive environments. At a time when we need to do more with less, we must use the lightest touch. Given this support—and armed with effective ideas, tools and tactics—people can play a much more active role in helping to create viable urban neighbourhoods.

We believe that if we do this well, then, working together, we will create far better social, cultural and economic outcomes, that we will ever achieve alone’.

–      The Minister for Neighbourhoods

Every place needs its own way of initiating and delivering system change, but they can learn from the experience of other places. The NEIGHBOURHOOD ENABLING MODEL has some universal guiding principles we need to have at the back of our minds as we move forward. They are a starting point and can be applied to most places—so they can be adopted in whole or part; adapted or even changed.