This Guidance Manual forms one of the key deliverables of the Melbourne’s Transition to a Water
Sensitive City project. It sets out an innovative methodology for translating sustainability principles
into practical outcomes for local regions and describes how it should be operationally used.
The methodology is designed to incorporate resilience and transition thinking into strategic
planning processes that aim to achieve sustainable water sensitive outcomes. The methodological
steps presented in the Guidance Manual are tailored for the urban water context in Melbourne,
Australia. It was trialled in two different series of workshops with valuable and inspiring outcomes.
Application of the methodology in other contexts would follow the overall structure described in this
Guidance Manual but details of the steps would need to be adapted. In particular, factors such as
the project aim and purpose, the intended audience of the project outcomes, the time and other
resources available would need to be taken into consideration.
Appendix A: Details of the “Melbourne’s Transition to
a Water Sensitive Project”
Background and Context
There is a growing international interest by communities, governments, planning sectors and water
industries in how water can support the liveability, sustainability and resilience of a city. While these
themes do not diminish the importance of traditional water servicing from water supply, sewerage
and drainage infrastructure, they do present new challenges for how urban water systems are
planned, designed and managed. Strategic planning for large-‐scale centralised infrastructure is
traditionally characterised by an approach which aims to reduce uncertainties and maintain control
through emphasising technical solutions and basing decisions on rational cost-‐benefit assessments
made upon consideration of a narrow set of values. This approach often relies on assumptions that
key variables, such as rainfall patterns, resource availability and community values, are largely stable
and predictable.
Until recently, this approach served the needs of urban water systems relatively well. However, the
water sector has become aware that while existence needs of clean water, sanitation and flood
protection are critical, society also has broader needs from our urban water system. For example,
we value ecological health, amenity, thermal comfort, beauty and equity – characteristics that are
considered to make Melbourne ‘liveable’. Further, the climatic conditions in Australia over the last
ten years have forced the water sector to consider how complexity, variability and uncertainty can
be accommodated in the planning and design of urban water systems.
The water sector is therefore exploring the question of how a liveable, sustainable and resilient city
can be supported by its water system and there is now broad acknowledgement that the way we
plan, design and manage water servicing must move beyond the traditional approach so that we can
meet all our urban water needs into the future, regardless of the future conditions experienced. The
water sensitive city offers an alternative perspective on how the planning and design of water
systems can be undertaken. It focuses on holistic planning and management of the integrated water
cycle and emphasises flexibility, diversity and adaptability in its solutions – a radical shift from the
traditional strategic planning approach.
The broad goals encompassed by the water sensitive city concept include water security, water
conservation, fit-‐for-‐purpose use, flood protection, pollution minimisation, urban amenity, broad
stakeholder participation, long-‐term timeframes for planning and strong collaboration between
organisations, disciplines, sectors and the community. While these goals are widely shared and a
vision for how a water sensitive future would function is starting to emerge from the water sector,
there is not yet an accepted set of attributes and indicators to define the specifics of a water
sensitive city. Further, there is limited understanding of how strategic planning in urban water
systems can facilitate transformative change in the water sector, to move from today’s conditions
towards water sensitive planning, design, construction, operation, management, governance and
evaluation of options.
Against this background, Monash Water for Liveability at Monash University led a research project
on the topic of how the transition to water sensitive regions can be enabled through strategic action.
The project involved a series of workshops designed to facilitate detailed investigation of how
community needs for public health and wellbeing, urban amenity and environmental protection can
be met through water sensitive planning and design principles.
Project Aim and Objectives
The aim of the research project was to develop tools that support the latest efforts in science, policy
and practice for understanding how strategic planning at the regional scale can enable the transition
of urban regions from their current conditions to liveability, sustainability and resilience.
The project objectives were to:
a) Develop a detailed vision for how the social, technical and ecological aspects of local urban
regions would function if the principles of a water sensitive city were implemented
b) Explore how strategic actions could achieve the water sensitive vision from current
conditions
c) Test the latest international scientific ideas on strategic planning processes and develop an
innovative methodology for translating sustainability principles into practical outcomes for
local regions
d) Produce deliverables that are accessible and practical for use by community, governments
and industry to support approaches to addressing liveability and sustainability challenges
e) Provide a forum in which a diversity of perspectives and rigorous discussion leads to shared
understanding, action learning and strategic partnerships amongst broad stakeholders in
order to achieve the project objectives
Project Outcomes
This project applied the methodology for two different areas of Melbourne, each covering a cluster
of adjacent local government areas. The ‘South East Cluster’ workshop series followed all the steps
described in this Guidance Manual, while the ‘Yarra Valley Cluster’ series followed a more
condensed version due to time constraints.
Outcomes from these applications are reported in the following documents:
• Ferguson, B.C., Frantzeskaki, N., Skinner, R. and Brown, R.R. (2012) Melbourne’s Transition to a
Water Sensitive City: South East Cluster Workshop Series. Dutch Research Institute For
Transitions, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Monash Water for Liveability,
Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. ISBN 978-‐1-‐921912-‐15-‐3.
• Ferguson, B.C., Frantzeskaki, N., Skinner, R. and Brown, R.R. (2012) Melbourne’s Transition to a
Water Sensitive City: Yarra Valley Cluster Workshop Series. Dutch Research Institute For
Transitions, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Monash Water for Liveability,
Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. ISBN 978-‐1-‐921912-‐16-‐0.
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LA INTERCULTURALIDAD EN LAS AULAS DE EDUCACIÓN INFANTIL
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