Natural Hazard Risk Assessments and Place-based Land Use Policy Development Program
Ipswich City Council, Meridian Urban, and Water Technology
Land of the Traditional Owners: Land of the Jagera, Yuggera and Ugarapul People of the Yagara/Yugara Language Group
Ipswich City Council embarked on a comprehensive review of its natural hazard, risk, and resilience policy settings in 2020. What resulted was the creation of truly risk-responsive land use policy and risk-based mapping that aimed for proper integration of these policy directions at the local area scale. The judging panel agreed that it is arguably one of the most comprehensive and detailed risk-based planning programs across natural hazards undertaken in Queensland.
The judges noted that the multi-hazard and integrated approach developed through the program is completely transferable to any local government area prone to natural hazards that has a desire to see natural hazard risk acting as a core determinant of settlement pattern, rather than as a constraint to be mitigated.
This exemplar planning policy program recognises that our present approaches of simply having natural hazards as an overlay within a planning scheme no longer adequately addresses the emerging challenges of insurability, financing, recurrent reconstruction obligation, and investor confidence in at-risk areas.
Congratulations, Ipswich City Council, Meridian Urban and Water Technology!
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