Urban regeneration or regenerative urbanism?

Date: Wednesday, 17th September 2025

Time: 4:00pm - 5:00pm

Urban ‘regeneration’ – where disadvantaged or declining neighbourhoods are targeted for intervention and ‘renewal’ – has a checkered history. From the ‘slum clearance’ initiatives of the 20th Century, to contemporary ‘upzoning’ reforms, proponents claim that increasing new housing development within existing urban areas is preferable to ‘greenfield’ development. Yet concerns remain about the environmental impacts and design quality of recent projects as well as wider risks of gentrification and displacement under existing models of market led regeneration. This panel considers recent practice and asks whether a truly “regenerative” model could replenish urban ecosystems, while supporting social capital and housing justice.

Speakers

Dr Alistair Sisson, Macquarie University Research Fellow (MQRF), School of Communication, Society and Culture

Professor Louise Crabtree Hayes, Professorial Research Fellow, Institute for Culture & Society, Western Sydney University

Caroline Pidcock, Adjunct Professor of Practice at the School of Architecture + the Built Environment, University of Newcastle; Chair of the AIA Environment Design Guide Advisory Group; Co-Chair of the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) National Climate Action and Sustainability Committee.