'Living Lab' Showcases Sustainable Neighbourhood
A unique development partnership will help form a transformative innovation precinct.
Western Sydney University has entered into a joint partnership with the diversified property group Stockland to create a thriving, mixed-use precinct that will serve the local community near its Penrith campus.
The transformative new precinct, named the Penrith Sustainable Innovation Community (PSIC), presents numerous opportunities to integrate curriculum, University operations and research through co-design, co-creation and co-development of both campus infrastructure and the community.
“This is an exciting opportunity to create a ‘living lab’, bringing together university, industry, and community to showcase a new way of co-creating a sustainable urban precinct,” comments Nicky Morrison, the Professor of planning and Director of the Urban Transformations Research Centre at Western.
Through the project students can potentially take part in areas such as planning, advocacy, project-based learning, and skills development.
Need to know
- The Penrith Sustainable Innovation Community (PSIC) is a new precinct being developed by Stockland and Western.
- It will act as a testbed to trial new solutions to real-world challenges.
Some goals of PSIC include developing sustainable, safe, and accessible transport options, integrating digital technologies into the built environment, incorporating findings of interdisciplinary research on sustainable design and sustainable construction materials, employing climate-sensitive design and creating local skilled jobs.
Importantly, PSIC will contribute to multiple SDGs, helping to maintain Western’s number-one position in the world for its social, ecological, and economic impact, as marked in the Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings in March 2022.
“As global problems have local manifestations, PSIC can act as a testbed to incubate ideas and pilot promising new solutions to real-world challenges,” says Morrison. “We hope that delivering action-oriented outcomes based on exemplary demonstration of research and innovation at PSIC can be replicated in other contexts across the region, metropolitan Sydney, nationally and globally.”
“Planning is now underway,” says Morrison. “The selected living lab initiatives will be informed by our joint innovation and sustainability strategy that is being currently developed.”
This case study is republished from Future-Makers. Read the original article (opens in a new window).
Partner with ICS
If you would like to collaborate with us or find out more about what we can offer you, please get in touch with our Senior Business Development Officer - Sally Byrnes - using the details below.
Email: S.Byrnes@westernsydney.edu.au
Phone: +61 421 320 441
