Swan's revolutionary new Bushfire Mapping technology has been recognised as the best in the country on the national stage at the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) Awards for Planning Excellence in Melbourne.
As one of four WA winners at the national awards, the City of Swan's Strategic Bushfire Analysis Mapping tool was named as the winner in the Best Planning Ideas - Large Project category.
It recognised outstanding planning ideas for a large project that has town or city, regional, state-wide, national or cross-jurisdiction benefit.
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READ NOWThe Bushfire Risk Analysis (BRA) mapping involves a much higher degree of complexity than other localities.
It takes into consideration other relevant factors such as water supply, slope, accessibility, bushfire scar history and proximity to town sites and emergency evacuation areas, rather than just vegetation.
"Through the Strategic BRA project, the City of Swan has created a ground-breaking mapping tool which provides a pro-active measure to guide development assessment, strategic land use planning and emergency management within bushfire risk areas," the judges of the awards said. "It is a significant advancement from the current vegetation mapping method and is therefore a practical, proactive and broadly applicable tool for strategic land use planning and development assessment in bushfire-prone areas."
PIA executive officer in WA Emma de Jager said she was thrilled to see WA planners being recognised on the national level.
"The diversity of the winning projects reflect the considerable work undertaken by the profession across both government and private sectors," she said.
"This BRA mapping technology, in particular, could very well save numerous lives and properties from bushfire in the near future and will revolutionise the way that local Governments zone localities in bushfire prone areas in the future."