Urban renewal projects in Newcastle and Maitland had demonstrated how the principles of sustainability and connectivity can be incorporated into innovative urban design, the state's top architect says.
The government's new design guidelines for regional NSW aim to help councils, planners and designers respond to the challenges and opportunities of regional areas.
The guide, released this week, is based around seven principles: engagement with history and culture, integration with the natural environment and landscape, the revitalisation of main streets and town centres and prioritisation of connectivity, walkability, and cycling opportunities, balancing urban growth, increasing options for diverse and healthy living and responding to climatic conditions and their impacts.
The Maitland Riverlink project that improved connectivity between the Hunter River and the city centre is among the projects highlighted in the guide.
"That project is a simple intervention but it has had such transformative power in how it took that beautiful main street and connected it to the river and gave it an event space. As small as that event space is, all of a sudden it forms a heart to a community," Government Architect Abbie Galvin said.
"Great places don't just happen by chance, they are designed and they continue to be designed as we manage how they are transformed."
Likewise, Ms Galvin said the $700 million-plus revitalisation of Newcastle's city centre incorporated many strong urban design principles.
"Newcastle has been extraordinary in how it has approached revitalisation. For instance, the incorporation of the Smart Cities program has had enormous benefits," she said.
The use of light rail in Hunter Street was an example of how an existing main street could become a catalyst for urban renewal.
"If you look at what has happened over the last 50 years in Newcastle that (Hunter Street) really dissolved. It went through this huge decentralisation and now it is trying to reverse some of the mistakes of the past," Ms Galvin said.
The reuse of heritage buildings had also been a feature of the revitalisation process.
"Newcastle is a really interesting example of where you have this balance between 19th century buildings and these big robust buildings that are associated with fabrication and manufacturing." she said.
"We should be thinking innovatively about how we can reuse existing building stock - because of their history, but it is more sustainable from an environmental aspect."
Planning minister Rob Stokes said the guide would create better connections between built and natural environments.
"This guide will help revitalise our main streets and town centres, increase walking and cycling opportunities, and improve the design of our subdivisions and how they connect to surrounding landscapes."
"It also provides an opportunity to explore how to engage and enhance the history and culture of these places, including our rich Aboriginal cultural heritage."
