Social sustainability in urban regeneration practice: a case study of the Fortitude Valley Renewal Plan in Brisbane

Urban renewal has a social impact, and, here, we present the Fortitude Valley Renewal Plan (2007), in order to assess its process as a case study in relation to the concept of social sustainability. The objective is to develop recommendations to incorporate social sustainability in a proactive manner within the urban regeneration process. This research is based on the analysis of planning documents and semi-directed interviews with urban stakeholders involved in the regeneration process, particularly in the development of the Fortitude Valley Urban Vision statutory planning document. We analyse the case of Fortitude Valley's regeneration process in regards to three components: urban design, provision of affordable housing and the public engagement process. In conclusion, we explain how the tool of Sustainability Assessment (SA) could be used to improve strategic decision-making for the development of urban regeneration strategies for this case study.