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News
Cairns
City
Precincts
recognised
at
Planning
Institute
Australia
QLA
Awards
for
Planning
Excellence
November 10, 2025
November 2025: The Cairns City Precincts Urban Regeneration Project has received a Commendation in the Strategic Planning category at the 39th PIA Queensland Awards for Planning Excellence.

Commissioned by Cairns Regional Council and delivered by lead consultants SMEC and Pilot Places, Cairns City Precincts was a seven-month strategic planning and urban design framework funded through the Australian Government’s Housing Support Program. Awarded in October 2024 and launched in June 2025, the work sets a coordinated plan to guide infill housing, public realm upgrades and climate-responsive infrastructure across central Cairns.

 

Jury Citation

The judges commend the clear, place-based approach to the strategy and the development of practical tools to support urban change and balance the city’s established greenfield pipeline with a stronger focus on deliverable infill.

 

Centred on Connectivity, Housing and Climate Resilience, the framework is underpinned by community engagement, spatial analysis and integrated economic, climate and planning assessments. It focuses action in three distinct, interconnected precincts [Health, Major Events chosen for their potential to support housing diversity, jobs and civic life. The judges strongly endorse the approach that includes “cool green” walking and cycling links, climate appropriate housing typologies suited to the local market, and streets and public spaces designed for shade, comfort and safety.

Event

39th PIA Queensland Awards

Location

Australia

 

39th PIA Queensland Awards 39th PIA Queensland Awards 39th PIA Queensland Awards 39th PIA Queensland Awards 39th PIA Queensland Awards 39th PIA Queensland Awards
It was great to be at the PIA QLD Awards with our SMEC team, hosting clients and reconnecting with peers. Thank you to PIA Queensland and the organisers for a program that champions planning with purpose and keeps advocacy for place-based outcomes front and centre. The standard of entries showed what is possible when evidence, community insight and implementation come together.
— Desiree Houston Jones, Project Director

About the project

Responding to projected growth of about 72,000 residents and an estimated 33,000 additional homes by 2050, the framework focuses action on Connectivity, Housing and Climate Resilience.  The plan introduces deliverable infill typologies suited to local market conditions, including duplexes, triplexes and quadplexes, with clear design benchmarks and a streamlined approval approach.

A sequenced implementation roadmap sets short-, medium- and longer-term priorities across planning reform, capital works, advocacy and partnerships. Catalyst moves such as the Lake Street Green Way and urban waterway regeneration are aligned to potential state and federal funding opportunities, including preparation for 2032.

Download the awards booklet | Read more about the awards on the PIA awards page

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