The City of South Perth has been recognised at the Planning Institute of Australia 2025 WA Awards for Planning Excellence, receiving a commendation in the Stakeholder Engagement category for its Karawara Pedestrian and Cycle Access Plan (KPACAP).
The residential suburb near Curtin University has a distinctive layout shaped by its 1970s “Radburn” design principles. Radburn planning, named after a community in New Jersey, prioritised safe, convenient pedestrian movement by placing public open spaces behind homes and linking them through an extensive network of paths.
As a result, Karawara features 32 pedestrian accessways – short laneways that provide key connections between homes, parks, schools, bus routes and local shops.
Adopted by Council in February 2025 and supported by the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage, the KPACAP provides a clear and consistent approach to managing these access ways into the future. The plan classifies each access way as either “essential” or “non-essential” based on its role in the local movement network.
This framework will guide future upgrades, investment decisions and maintenance priorities, ensuring resources are directed where they are most needed.
The commendation reflects the City’s comprehensive evidence-based and community-centred engagement process. It combined mobility data, pedestrian counts, audits and interactive mapping with meaningful conversations across the community.
More than 230 submissions ensured residents’ lived experience shaped recommendations and strengthened future decision-making.
The resulting framework supports safer, more accessible and better-connected walking and cycling routes for Karawara. It also provides the community with confidence that future decisions will be transparent, consistent and responsive to local needs.
