ACT Election 2020: Gentleman says Liberals have a '1950s vision' of Canberra

But opposition planning spokesman Mark Parton says most Canberrans don't support Labor's urban infill policy.

Their comments came at an online planning forum held by the Australian Institute of Architects, the Planning Institute of Australia and the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects last week. ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury was also on the panel.

The Labor government's planning strategy over the coming decades is for 70 per cent of all future development to come from urban infill.

A focal point of the Canberra Liberals election campaign is the policy is driving up land prices. The party believe more single dwelling blocks need to be released in the territory and this would help with housing affordability.

Mr Gentleman argued the Liberals' policy was outdated and would result in further urban sprawl.

"There is a clear choice at this election, the Canberra Liberals have a 1950s vision of Canberra based on endless urban sprawl, bulldozing forest and grasslands," he said.

The Planning Minister said urban sprawl needed to be contained and that infill was more cost efficient.

"More urban sprawl costs more money and Canberrans would have to pay for it," Mr Gentleman said.

"It's much less expensive to do a renewal around our town centres and transport corridors. This is nothing new, this is well-designed planning practices that come from across the world."

But Mr Parton said most Canberrans did not support urban infill, he said this was based off many conversations he had with constituents.

"It's not something that is supported by a great deal of Canberrans certainly based on the wide selection that I have spoken to," he said.

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Mr Parton said many Canberrans had moved across to NSW to access affordable single dwelling blocks.

"One of the biggest drivers of the increase in land prices here - above what is case in the surrounding areas of NSW - is the strangulation of supply for standalone housing," he said.

Mr Rattenbury said the environment had to be at the core of planning policies. He said that he would like bigger apartments to be built as part of urban infill.

"One of the shortcomings we have seen in some urban infill is that it's tended to be one- and two-bedroom apartments, in Australia we don't yet have a culture of building apartments for families," he said.