Globally, extensive installation of sustainable technology in urban development will produce major benefits; however, the barriers are significant. Industry barriers include—ignorance of what is possible, risk aversion, and perception of cost. Structural barriers include—existing built form and infrastructure, miss-match between what is technologically possible at a precinct scale and the typical site-by-site developments, and planning regulation and policy. It is easier when one agent drives a greenfield development or brownfields revitalisation, however, infill into a complex, existing urban environments is an ongoing challenge. It can be asserted that retrofitting infill is not so much a technological question as one of the leadership and brokerage. Specific steps in this process include, building the vision of what will be created, bringing participants into the discussion, designing local solutions, and brokering delivery arrangements. Neither local or state government nor industry appears to be able to fill this gap. This paper presents a model developed by a civil society organisation in Western Australia to address this question. Key features include (1) the process was driven by civil society; (2) business, citizens, developers, and local government were drawn into the discussion; (3) the process was heavily design and narrative based rather than being technologically focused; (4) developers contributed to the funding of this process; (5) operationalising was about brokering deals for collective benefits; (6) selectively using, but not relying upon, the planning system to deliver outcomes.