Speakers
Kenny Annand, Chairman AIUSWA
Kenny Annand, AIUSWA Chairman opened the day welcoming everyone to the first AIUSWA 1 Day Event and outlined the background to the Institute and the events leading up to the day's event.
Dr Linley Lutton, AIUSWA Vice Chair
Linley Lutton presented some examples where urban planning appeared to have "gone wrong" and outlined the type of factors urban planning practitioners should consider and factors they should avaoid when planning cities with users in mind.
Linley Lutton's Presentation:
Professor Peter Gordon, University of Southern California
Our Keynote Speaker, Professor Peter Gordon, of the University of Southern California's School of Policy, Planning and Development presented on "Sustainability Planning" arguing that public control in a planning environment stiffles innovation and prevents communities developing their own unique characteristics that can be developed if communities are allowed to participate in their own development. - "Top down planning does not work"
Peter also told delegates that planning density came at a higher cost, surprising given the added cost to support networks but his view of the higher cost, not just in terms of construction but of congestion and social compacting provided a balanced arguement to allow communities to develop in line with the economic factors that drive them rather than develop inappropriately as a result of inflexible top down regulation.
Professor Peter Gordon's Presentation
Ross Kyrwood, State Director of Mission Australia
Ross switched direction with his presentation which put the "people" back in "place" arguing an unbalanced utopia is a society ripe for social unrest and economic decline should those elements of society that are less advantaged are further pressured because of their plight through lack of affordability, quality accommodation, proximity to jobs and services or the ability to invest in your child's future.
Ross highlighted his presentation with people's stories touching those delegates who are not ordinarily exposed to those less fortunate and concluded with the powerful statement that "We need planning that understands the principles behind social inclusion... that sees the people that live in the dwellings and communities and not just the make up of the development itself".
Allan Trantor, Creating Communities
Alan Tranter, whose company, Creating Communities has advocated for the community aspects of urban development in Western Australia for a number of years. His presentation, entitled Connection, Collaboration and Transaction, focused on the beginnings of community formation.
Asking the question ""why then do we continually make the same mistake of just focussing on the creation of physical environments with the expectation that businesses and community will work!",
Allan went on the answer this issue by stating that to make cities work there is a need to focus clearly and deliberately on creating connections between people, nurturing collaboration between them so they can do things together and fostering transactions that are of mutual self benefit to those involved.
Dr Debbie Faulkner, Flinders University, South Australia
Debbie presented the output of her Research Report prepred for South Australian aged care provider ECH entitled "Our Homes, Our Communities - The Aspirations and Expectations of Older People in South Australia"
Debbie identified that ageing is viewed very differently from previous generations and although making conscious choices about where to live is not new, the idea that substantial groups of older people are able to control and shape their environment is relatively new and reorientates ageing in place policies away from a focus on the individual to the communities in which we all live.
This is a key planning issue for government in the coming years as older Australians identify they want to stay in their communities but products being developed for them are often some distance away.
Dr Debbie Faulkner's Presentation
Marcus Canning, Executive Director, ARTRAGE
Marcus finished the morning session off with a view of utopia that is dtstopic and neurotic, of planning that is magnificent and futuristic as we consider what life might be like under "New World Urbanism"
Comparing neo classicism to futuristic Perth, Marcus gave us all a vision of what classical urbanism could potentially look like.
Dr Paul Maginn, University of Western Australia
Dr Paul Maginn, a well respected teacher, researcher and publisher in the area of urban policy and sociology was the last formal speaker of the day, if Paul can ever be described as formal, and opened the afternoon with a view that described elements of urban planning as "Fugly (Br)utopia" highlighting this with photographs taken around the City of Perth illustrating how our "Fugly Burbs" present an environment of social homogeneity and residential uniformity and blandness with insufficient infrastructure and services.
Back to "Perth - a balanced or unbalanced utopia?"
