Guiding Melbourne's Urban Growth 2013

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As part of Melbourne Knowledge Week in November 2013 Urban.com.au presented the public forum "Guiding Melbourne's Urban Growth".  

The question we invited each presenter to respond to:

<blockquote>
If Melbourne is to fulfil its own motto of gaining strength as it grows, planning policy must shift away from the auto-centric low-density suburban growth patterns of the past.  Cities which encourage diverse human interaction through policies which enable increased residential and employment densities benefit from increased localised economic and social activity. With the great Australian dream of owning a home becoming increasingly unattainable where spiralling congestion and travel distance to employment and services offset the lower prices of new fringe suburban development, how can Melbourne make medium and high-density living more attractive to individuals and families at a price they can afford?
</blockquote>

Today we feature the presentation given by Sarah Backhouse.  Sarah is an architect, designer, educator, researcher and currently holds the CEO position at <a href="http://www.prefabaus.org.au" target="_blank">prefabAUS</a>.

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="285" mozallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/84283102" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="100%"></iframe>

<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/http://vimeo.com/84283102">Urban.com.au - Guiding Melbourne's Urban Growth: Part 4 - Sarah Backhouse</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user19840635">The Video Agency</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.

Sarah Backhouse in her own words.

"As a global phenomenon, cities are facing growing population pressure. In response, we need to rethink our cities as the demands for smarter land use increases. We will also need faster and leaner ways to construct our future cities, in order to minimise disturbance to existing communities that can arise during long construction projects. This suggests change to the form of our current urban environments and how we build them.

"It is normal for us to fear change however knowledge and education are powerful means of dispelling doubt or resistance. Housing Expos have long been employed in Europe to explore and address ‘big issues’, be it new density models or construction innovation. Such Expos are frequently built as permanent communities, yet open to the public for a period of time before being handed over to owners or tenants. They offer a tangible experience of new design or construction ideas, and provide places that people can feel, touch and understand. The time for such Housing Expos has come in Australia, so that we can refocus public debate and help shift discussions from the position of NIMBY to QIMBY.

"At <a href="http://www.prefabaus.org.au/" target="_blank">PrefabAUS</a>, we are working hard to demonstrate that 21 century prefabricated building technologies are an important part of construction innovation, and offer permanent quality solutions. A greater uptake of prefabricated building elements or whole buildings is important for decreasing construction time frames and construction waste while increasing construction quality, productivity and affordability. Building prefabrication also has a vital role to play in advancing Australia’s manufacturing sector.

"Part of our future vision is to participate in such Housing Expos. Our industry has some legacy issues to contend with - many that stem from prefabrication’s past association with temporary buildings – and collaboration in such Housing Expos will allow us to display the talent of home grown manufacturers, constructors, designers, and innovators who are leading the way with projects such as: aspirational homes that are delivered to difficult or remote locations 99% complete; 21st century modular classrooms that are 3D sustainability textbooks for our children; and multi-residential apartment buildings assembled on site in a matter of days.  We have reached the tipping point, we have the capabilities, and we are ready to embrace the future."

The editors of Urban.com.au would like to thank Sarah for sharing her perspectives and similarly would like to thank The State Library of Victoria team and our partners at <a href="http://www.thevideoagency.com.au/" target="_blank">The Video Agency</a> for filming the entire event.
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Alastair Taylor

GMUG 2013: Sarah Backhouse on density, prefabrication and the future of cities

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During November Urban.com.au presented Guiding Melbourne's Urban Growth ('GMUG 2013'), an event as part of Melbourne Knowledge Week 2013.  Today's article focuses on the presentation given by William McDougall, Principal and Public Transport practice leader at global consulting firm <a href="http://www.globalskm.com/" target="_blank">SKM</a>.  

<blockquote>
If Melbourne is to fulfil its own motto of gaining strength as it grows, planning policy must shift away from the auto-centric low-density suburban growth patterns of the past.  Cities which encourage diverse human interaction through policies which enable increased residential and employment densities benefit from increased localised economic and social activity. With the great Australian dream of owning a home becoming increasingly unattainable where spiralling congestion and travel distance to employment and services offset the lower prices of new fringe suburban development, how can Melbourne make medium and high-density living more attractive to individuals and families at a price they can afford?
</blockquote>

<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Gotham, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19.200000762939453px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Each of the invited presenters were asked to respond to the above question, drawing on their expertise and views from within the Urban Industry and here is William's presentation.</div>

<div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Gotham, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19.200000762939453px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </div>

<div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/84362525" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="100%"></iframe></div>

<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/http://vimeo.com/84362525">Urban.com.au - Guiding Melbourne's Urban Growth: Part 5 - William McDougall</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user19840635">The Video Agency</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.

<blockquote>
In my presentation I was highlighting that we urgently need to accommodate change and flexibility in urban planning for Melbourne (and elsewhere), perhaps more than ever before. The main reasons for this are to ensure that we can take full advantage of technological and social change – which are both expected to accelerate enormously – instead of assuming some sort of ‘business as usual’ (which is jargon for ‘no change’) when we’re predicting the future and trying to plan for it.

The example I quoted (which is just one of many) – autonomous vehicles – is quickly becoming the hottest topic in transport. All the major vehicle manufacturers are developing self-driving capabilities and collaborating with Google and its competitors in the process. With this industry investment, self-driving cars will be a reality very quickly. Initially this will be in high-end models but eventually in all new cars, and even in modular form to retrofit into existing vehicles. The traffic efficiency, safety and social benefits are potentially enormous and we must ensure that our urban planning and regulatory systems facilitate, rather than obstruct, their progress.

Coupled with revolutionary changes in transport energy sources and efficiency (electric vehicle technologies in particular), and integration with fast-changing internet and social networking technologies, a new paradigm of automated, efficient and smart transport systems will evolve rapidly from this groundswell.

 - William McDougall, January 2014.
</blockquote>

The editors of Urban.com.au would once again like to thank William for taking time out his Friday night to share his perspectives and similarly would like to thank The State Library of Victoria team and our partners at <a href="http://www.thevideoagency.com.au/" target="_blank">The Video Agency</a> for filming the entire event.
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GMUG 2013: William McDougall on future transport trends for cities

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Today we're pleased to announce further details on 'Guiding Melbourne's Urban Growth' - a free event presented by Urban.com.au and held as part of Melbourne Knowledge Week 2013.
On Friday 1st of November from 6:30pm a panel of five speakers will be giving their thoughts and insight in answer to the following:
<a href="https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/AboutMelbourne/KnowledgeMelbourne/Pages/KnowledgeWeek.aspx" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="http://urbanmelbourne.info/sites/urbanmelbourne.info/files/imgad.jpg" style="width: 300px; height: 250px;"></a>
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	If Melbourne is to fulfil its own motto of gaining strength as it grows, planning policy must shift away from the auto-centric low-density suburban growth patterns of the past. Cities which encourage diverse human interaction through policies which enable increased residential and employment densities benefit from increased localised economic and social activity. With the great Australian dream of owning a home becoming increasingly unattainable where spiralling congestion and travel distance to employment and services offset the lower prices of new fringe suburban development, how can Melbourne make medium and high-density living more attractive to individuals and families at a price they can afford?
</div>
 
<div>
	 </div>
The speakers
Sarah Backhouse - CEO of prefabAUS www.prefabaus.org.au
William McDougall - Transport Planner/Principal at Sinclair Knight Merz www.globalskm.com
Adam Borowski - Development Manager at Small Giants www.smallgiants.com.au
John Carfi - CEO Residential at Mirvac Group www.mirvac.com
Laurence Dragomir - Urban Designer and Urban.com.au writer 
 
Laurence will provide a synopsis of Fishermans Bend, and as part of his talk will present the only available renders with all planning applications to date included, plus a few other surprises.  A preliminary low resolution sneak peek is seen below
<a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/Image1_36.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="A sign of things to come within Fishermans Bend?"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-702px" src="http://urbanmelbourne.info/sites/urbanmelbourne.info/files/styles/article_full_width_702px/public/pictures/article-images/Image1_36.jpg?itok=1XHUZI-2" title="A sign of things to come within Fishermans Bend?" typeof="foaf:Image"></a>
Each speaker will give a 10 minute presentation and following the presentations an audience Q&amp;A session will be held.
The venue is the Village Roadshow Theatrette at the State Library of Victoria.  Entrance is from La Trobe Street entrance 3 (not the main entrance fronting Swanston Street) - click <a href="http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/floormap_entrance_2011.gif" target="_blank">here</a> to see a map of entrances.
Guiding Melbourne's Urban Growth is a free, but ticketed event - to attend, simply click the link below, book and print your ticket and present it upon entry.  Doors open at 6:20pm and we anticipate finishing the Q&amp;A session at 8:15pm
* Please print out your ticket and bring it with you on the night - we will not be admitting anyone without a valid ticket.  
If you can't make it or the session is all booked out by the time you read this - never fear!  Our video partners <a href="http://imageination.tv/" target="_blank">IMAGEination</a> will be filming the entire event and we'll publish the videos in the following week.
As always, enjoy!
 
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Guiding Melbourne's Urban Growth 2013

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