Planningxchange

In PX101 our guests are Natalia Weglarz and Peter Jones. Natalia is a planner at the Canberra office of WSP (www.wsp.com). She has been in Canberra for eight years, prior to that she was in Sydney and the UK. Peter Jones has lived in Canberra since the mid 1960's and has worked as a planner in Canberra over several decades. They describe the history of Canberra, the orginal grand plan for the city developed in 1911, how it has evolved and its role as Australia's most planned city. Should there be greater expectations of a planned city is one of the questions raised. They also talk of the difficult balance (and tensions) between respecting the original strategic plan whilst grafting on changes that reflect modern societal needs. In podcast extra / culture corner, Peter Jones recommends: Jane Harpers ‘Exiles’ (Rural noir theme):https://janeharper.com.au/books/exiles A recommendation Jess endorses. Natalia recommends two items: the podcast ’99% invisible’ https://99percentinvisible.org and Netflix's ‘Dahmer - Mo

To celebrate our 100th episode we re-interview four of our previous guests. We ask them about their experiences with the podcast and what has happened in their professional sphere since their earlier interview. To begin with, Jess has a brief introduction where she explains the origins of PX and the subsequent journey over the past eight years. Our first guest is Chris Abery, one of Australia's leading retail planning analysts. Chris is at the consultancy Deep End Services https://www.deependservices.com.au Chris was our very first guest (PX1) on the podcast which was released on 7 December 2014. His podcast extra recommendation is 'get a dog'. His is named 'Freddie'. Our second guest is Liz Hui, an accoustic engineer who is at Marshall Day https://www.marshallday.com.au She is also a Planning Panels Victoria Member. Liz appeared in PX73 which was released on the 22nd December 2020. Her podcast extra recommendation is the Melbourne School of Design (MSD) Youtube channel where a video featuring Trevor Cox 'Sou

In PlanningxChange episode 99 our guest is Alex Fenech, a landscape architect based in Florida. At the time we recorded the interview Alex was a Vice President at EDSA (https://www.edsaplan.com) one of America’s leading landscape and urban design firms.  Alex is the past President of ALSA Florida (American Society of Landscape architects) - https://www.aslaflorida.org/AboutFL In a wide ranging interview Alex talks of the many parts of a landscape architect’s role. These include not just technical knowledge such as soil types and nutrients, drainage and plant characteristics but also an understanding of how people relate to settings. Alex outlines that ‘people’ are not one standard type but that there are social, cultural and generational differences on how we perceive our environment, and the landscape design needs to understand the variety of user experiences. He talks of the need to plan for the life of a landscape environment in terms of care and maintenance, which is often overlooked. Alex discusses the c

In PlanningxChange episode 98 our guest is Tim Ellis one of the world’s leading magicians. Details about Tim are found at https://www.timellismagic.com and at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Ellis_(magician) What do magic and city planning have in common? The connection to this episode is Tim organising the Melbourne Magic Festival - MMF (https://melbournemagicfestival.com). This is the largest magic festival in the Southern Hemisphere. It typically occurs late June/early July each year. It consists of a main venue in central Melbourne comprising four different sized theatres and various satellite venues in Melbourne’s suburbs and country Victoria. The festival is a purely private venture receiving no public support grants. How is a festival put together? What are the logistics, what makes it a success? How does one gauge success? What does it mean for the host city? Tim with many years of experience organising and financing the MMF is well placed to answer these questions and illuminate the creative impuls

In PlanningxChange episode 97 our guest is David Beaumont one of Australia's leading landscape and portrait painters. David is based in the historic seaside town of Queenscliff. From there he embarks on various solitary sojourns to the outback to immerse himself in the breadth and depth of the Australian landscape. He is also a frequent observer of the gritty parts of Melbourne where he observes the human condition in its rawest expression. We are fortunate to have him on the podcast to talk about art in the city, a topic far from strategic master plans and city planning ordinances. The discussion rambles through art history, contemporary approaches to public art, the palette of the city and the absurdity of life. Audio production by Jack Bavage. The episode was released on 1 September 2022.

In PlanningxChange episode 96 our guest is Simon Kuestenmacher, one of Australia’s leading demographers. Simon is a Director and Co-founder of The Demographics Group based in Melbourne, Australia. Simon holds degrees in geography from leading universities in Berlin and Melbourne and worked for several years as a business consultant with KPMG Australia. In 2017 Simon, with Bernard Salt, co-founded The Demographics Group. The group provides specialist advice on demographic, consumer and social trends for business. Simon has presented to numerous corporate and industry audiences across Australia and overseas on demographic trends, consumer insights and cultural change in Australia.  His presentations and quirky observations are enjoyed by groups from the financial services, property, government, education, technology, retail and professional services industries, among others. Simon is a columnist for The New Daily newspaper and a contributor to The Australian newspaper and he is a media commentator on demographi

In PlanningxChange episode 95 our guest is Lucinda Hartley. Her bio reads as follows: ‘Urban designer turned entrepreneur, Lucinda Hartley uses big data to measure the quality of life and wellbeing of neighbourhoods. She is a co-founder of Neighbourlytics, a social analytics platform which has created data for more than 500 neighbourhoods in over 10 countries and is influencing some of world’s most significant urban development decisions. Lucinda was recently named as one of 100 Women of Influence by the Australian Financial Review and one of Melbourne's Top 100 most influential people by The Age. With over a decade of experience in urban innovation, Lucinda was a Myer Innovation Fellow, Westpac Social Change Fellow, and was previously co-founder and CEO of award-winning placemaking consultancy, CoDesign Studio. Prior to this her insights contributed to defining UN Sustainable Development Goal 11 (Cities). A designer turned tech-founder, Lucinda is alumni of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Sin

In PlanningxChange episode 94 our guest is Laura Gannon an Associate Director at Meridan Urban with almost 20 years of experience in strategic land use planning, bushfire risk and community resilience across both the public and private sectors. Laura specialises in management consulting approaches to the integration of natural hazard risk management into land use planning policy and strategy, with a particular emphasis on bushfire risk and resilience, floodplain risk management and climate adaptation. She has extensive experience in the areas of planning policy, strategic and statutory planning accumulated through a number of senior leadership positions.  Laura is a corporate member of PIA, Member of the Fire Protection Association of Australia and the Australian Institute of Emergency Services. Laura holds relevant Planning, Bushfire Management and Project Management qualifications.  Audio production by Jack Bavage. The episode was released on 14 June 2022.

In PlanningxChange 93 the tables are turned and we are interviewed. PX was a guest at the Ratio Consultants breakfast speaker series. Colleen Peterson (PX23), the CEO of Ratio presented and asked questions. The interview reveals the formation of PX, the mechanics of how we put interviews together, what we have learnt and how we work together. A bit self indulgent but there you go. We hope you enjoy this. The interview was recorded on the 7th April 2022. Interview produced by Jack Bavage. The podcast release date is the 18th May 2022.

In PlanningxChange episode 92 the subject is Phil Priest, Group Manager City Development at the Moreland City Council. The following is an extract from VPELA's Journal 'Revue' of October 2021 which described Phil’s career and his recent awarding of the Paul Jerome Award for contributions to the public sector.  “When planners think of Moreland Council, they think of Phil Priest. Phil has been a mainstay in planning in the inner city for decades, providing exemplarily service to the public sector and leading Moreland’s successful transition from a dying industrial heartland to a beacon for inner city urban renewal. Phil earn’t his stripes at City of Melbourne, before joining Moreland in 2003 as the Manager of Urban Development. For the next 17 years, he had a variety of managerial and planning roles, including Group Manager City Development, where he led multi disciplinary teams of over 70 professionals with responsibilities for town planning, building and environmental health. After a brief stint at DELWP as t

In PlanningxChange episode 91 we interview Matt Roberts about Ian Nairn, an architectural and planning critic in the UK during the 1950s - 1970s. Matt is an architectural historian and a member of the podcast team that produces About Buildings and Cities.  Details are at https://aboutbuildingsandcities.org. The About Buildings and Cities podcast produced a three part series on Ian Nairn. This is highly recommended as a lively and insightful review of the broad career of Ian Nairn, his times and his impact on the public imagination. Nairn came to prominence with a special edition of the Architectural Review called ‘Outrage’ published in 1955. In this he coined the term ’Subtopia’ for areas around cities that had been failed by urban planning and lost their sense of place. ‘Outrage’ was followed soon afterwards by ‘Counter-Attack’. Nairn also contributed to various books on British cities and architecture (although not a trained architect) such as ‘The Buildings of England’.  Nairn also contributed to the evolu

In PlanningxChange episode 90 we interview Scott LaMont the CEO of EDSA, an international planning and landscape architecture consultancy. Scott joined EDSA in 1996 and has been a driving force in the firm’s practice and strategic growth since. Before being named CEO, he was a Studio Leader and Principal for 12 years, instilling the firm’s ethos with a design sensibility and comprehensive approach to projects while fostering long term client relationships. Scott is focused on the big picture tenets of people, client service and vision while leading the 120-person firm towards inspirational design with enthusiasm, devotion, creativity and humility. He is committed to the exploration of sustainable, modern ideals and fostering values which positively personify humanity by balancing superior design and pragmatic business planning. His broad range of global experience spans large scale planning assignments to mixed-use residential, hospitality and urban works that have strengthened EDSA’s reputation as a design l

PlanningxChange Episode 89, features Peter Malley. Peter is a traffic and transport engineer with over 17 years' experience consulting to numerous private and government clients in Victoria and NSW. Peter has a passion for master planning and large-scale developments where he applies a holistic transport planning approach. He has contributed expert advice to a range of significant projects including town centres, residential subdivisions, mixed-use developments, healthcare and educational facilities. Peter works closely with clients, applying a proactive and personal touch to achieve successful and innovative responses. When designing a transport system, Peter believes it’s important to consider not only private vehicle use, but public transport options, bicycle accessibility and pedestrian amenity to cater to user diversity. Peter was involved in a serious bicycle accident in 2020 that left him a paraplegic and his disability has offered him a unique understanding of the way transport planning affects the mo

PlanningxChange Episode 88, features Catherine Heggen, a town planner with UK and Australian experience over a 35 year career. Catherine’s 35-year career has been devoted to the provision of project based consulting advice to a wide range of private sector and government clients. Her professional capabilities and experience lie at the intersection of urban planning, statutory control, place making and project facilitation. Catherine’s experience extends across all aspects of development planning, from high rise inner city apartment complexes, medium density housing projects as well as delivery of social housing models, built form impact analysis and urban design appraisals, innovative greenfield subdivision and ‘environmental living’ communities, institutional master plans and environment impact assessments. Catherine is the author of professional papers and articles including ‘A Walk on the Wild Side’. The paper was presented at the Victorian Planning and Environmental Law Association Conference 2018. Cather

PlanningxChange Episode 87, features Steve Oates, the Chief Executive of the Heritage Railway Association (HRA). Formerly a property professional who then spent 20 years in commercial radio, Steve has had an active lifelong interest in heritage and steam railways. From his teenage years, and for more than 40 years, Steve has worked with the award-winning Isle of Wight Steam Railway in a non-executive and voluntary capacity, including ten years chairing its board of directors and trustees. He was appointed as the HRA’s first chief executive 4 years ago, moving it from an entirely volunteer-run organisation to its’ position as the UK-wide trade association and professional support body for the Heritage Rail sector. From the World’s first preserved heritage railway – the Talyllyn in North Wales – to railways operating iconic mainline locomotives such as Flying Scotsman, between them the UK’s heritage railways operate steam, diesel and electric traction and range from large standard gauge railways to smaller 12-i

PlanningxChange Episode 86, features Deb Ganderton CEO of The Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust (GMCT) and James Reid, the Chief Future Built Environment Officer of GMCT. GMCT is a self-funding, not for profit organisation that runs 19 cemeteries and memorial parks and three crematoria across Melbourne, Australia. It is also responsible for two greenfield sites to be developed on Melbourne’s urban fringe.  GMCT manages 600 hectares; the various cemeteries are visited by almost two million people annually.  In this interview Deb and James talk of the evolution of cemeteries, management issues, the need to respond to diversifying community preferences and the requirements of long term planning. The interview covers a wide range of topics including discussion on the modern experience of the traditional cemetery format often with significant heritage values and considerations that drive new cemetery design. The interview touches on the sensitivities of design for grieving and the value of nature to assist thi

In PlanningxChange Episode 85, Jess Noonan and Peter Jewell interview Stone Librande, the lead designer for SimCity 2013.  Stone is currently a Lead Designer in the R&D group at Riot Games, and has worked in the video game industry for 20 years on games such as SimCity 2013, Spore, and Diablo 3. In addition to his full-time job designing video games, he also teaches a game design course at Carnegie Mellon University’s ETC program and runs design seminars around the world. An avid board game inventor, Stone has published two games: "Mechs vs. Minions" and "Alakazam! The Game of Dueling Wizards". SimCity 2013 is a city building and urban planning simulation multiplayer online game developed by Maxis Emeryville and published by Electronic Arts. Released for Microsoft Windows in early March 2013, it was the first major installment in the SimCity series since the release of SimCity 4 a decade before. A macOS version was released in August 2013. The game is considered a reboot of the SimCity series. Players can

In PlanningxChange Episode 84, Jess Noonan and Peter Jewell interview Gerard McHugh; this interview is all about mountain bike trail development and what it can achieve for participants, towns and regions. Gerard is the General Manager of World Trails. The company provides trail designs for all types of recreational trails, from the earliest conceptual stage to the final design stage including detailed trail designs, trail master plans, concept plans, CAD designs, engineering plans, detailed construction budgets and schedules, trail mapping and competitive overlays for mountain bike racing. Details of the company are at https://world-trail.com. Gerard joined World Trail in 2007, starting on the trail construction crew before moving in to a full-time role delivering the company’s consulting reports and designs. In his time with World Trail, Gerard has been responsible for, or had some involvement with every project World Trail has undertaken, including the design and construction of the trail networks at Falls

In PlanningxChange Episode 83, Jess Noonan and Peter Jewell interview Adam Cohen.  Adam is a transportation mobility futures researcher at the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Since joining the group in 2004, his research has focused on innovative mobility strategies, including urban/advanced air mobility, automated vehicles, shared mobility, smart cities, smartphone apps, and other emerging technologies. He has co-authored numerous articles and reports in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. Adam also served three combat tours in support of Operation Enduring Freedom as a rated aviator for the Combined Joint Special Operations Air Component (CJSOAC). Adam’s unique multidisciplinary background gives him unique insight into automation, electrification, and the potential impacts of innovative and disruptive technologies. Previously, Adam worked for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Information Technology and Telecommunications Laborator

In PlanningxChange Episode 82, Jess Noonan and Peter Jewell interview Russell (‘Russ’) Dickson a licenced land surveyor. Russ gives listeners an excellent introduction to the world of land surveying, through its culture, vocabulary, exacting requirements and the feared ‘land surveying cops’. He talks of the incredible technological changes he has experienced and offers a glimpse into the future. A profession that dates at least as far back as the ancient Egyptians, Russ talks of the highly precise measurements made by the early coastal navigators as well as the pioneering land surveyors sent into the vast unknown. He also talks of the importance of reference points, for example sea level; these critical measurements will have much importance in measuring the impact of climate change and the public policy decisions (and expenditure) that follows. Land surveying is the ‘quiet’ profession in city and regional development but whose output we all rely upon for confidence. Russell Dickson is a wondering interview s