Hustle & Bustle podcast: Recent Episodes

Nicole Bennetts

Weekly conversations with city shapers and urban thinkers to discuss the future of the Gold Coast and SEQ region. The episodes are light hearted, conversational and inspiring. Tune in each week for a new 30 min ep!

This is the final ep for 2022.

Thank you for tuning into this podcast - whether you listen to each episode or whether you have only listened to 1 episode - it really is appreciated!

In this episode, I recap my top 5 topics for planning in Queensland:

Climate Change
Designing with Country
Housing crisis
Census 2021
Olympics 2032

I mention in the episode that I will link the Olympics 2032 Hopes and Dreams Survey - here it is for anyone who would like to share their thoughts about Olympic legacy

Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Legacy Plan | DSDILGP - Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning

Have a great break over Christmas and see you in 2023!

Kerry Doss has established a strong reputation as an experienced urban planner and leader during his career. Kerry has in excess of 33 years’ experience in planning & urban development in QLD & NSW.

Prior to establishing his own consultancy firm, he was the Qld State Planner for 5 years, heading up the Planning group within the Queensland Government.

Prior to this role, Kerry headed up Brisbane City Council’s City Planning & Economic Development area for 10 years. As Brisbane’s most senior planner he was responsible for overseeing the planning of Brisbane.

I ask Kerry about:

What makes public service a rewarding career?
What is your advice to others who are navigating the political and community pressures, with the desire to deliver best practice outcomes?
What is the role of planners as change managers? And are we equipped to do that work?
What are the key issues and opportunities from your perspective in solving the housing crisis?
What are some of the key trends you have observed, particularly through the COVID crisis and what you think will continue into the future?

I hope you enjoy this chat :)

Adam is a smart city guru and urbanist who has worked for private sector consultancies and leading global non-government organisations to advance sustainable community outcomes for over 25 years. Adam is the Head of Digital Urbanism at Ene.Hub. He leads the company's efforts to continually consider what's next for connecting, activating and measuring urban life. Adam was previously the Executive Director with the Smart Cities Council.

In this episode, I ask Adam to:

reflect on his career and journey into smart cities,
why smart cities and what has kept him engaged in this mission driven sector?
his achievements at the Smart Cities Council
his current work at Ene.Hub - turning basic urban furniture into connected and enabled infrastructure.
what is holding us back from truly unleashing the potential of digital on our cities?

I hope you enjoy this chat!

Rachel is a PhD candidate at the University of Queensland. Her research interests include how cities adapt their urban form to changing conditions such as rapid population growth or decline, natural disasters, de-industrialisation and climate change; using GIS to track changes to urban layouts over time, including city blocks, streets and property parcels and how urban policy influences (or fails to influence) desired settlement patterns. Her research on urban infill in Brisbane won the 2021 Queensland PIA Award for Planning Excellence in Planning Research. Rachel has previously worked as a planner and policy advisor, and as a solicitor specialising in planning and environment law.

I chat with Rachel about her latest research - Urban Blandscapes, link here

Urban “Blandscapes”: How the Practical Implementation of Planning Policy Reduces Land Use Diversity: Urban Policy and Research: Vol 0, No 0 (tandfonline.com)

Here is a summary of some of the research findings.

How we accidentally planned the desertion of our cities (theconversation.com)

You can follow Rachel on LinkedIn here Rachel Gallagher | LinkedIn

(huge thank you to Rachel for joining me whilst on maternity leave with her 3 month old baby boy, Frank. You will hear Frank make a cameo appearance, snoring and making some baby noises, throughout this episode, which I absolutely love and hope you do too.)

Luke Brannelly is the founder and Managing Director of the V2i Group, which combines his 35 years of experience in the planning industry as an Urban Designer and Master planning Consultant, 20 years within the digital story and visualisation industry, and the past decade of diversifying these skills into a variety of other industries, including: health, education, online learning, and underground mining induction.

Over the past 6 years, Luke and his team have successfully incorporated many of the new technologies they had developed in other sectors back into the planning industry. With the launch of the interactive 3D software platform V2i Realtime (www.v2irealtime.com), the creation of project-specific ‘digital twins’ enabled a more effective and efficient journey, from “Vision to Implementation”, for all stakeholders.

More info on Luke's company here: V2i Realtime | Join the Revolution

A favourite quote of mine from Luke during the podcast is "Solving problems in the virtual world is so much easier, faster and cheaper than in real life."

A surprising quote from Luke "I've been told by a top tier firm that they believe the majority of built environment professionals can't understand 2D plans. Is it any wonder that the general public struggle to understand what their communities will look like in the future."

I ask Luke these questions:

Where did the concept of v2i come from?
What inspired you to pursue something so innovative?
How do you see the digital tools you’ve built changing the future of planning?
What are some of the key challenges and barriers to rolling out v2i more broadly?

A great recent article featuring V2i Realtime as one of 3 global companies which is transforming the global urban design and master planning process! https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/spotlights/unreal-engine-is-helping-real-estate-developers-to-accelerate-urban-master-planning

Hope you enjoy this discussion!

A once-in-a-decade report from CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, identifies seven global megatrends that hold the key to the challenges and opportunities ahead. The report is called Our Future World 2042.

A lead author of this publication, Dr Stefan Hajkowicz, joins me on the podcast this week to discuss the 7 megatrends. The seven global megatrends are: Adapting to climate change; Leaner, cleaner and greener; The escalating health imperative; Geopolitical shifts; Diving into digital; Increasingly autonomous and Unlocking the human dimension.

Dr Stefan Hajkowicz is a principal scientist in foresight and strategy at CSIRO, working in the field of strategic foresight. He has devoted his career to helping governments, companies and communities comprehend patterns of change so they can make wiser choices and secure better futures. Stefan has published widely in the international scientific literature. His work involves a combination of original research and the provision of consulting and advisory services.

Link to the publication is here

Seven megatrends that will shape the next 20 years - CSIRO

Dr Stefan says “We analysed thousands of data points collected over decades. Some of the trends we identified have been widely discussed, while others are newer and directly related to our experiences during the pandemic. "We are, for example, just beginning to understand the potential long-term impacts of the pandemic on mental health and chronic illness. “We anticipate that while the pandemic sped up digital transformation, the real explosion in our capability is yet to come. In this environment, digital skills will become more valuable, but rather than replacing human intelligence, technologies like AI will assist us in doing our work better.”

Upendo is a Chagga woman from the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Her diverse upbringing across many countries has nurtured her passion for and proficiency in three languages, as well as her particular interest in how built environments can support cohesive, equitable and productive communities. Upendo has a Bachelor of Urban and Environmental Planning with honours, Masters of Development Practice, Politics of Global Development, Graduate Certificate in Mediation and Conflict Resolution and is IAP2 accredited.

Upendo has over 15 years of professional planning experience across the areas of strategic planning, policy formulation and implementation, and development assessment. She has extensive experience researching, drafting and implementing State policies through the Queensland planning framework.

Upendo has she worked across a diversity of strategic projects with several Aboriginal Shire Councils. During her time with the Queensland Government, Upendo was on the advancing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander interests in land use planning project steering committee as the local plan making/amendment process expert. She also drafted the Planning Act 2016 planning scheme template . Upendo recognises and continues to learn and discover improvements needed to truly advance Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander interests in the Queensland planning and development framework.

I chat to Upendo about:

Her upbringing and your journey to Brisbane
What led her to studying planning
Her university experiences - what were some of the challenges faced in understanding the western approach to development and land use?
Her tips and/or advice for current international planning students and/or academics
What role does culture have on the Qld planning system? – what are some of the shortfalls?
Her advice for planning practitioners in navigating culture in planning

A piece of advice from Upendo – "As planners, we professionally organise places and people and consequently end up putting people into different categories/boxes. I think it’s important to remember that these are just organizational categories and not people’s identities. It is also confusing when new categories are developed and used without your understanding…for me, a key one is People of Colour (POC) which has created a lot of debate on who it captures. It’s also vitally important to be cautious when using them in public or consultative environments because people could take offense or be uncomfortable to be a representative of that category (i.e. grouping of people based on one or two elements)."

Great advice!

Farnoosh Shokoofan is an energetic and innovative planner currently working as a strategic planner at Toowoomba Regional Council. She was awarded a Bachelor’s degree of Urbanism and completed her Masters of Urban Design in 2018. Farnoosh has worked as a planner both in Iran and Australia within various planning and development disciplines. She is the Queensland PIA Young Planner convener - responsible for leading the young planners.

Born and raised in a ‘megacity’, Farnoosh is enthusiastic about people and places. Her interests include placemaking, behaviour settings and analysis of users’ behaviour, and natural disaster resilience, specifically landslide resilience.

I chat to Farnoosh about some of the key issues and opportunities young planners are facing, including:

What led her to becoming a planner
What she would like to do with the next 5 years of your career
Key issues young planners are most passionate about
The changing role of a planner
New skills that young planner are bringing to the profession

Hope you enjoy this chat :)

Dale is a mobility thought leader - enabling transformative and resilient sustainable solutions. At the City of Vancouver, Dale led the transport planning for many years including for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, created their first Active Transportation team, and most recently led their Transportation Planning, including new sustainable mobility actions for the city’s Climate Emergency Plan. As a visionary strategic planner, Dale has enjoyed providing inspirational keynotes on Vancouver’s sustainable mobility growth and success to cities globally. Dale is a global thought leader with expertise in transport planning.

I chat to Dale about:

His most memorable projects during his time at City of Vancouver as City Transport Manager.
What Dale enjoyed most about his time at City of Vancouver
His top tips for navigating the political and community pressures as a public servant, whilst delivering on best practice outcomes.
With Brisbane and Queensland preparing to host the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics, key lessons from Vancouver hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics
Best advice for other City executives responsible for city transportation planning
Insights into Dale's new career journey into strategic foresight.

Dale shares the importance of data led decisions, how communication is the key to success, the importance of finding your north star, how connecting with people create the best memories, and many more pearls of wisdom.

Hope you enjoy this insight discussion!!

Michael Papageorgiou is the Director of an Urban Planning consultancy based in Brisbane. He has 40 years’ experience in the planning industry, including senior executive planning roles in State and Local Government, in both Queensland and Victoria. Michael is a Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) and has had an active role in PIA. Michael was the inaugural Planner in Residence at Queensland University of Technology (QUT).

Michael has maintained a great interest in public realm and open space policy and implementation throughout his career. He has been responsible for the planning and delivery of numerous Centre Improvement and Urban Renewal programs and projects, all with a significant public art component in Brisbane, Gold Coast, South Melbourne, St Kilda, and Frankston, as well as in regional areas.

Michael shares:

His top career highlights
His motivations and drivers as a planner
Key opportunities and challenges we are facing in our cities and regions
The value that planners bring to improving our cities and regions

I hope you enjoy this chat !

Patrick Gorr is a Arup's Global Hydrogen Leader. His specializes in energy and hydrogen, and the transition to net zero energy production. Patrick is a chartered accountant by profession, Patrick holds a Bachelor of Business, Economics, Accounting and International Trade from Swinburne University of Technology, and has held senior strategic roles, in Australia and Europe, with the Victorian Government, International Development Law Organisation and EDF Energy.

The Energy crisis has been all over the news recently, as the East Coast of Australia is at risk of black out, due to peak demand expected to exceed supply. Patrick explains what's been happening in the energy markets, and what the solution is.

We chat about:

The energy crisis
What the solution is for more reliable and sustainable energy production and supply
Why Hydrogen is seen to be part of the solution to our energy crisis
What is preventing Hydrogen from being mass produced and replacing our unrenewable sources
What projects Arup leading globally to help unlock more opportunities for hydrogen to be produced, exported and used by consumers

Here is a quick fact sheet shared by Patrick to help explain the Lack of Reserve in the energy market

https://aemo.com.au/-/media/files/learn/fact-sheets/lor-fact-sheet.pdf?la=en#:~:text=A%20forecast%20LOR%20occurs%20when,LOR%20becomes%20an%20operational%20reality.

Hope you enjoy this chat :)

Dr Margaret Cook has been a freelance historian for many years, working in the heritage, museum, government and private sectors. She holds a PhD in history from the University of Queensland and her current research interests include natural disasters, rivers, water politics, and environmental history. Margaret is a history lecturer at the University of Sunshine Coast, a Research Fellow at Griffith University and holds Honorary Research Fellow positions at La Trobe University and University of Queensland.

Margaret’s recent publications are:

A River with a City Problem: A History of Brisbane Floods,
an edited collection with Scott McKinnon, Disasters in Australia and New Zealand: Historical Approaches to Understanding Catastrophe, and
a co-authored book Cities in a Sunburnt Country: Water and the Making of Urban Australia.

In 2020, Margaret was awarded the John and Ruth Kerr Medal of Distinction for excellence in historiography, historical research and writing.

This conversation builds on an earlier chat with Martin Roushani-Zarmehri in April where he referenced Margaret's research and publications, specifically that many of our urban settlements are on flood plains based on historical reasons.

In this chat, we take a deep dive into Margaret's publications and passion, and find out what lessons we can take from history to shape more resilient communities.

We chat about:

Margaret's publications
What inspired Margaret to research so deeply into water issues
Why it is important that we understand and learn from history
What the key learnings are about human behaviour, especially during natural disasters
Buy back schemes and how we use them to become more resilient
Behavioural change can happen

I hope you enjoy this chat.

Prof. Barbara Norman is the Foundation Chair of Urban and Regional Planning and Director of Canberra Urban and Regional Futures at the University of Canberra. She has a substantial professional background having worked at all levels of government and her own private practice. Her current research and teaching interests include sustainable cities and regions, coastal planning, climate change adaptation and urban governance.

Professor Norman is a highly esteemed professional, including:

immediate past Chair of the ACT Climate Change Council
Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University
Life Fellow and past national president of the Planning Institute of Australia
Life Honorary Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (UK)
qualifications include a Bachelor of Town & Regional Planning, Masters of Environmental Law and a PhD on sustainable coastal planning
contributing author to IPCC 5 WG 2 report on Impacts 2013
awarded an Australian Centenary Medal for her contribution to the community through urban and regional planning.

In this episode we chat about:

Barbara's career highlights
What motivates her
The importance of planning
Tackling climate change
Her new book to be launched at COP27 later this year

Some of the key takeaways from this discussion:

the value of planning is being restored and going through a renaissance
planners are driven by common good / community good
we can achieve much more when we cooperate and collaborate - would be great to see all Australian Planning Ministers coming together
its time to embed climate change in planning law across Australia
we need to map existing climate risks across Australia to identify areas of vulnerability, and then prepare place-specific plans for most vulnerable communities.
must not add to the legacy of vulnerability
need to upskill planners and built environment professionals to gain confidence in planning for climate change
we are past the point of climate guidelines - its time for regulations. Industry want certainty
Insurance industry are looking to planning profession to be proactive
Carbon neutral developments are lacking evaluation and monitoring
90% of built environment will still be here in 2050 - focus on re-use and improving existing urban fabric to create resilient and sustainable outcomes
possible legacy for Brisbane 2032 would be to embed climate change process in everything we do

References referred to by Barbara:

IPCC report on Adaptation - link
Glasgow Climate Pact - outcome of COP26 - link

Hope you enjoy this chat :)

I spent the week in Hobart last week, attending and presenting at the Planning Institute of Australia National Congress. The theme was Opportunities in times of crisis, and this was the first time in 3 years that PIA has held a national planning conferences in person.

In this episode, I summarize the top 10 lessons that I have acquired from the amazing sessions attended.

From the housing crisis, to human centered planning to designing with country and so many more!

Looking forward to hearing what you think about my top 10!

(You might hear my kids & husband in the background, as I recorded this at home on the weekend)

More info about Congress can be found here - Planning Institute of Australia

Matt Gross is a well-known property economist, urban geographer, and sociologist based in Brisbane.

Matt heads up one of Australia's most respected property research houses that has grown on the back of honesty, integrity and innovation, National Property Research Co. Matthew is highly regarded as being able to provide both strategic direction and tactical strategies to ensure that the project values, both social and economic are maximised. He has been involved in providing insight into some of the country’s biggest property transactions and largest residential developments.

The housing unaffordability crisis is growing! So I wanted to speak with Matt about his research and experience to help understand:

his views on the current housing unaffordability. What will lead SEQ out of this current state?
impact of federal election on housing
impact of COVID on housing
longer term SEQ housing market predications
Key economic barriers and opportunities for 2032 Olympics

Hope you enjoy this chat.

Jason Byrne is a Professor of Human Geography and Planning at University of Tasmania. He researches urban political ecologies of green-space, climate change adaptation, and environmental justice. He has over 100 scholarly publications, including a multi-award-winning co-edited book - Australian Environmental Planning: Challenges and Future Prospects (Routledge).

Jason has been awarded the Planning Institute Australia’s national award for cutting edge research and teaching, and has twice been awarded the PIA Queensland award in that category – as well as their overall award for planning excellence.

I chat to Jason ahead of PIA National Congress in May 2022. We chat about:

top tips for Australian planners ready to converge on Hobart for PIA National Congress
his career highlights and motivations
key barriers for Australia in adapting to climate change
nature based solutions & innovative solutions to adapting to climate change

Here are the links mentioned in our conversation:

https://climateadaptationaustralia.com.au/

https://theconversation.com/ordinary-people-extraordinary-change-addressing-the-climate-emergency-through-quiet-activism-160548

Hope you enjoy this chat!

To follow Jason on twitter - @CityByrne

PechaKucha is a global forum where ideas are pitched in a few minutes.

Two of our great local architects, Katherine Rickard and Dave Hanson, have launched PechaKucha Gold Coast! With their first event in March a huge success, future PechaKucha nights will be held quarterly across the City.

PechaKucha means "chit chat" in Japanese. This creative outlet began as night time get togethers in Tokyo in 2003 by two renowned architects. Since then, 3 million people have attended PechaKucha events worldwide.

Tune into this episode to hear all about PechaKucha Gold Coast!

To stay up to date with future event - follow PK GC here

PechaKucha Gold Coast (@pechakuchagoldcoast) • Instagram photos and videos

Find our more about PK globally, check out the website below.

Pecha Kucha 20x20: Discover Pecha Kucha presentations, stories, ideas, examples, and videos that will inspire

Martin is an RPEQ, with a dual degree in civil engineering and business management. He is a stormwater and flooding engineer, with a vast range of experience focused mainly within the development and construction space.

Martin has managed teams of flood engineers both in Australia and Vietnam, delivering projects to both government and private sector.

Martin’s interest in Floodplain Management and flood awareness has grown increasingly after seeing those affected in 2011 and the more recent 2022 floods in Brisbane, as well as frequent flooding during his time living in Vietnam. He has seen all sides of the flood discussion, and hopes that by the end of his career, he has been able to make a positive change towards better flood risk management.

In this ep, we chat about:

Improving community's awareness of flooding
why so many of our urban settlements are susceptible to flood
issues with reliance on dams and levees.
what does 1 in 100 year flood actually mean?
different types of flooding
solutions to reducing the risk of future floods
political issues with flooding

I hope you learn something from this discussion. I covered only about half of my pre-prepared questions, so will bring you a follow up episode if you're interested in more.

Brittany Lauga MP is the State member for Keppel and Assistant Minister for Education. Elected in 2015, Brittany is an award-winning Urban and Regional Planner prior to politics. Brittany has a strong professional background in infrastructure, urban planning and design, approvals and community development. She is passionate about her community. Brittany is an energetic and experienced Member working hard to deliver for the Central Queensland community.

In this episode, we chat about:

Brittany's experience transitioning from a town planner to a politician
the transferrable skills between planning and politics
her perspectives that have changes since joining politics
how to create positive interactions between politicians, planners and allied professionals

Brittany is such a busy person, so I was thrilled that she gave me her time to record this episode! I hope you enjoy it.

Noel Grummitt is a town planner and civil engineer. Noel has 50 years planning and development experience primarily in South East Queensland. Prior to founding Grummitt Planning Noel also gained valuable experience overseas, culminating in 1997, spending the remaining 7 years as town planning manager for Weathered Howe Gold Coast, preparing concept development plans for tourist projects in Australia, Malaysia and Taiwan. Noel is a Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia and Vice President of Southport Chamber of Commerce.

I chat to Noel about:

his journey as a planner, from studying town planning in the 1970's, after working as a qualified civil engineer;
the charitable work that Grummitt Planning has specialised in; and
the new passion project he is leading, to capture and communicate the history of the Gold Coast.
the essence of the Gold Coast - what makes us unique

I hope you enjoy this episode.

About Us - Grummitt Planning

Matt Collins is a highly skilled and experienced planning leader with a background in political studies and journalism. He is currently the QLD and NT State Manager for the Planning Institute of Australia.

In this week's episode, I ask Matt about politics and planning. We also discuss what the Planning Institute's priorities are.

Matt has significant experience in leadership, planning, policy and government. Prior to commencing with PIA, he was General Manager of the Queensland Government’s Cities Transformation Taskforce, where he led the state’s strategic cities agenda, including in relation to City Deals. He has also consulted for a range of major firms on planning, infrastructure and city-making, and has been a senior advisor to Ministers in the Queensland Government. He holds a Master of Urban and Regional Planning, as well as a degree in journalism and public policy.

In this episode, we discuss:

his perspective about how to navigate politics as a planner, in an ethical and positive manner
how politics and planning influences community trust
what planners can do to improve the community’s trust in the planning system
the role that PIA is playing to advance better planning, particularly in QLD

This week on the podcast, I am joined by the first Arup-ian to join me on the podcast, Mr Jaime Traspaderne. Jaime is an architect, urban designer with international experience, he is the Arup Qld leader for Urban design and Master planning, and co-leader of Cities local business leader for Qld.

Jaime has expertise and passion for designing communities for climate change and integrating natural environment, including the green and blue elements, into the built environment.

We chat about:

the changing climate and how South East Queensland needs to respond
acting now to protect our lifestyles
grey, blue and green infrastructure
how blue and green infrastructure make cities more resilience
delivering integrated blue green infrastructure in our cities

This week on the podcast, I interview Dr. Sharon Harwood.

Sharon is passionate about working with communities to develop place-based solutions to planning challenges. Her specialty and passion is in Indigenous planning and planning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait land owners. She has extensive experience engaging with communities through Northern Australia.

She is a Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia, and recipient of the 2018 Queensland Planner of the Year & 2019 Australian Planner of the Year. She was recognised for her outstanding leadership and contribution in the area of indigenous peoples’ rights and interest in planning.

She is Adjunct Associate Professor at James Cook University and Charles Darwin University. And has recently started a new position with Coffey as a Senior Associate in Social Impact.

We chat about:

importance of including indigenous people in our planning processes
recent changes to the legislative framework for indigenous engagement
how to consult properly with Indigenous people
who is responsible for engaging with Indigenous people
most memorable moment in engaging with Indigenous people

I loved this chat. I hope you do too!

Welcome back to season 2 of the podcast! First episode back for 2022, and I am so thrilled to be joined by the 2021 Qld Young Planner of the Year, Nicholas Kamols.

Nick is an exciting up and coming planner, who is really pushing the boundaries of traditional urban thinking. He is innovative, passionate, motivated and is really re-defining what it means to be a part of our profession.

We chat about:

what led him to being a planner and what keeps him passionate about planning
bridging the gap between academia and planning practice through his Masters of Philosophy and PhD, where he is looking to solve systemic workplace issues, such as how institutional cultures affect participatory planning, and institutional decision-making processes.
he founded a social enterprise called PowerWells, the social enterprise – where he and his team are repurposing batteries to give renewable energy to off-grid communities in Indonesia.
how Planning seems to be spatial, but it really a social endeavour
his interest in Effective Altruism, Long termism, Future casting and Back casting, the Metaverve, Inter planetary species and other cool things
his interest in helping shape the 2032 Olympics and the obligation to contribute

And lots more!

This is the PhD book chapter mentioned in our chat: https://eprints.qut.edu.au/226785/

This came out last night: https://thefifthestate.com.au/urbanism/planning/brisbane-climate-positive-olympics-the-pressures-on-queensland/

These are some others from Nick too:

MPhil article: https://eprints.qut.edu.au/209031/ MPhil Thesis: https://eprints.qut.edu.au/208256/

Hope you enjoy this first episode back for Season 2!

In this episode, I interview Dorina Pojani, who is Senior Lecturer in urban planning at The University of Queensland.

Her research interests encompass built environment topics, including urban design, urban transport, and urban housing, in both the Global North and South. She has completed her graduate studies in the US and Belgium, besides her native Albania. Over the years, she has held guest teaching or research positions in Austria, Chile, and Italy, and has been a consultant for various UN agencies including the United Nations Development Program, UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific, and UN Habitat. Prior to joining academia, she worked in urban design and planning in California. Her latest book is Trophy cities: A feminist perspective on new capitals, published by Edward Elgar, London. Offering a fresh perspective, the book analyses the socio-cultural and physical production of seven planned capital cities, including Canberra.

We discuss one of her latest research pieces looking at Brisbane's car free community.

We chat about:

Dorina's background and upbringing that led to her researching Brisbane’s car free community
What some of the main reasons people are shunning the car in Brisbane.
What are the societal benefits of being car-free?
How do we as planners and city shapers support a greater portion of the population in SEQ to make the switch to car-free?

It's a shorter 20 min chat, hope you enjoy!

This week I interview Matthew Leman. Matt is an urban and regional planner, having graduated from QUT in 2016, and has worked across private sector, State and local governments. He is also a digital native, meaning he was born after the internet.

Matt brings a unique perspective to planning and asks “how can we ensure ‘planning’ is bought up-to-speed with current technology and consumer expectations?”

In this is episode:

Matt surprises me with a thank you
speaks of his personal challenges buying a suitable home to live in
explains his experiences of interacting with planning schemes
speaks to the current crisis of trust
details the opportunity for the future of planning schemes
suggest the new approach to planning which is an Exemplary based planning system
challenges us to look outside of planning to what we as digital consumers find easy to use and engaging & then apply that same approach to planning

Thanks so much Matt for sharing your thoughts on the podcast this week!

Please note: the views expressed on this episode are his own, and do not necessarily represent that of his employer.

This episode is an update & apology for skipping 2 weeks of podcast episodes!

I made it 15 weeks in a row of new weekly episodes. But a range of professional events have occurred post-covid restrictions which has meant I needed to have a short break from podcasting.

Good news is I’m now back for the rest of this season, with only a few more episodes left until it’s a wrap on season 1!

In this episode, I share my highlights from 2 key professional events I attended in recent weeks:

the 2021 Planning institute of Australia qld conference held on Sunshine Coast in late October, including presentations from:
Lucy Turnbull AO (former Lord Mayor Sydney, greater western Sydney commission, & wife of former PM Malcolm Turnbull)
Kerry Doss (State planner, DSDILGP)
Sara Golingi & Jaime Traspaderne (Arup)
Judge Fleur Kinghom & Dr Sharon Harwood
Ben Johnston (futurist - metaverse, 2 realms, digital influencers etc)
PIA Qld awards for excellence - list of the award winners for the categories.

I also ask for your input as I plan season 2 of the podcast in 2022. I’m open to any suggestions for topics/ guests. And I announce the guest I’ll be interviewing this week!

Its a shorter 20 min episode. Hope you enjoy it!

This week on the podcast, I interview Dr Stefan Hajkowicz.

Dr Stef is Principal Scientist at CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency. At CSIRO, he is Director of Data 61, leading a team of researchers helping governments, companies and communities explore plausible futures and make wise choices. Stefan is widely published in international literature, including his best seller Global Megatrends which details 7 significant shifts to influence our future.

Stefan is passionate about digital tech and it’s influence on the built environment. I asked him “How will technology reshape our cities and regions over the next decade?”. Stef unpacks this topic, observing what planners and city shapers need to know about technology changes.

We chat about:

artificial intelligence & how planners can get computers to do the mundane tasks
E commerce influence on city centres
Work from home now & trends into future
Tech hubs & what we need to do to support these emerging businesses
Creating a ‘digital twin’ of cities and regions
And so much more!

It’s the longest episode on the podcast to date at about 35 minutes. But we pack alot of good info into that time!

This week I sat down with Amy Degenhart, Director of degenhartSHEDD urban design + architecture.

Amy is the driving force (architect & developer) behind exemplar missing middle housing, including ENVI micro urban village in Southport, Gold Coast CBD. ENVI is an award winning exemplary small lot house and land development, featuring 10 terrace home ranging from 1 bedroom to 3 bedrooms.

Amy shares her passion and expertise in addressing the housing supply and affordability challenge within South East Queensland, through pioneering this new typology of housing, which delivers an affordable home in an inner city location, and exemplary design outcomes.

We discuss;

the design thinking behind Envi
What needs to change in policy and implementation to repeat Envi
observations about benefits of co-designing houses and subdivision
similarities with Queenstown

I hope you enjoy this discussion!

More information on the ENVI project here:

The Micro Lot Development | Envi Micro Urban Village

In this episode, I chat with Nicole Boulton.

Nicole is Principal Planner at PSA consulting and the new Chair of the Professional development committee at Planning Institute of Australia Queensland division.

Nicole is also a mother of 2 young children, a wife, and volunteers on her son‘s P&C Committee.

I chat with Nicole about her new role as PD chair, as well as ask her about work life balance and she shares her top tips to juggling it all. This includes a great reminder (during mental health awareness week) to check in with yourself about your mental health.

The main topic of this conversation is Nicole‘s passion of planning for women. Nicole shares some of her research on the key issues affecting women in cities, and what we might do to address these, including an interesting case study from Vienna.

More info on Vienna here https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/cities/2019/may/14/city-with-a-female-face-how-modern-vienna-was-shaped-by-women

This episode is an interview with Professor Matthew Burke, transport planning specialist and is based at Griffith University in Cities Research Institute.

Prof Burke is a transport planning guru who is an expert at all things transport in the growing region of south east Queensland.

I ask Matt all of the hard questions, such as:

should Light Rail be extended to the airport through Palm Beach?
is Light Rail an outdated mode?
how do we integrate transport planning and land use planning better?
are we maximising the Olympics legacy opportunities for transport in the region?

Prof Burke is always honest and makes things easy to understand. I could have chatted with him for at least another 30 mins.

Hope you enjoy this interview!

In episode 11 of the podcast, I chat with Laura Gannon. Laura and I discuss climate change, and the role planning must play in preventing, adapting and mitigating to climate change.

Laura is Associate Director of Meridian Urban and is a natural hazards planning specialist.

I ask Laura about the upcoming COP26 climate change conference in the UK and what the focus will be. We discuss the latest IPCC report which concluded that global action is needed to avoid significant impacts from climate change. And Laura shares the benefits of cultural burning and how traditional custodians have been successful managing the lands for thousands of years.

Laura also shares a range of reports and research pieces, including the following:

https://www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar6/

https://www.longpaddock.qld.gov.au

https://www.planning.org.au/policy/2021-climate-series

This is a solo episodes recapping on previous episodes, top 3 lessons learnt from previous guests, and discussing future trends which will affect cities and regions over next 5, 10, 20 years.

This week on the podcast I chat with Natalie Rayment, co-founder of YIMBY, a non for profit organisation saying Yes In My Backyard to good development and city growth.

I ask Natalie about YIMBY: • Where did it all start? • What does YIMBY stand for? • How do we improve community participation in planning and development? • What are some of the benefit of development in existing neighbourhoods?

We recorded this episode live from the Asia Pacific Cities Summit, so there is some conference noise in the background.

If you're interested to hear more from Natalie or get involved in the YIMBY movement, here's the link https://yimbyqld.com.au

Enjoy!

This week on the podcast I interview Greg Tupicoff. Greg is General Manager of Alder Developments and is a well respected development professional. Greg is best known for leading the development of Flagstone which is Australia’s largest satellite city. We chat about: •Why developers are a critical part of good planning and sustainable growth. •How do we create a culture where developers are respected and not demonised. •The future of industrial development, including manufacturing, and how our planning system needs to change to better support this important sector. Greg is candid and constructive with his commentary. This chat really highlighted to me that there is still work to be done in creating a truely collaborative approach to planning and city building.

This week on the podcast, I interview Martin Garred, and we discuss the recent publication Great ideas for the Gold Coast 2021. Martin led the creation of both editions of this publication, the first in 2017 and now the new edition.

Martin is a town planner and Director at Civity, interim General Manager of Planning and Environment at Cairns Regional Council, Co vice president at YP Gold Coast, and a Churchill fellow recipient.

Great Ideas for the Gold Coast 2021 sets out a range of ideas to start conversations about our City’s future. These ideas will shape the liveability and long-term success of our City.

A link to the Great Ideas document is here https://ypgc.com.au/great-ideas-for-the-gold-coast/

Episode 6 is a conversation with an accomplished and experienced planner, Kerry Riethmuller.

Kerry has over 25 years experience in planning and is best known for leading the team who prepared the latest SEQ Regional Plan and also the first North Queensland Regional Plan.

Kerry and I discuss population projections and where they come from, what is regional planning and why is it important, key opportunities and challenges for south east Queensland ahead, and some of the trends in the market currently. We also chat about some opportunities coming from Covid-19.

I hope you enjoy this informative chat.

This episode is a great conversation with Josh Leddy about making cities great for children. Planning for the next generation and making places fun and delightful should be what every city aspires for.

Josh is a passionate planner and father to 3 young boys. Josh started a Facebook page called 'Ales and Anklebitters' where he reviews a range of venues for their suitability for both parents and children. Josh and I share experiences we've had raising our young children in cities.

What makes a great park for kids?

What makes a great street for kids?

What have we learnt as parents that can help us make cities better?

Hope you enjoy this fun chat.

This episode is an interview with the incoming Queensland Government Architect, Leah Lang. Leah is an accomplished architect, urban designer, strategic design advisor, and big picture thinker! Leah is the immediate past Gold Coast City Architect, contributing to the success of many projects such as HOTA Art Gallery, Commonwealth Games infrastructure, and Light Rail. Leah and I chat ‘Good design’. - what is good design - why is good design important and more. This chat is thought provoking and lots of fun!

In this episode, I summarise the bid information that won our region the Olympic Games 2032. I’ve had a chance to review the master plan, venues list and infrastructure priorities and I’ve summarised those specific to the Gold Coast.

This episode is an interview with Professor Paul Burton who is Director of the Cities Research Institute at Griffith University Gold Coast Campus.

Paul is an experienced planner and academic, and is the Vice President of Planning Institute of Australia Qld Division. In this episode we discuss the history of the Gold Coast, comparing the Gold Coast to other international cities, the Gold Coast’s growth to now, and what we should focus on for planning into the future.

It’s a great first interview for the podcast!

In this episode, you meet the host Nicole Bennetts, and find out what bought her to launching this podcast. You will then hear what to expect from this podcast in the future, the city thinkers and shapers you will hear from, and how you can get involved in the podcast.