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Three way communication creates place making results

Two years ago, the town of Nambour on the Sunshine Coast was a little lost. It had great ‘bones’ but the surface was looking a little tired. The place was a bit … well, directionless. Fast forward one year, and the local council adopted the Nambour Activation Plan. Unlike many plans, the Activation Plan does not prescribe what must happen, when and at what cost. Rather, it is an ‘enabler’ – providing the webbing and stimulation for locals to define the types of projects and place Nambour wants to be. Fast forward another year to the present, and the catchphrase …

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Our Region Our Future: Securing an Economic Future for Gippsland and Latrobe Valley

Anticipating that a power station closure in the Latrobe Valley was highly likely, the Committee for Gippsland undertook a six-month body of work that included the input of hundreds of Gippslanders contained in a final 100 page report. Our Region Our Future: Securing an Economic Future for Gippsland and Latrobe Valley was launched in July 2016 and adopted by the Victorian and Federal Governments as a blue-print for a future transition. Only four months later Hazelwood power station announced it would close. Our Region Our Future includes economic and employment modelling on a closure scenario by GHD, the input of …

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What is Synaptic Urbanism?

Urbanisation is not a new phenomenon. As our species transitioned from migrant hunter-gatherers to farming societies with permanent settlements, we started to build cities as centres of trade. Cities are a product of our natural human state. “The city is a fact in nature, like a cave, a run of mackerel or an ant-heap. But it is also a conscious work of art, and it holds within its communal framework many simpler and more personal forms of art. Mind takes form in the city; and in turn, urban forms condition mind”    Lewis Mumford (from ‘The Culture of Cities’ 1938). The …

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Henderson Town Centre Project, Auckland, New Zealand.

The reduction of vandalism and graffiti through arts based place making and youth engagement. This project responded to a request from stakeholders within the Henderson Town Centre for vibrant and positive public art that could cover multiple sites, and create visible change within selected public spaces. Public spaces blighted by graffiti and vandalism. Our project methodology utilised the power of Public Art to engage with youth to reduce vandalism and graffiti sustainably in the short and long term. It did this by linking a series of public art making events to entry portfolio requirements to higher education in art and …

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Dr Shanah Trevenna Live at #NSBC17

Dr Shanah Trevenna Political Scientist, The University of Hawaii at Manoa / Director, The Sustainability Association of Hawaii / CEO, Smart Sustainability Consulting Inc.

10 Reasons You Wouldn’t Invest in Solar and Storage

Dr Andrew Monk, Chairman at Enervest Pty Ltd will join us at The National Sustainability in Business Conference in Brisbane starting tomorrow to discuss ‘10 Reasons You Wouldn’t Invest in Solar and Storage’. Solar has now become an “economically rational” decision for businesses including for purpose organisations.  It is no longer a matter of whether to or not, but how to best design and install. The problem is with this drive there are many misaligned and maldesigned systems that are being put in place. This presentation outlines 10 of the most common mistakes businesses make in this sector, with simple ways …

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Increasing Social, Cultural and Physical Activity in Public Spaces.

The National Sustainability in Business Conference will be held in Brisbane this week from the 23-24 March 2017. Dr Nigel Cartlidge, Principal at Transitions: People, Place and Activity will be joining us this week in Brisbane to discuss ‘Pokemon Go, Increasing Social, Cultural and Physical Activity in Public Spaces’. The contribution of public space allocation, arrangement, design and governance to increasing levels of physical activity is largely focused on supporting the activities that are seen as healthy such as walking, cycling, jogging and organised sporting activities. These activities often have highly organised project groups that promote their needs and preferences to the …

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The Conscious Business – How to Achieve Purpose with Profit

The National Sustainability in Business Conference will be held in Brisbane this week from the 23-24 March 2017. Mr Alistair Coulstock, Director at Coulstock and Associates joins us this week at the conference to discuss ‘The Conscious Business – How to Achieve Purpose with Profit’. Strong collaborative teams with a clear vision are necessary to set key strategies to design and implement successful environments, products and solutions. To move towards a collective consciousness, where the humans’ spirit thrives, the knowledge of that which ignites the passion of each person must be found. What is it that drives their desire to learn and …

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Innovations in Healthy Environments: Maximising your biggest asset (and cost)

The National Sustainability in Business Conference will be held in Brisbane next week from the 23-24 March 2017. Mr David Baggs, CEO at Global GreenTag Pty Ltd joins us next week to discuss ‘Innovations in Healthy Environments: Maximising your biggest asset (and cost)’. Staff in any businesses are their biggest asset. They are also the major driver to business efficiency. Recent changes to the way projects are being delivered has demonstrated significant improvements in workplace efficiency and able to be delivered when the quality of the indoor environment is designed and specified to optimise worker comfort and health. According to US DOE …

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Mr John O’Brien, Managing Director at Australian CleanTech to join us at #NSBC17

The National Sustainability in Business Conference will be held in Brisbane next week from the 23-24 March 2017. Mr John O’Brien, Managing Director at Australian CleanTech joins us next week to discuss ‘The Visions 2100 Project: Recalibrating Environmental Communications through Positive Storytelling’. Visions can mobilise communities, countries and global networks to deliver extraordinary outcomes. The human race can do extraordinary things when it needs to. With the right motivation, humans can win unwinnable wars, put men on the moon, build pyramids or create atomic bombs. However, the complex issue of climate change is one that our race is struggling to address. The …

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