Making Canberra a Mobile Place

Greetings from the Canberra Wine House, where I am taking part in the "Ideas and Actions for Dickson: Community Workshop". This is hosted by a team of planners contracted to the ACT Government. I booked for this event, thinking it was about master-planning for the Dickson shopping center and surround, as it is developed in conjunction with the new light rail and bus hub. However,  it was instead about how to get more sense  of community in the area.

In the late 1990s I chaired the Dickson Precinct Community Group, to provide advice to the ACT Government on planning the area. The Draft Master Plan, and Community Consultation and Cultural Profile Report from 1998, may be of interest.I was a little disappointed that the 2018 activity did not seem as organized as that twenty years ago.

We were asked to come up with ideas which could be implemented relatively quickly. My serious one was to issue planter boxes to the local primary schools and kindergartens and then place these around the library. A less serious one was an "uber-park": build a shallow planter box on Eclipse Engineering's Container Roll-Out Warehousing System (CROWS™), and stack these in a shipping container to create a relocatable pocket park.

The container would be transported by truck to a location, the pallets slid out and arranged to form a grassed area. The empty container would then be used as a kiosk. I was surprised when one of the other participants also suggested a relocatable "pop-up" park, so perhaps it is not such a silly idea.

Bus Rapid Transit System for Canberra

My Northbourne Avenue Proposal

The ACT Liberal party have proposed a Bus Rapid Transit System for Canberra, as an alternative to the Light Rail system already under construction by the ACT Government. While lower cost than the Light Rail option, the opposition's bus alternative would still be more expensive than the option I proposed and would result in higher carbon emissions.

The opposition plan adds an extra lane for busses to Northbourne Avenue.  Adding a lane would require extensive and expensive work, but not as much as laying tram tracks and adding overhead power. Because the number of lanes for cars would not be reduced, there would not be a reduction in carbon emmissions from cars.

High Speed Rail Needs High Speed Data

Consolidated Land and Rail Australia Pty Ltd (CLARA) have proposed building "new regional, compact, sustainable, smart-cities" on a new very high speed rail line from Sydney to Melbourne. The increase in value of the land, would be used to pay for the rail line. Previously I suggested looking at the use of high speed broadband data in reducing the cost and speeding the development of such a project:

Home owners will be reluctant to move to a new city, until it has a hospital, university, business center, entertainment, shops and transport system. Investors and government will be reluctant to provide these services until there is a population to use them. One way around this impasse is to use broadband to provide services quickly at low cost.

High quality, high speed broadband can be used to link the local facilities. The local doctor can consult capital city specialists, students can attend virtual classes and employees work in shared offices. All these services can be provided when the city is established, instead of having to wait years, or decades.

Australian Government Smart Cities Plan

The Australian Government released a "Smart Cities Plan" (29 April 2016). This has three components: Smart Investment, Smart Policy and Smart Technology. There is only $50 million in expenditure proposed, for Infrastructure Planning. However, this could have a major influence on Australian investment in cities, as local and state governments would be able to obtain an Australian government guarantee for borrowing if they obtain federal approval for projects.

The Smart Cities Plan also mentions use of smart technology and Regional cities. An example mentioned are high speed rail through "innovative funding and financing" (that is by capturing the increase in land value along the route).

One way I suggest technology could be used is to accelerate the development of new cities on new high speed rail routes and reduce the cost. People will be reluctant to move to a new city until it has a hospital, university, business center, entertainment, shops and transport system. These could all be provided cheaper and more quickly by using new technology. That will enable the sale of residential and business land more quickly in the new city, thus reducing the cost of finance.

However, there is a risk that the new "Infrastructure Financing Unit" (IFU) will become a real world version of the fictional "Nation Building Authority" (NBA) in the TV comedy "Utopia". The NBA is constantly frustrated in its plans for long term development, by the short term political aims of the elected politicians.

Planing The New Sydney Harbour Bays Precinct

Greetings from the University of Sydney, where a panel of planning experts is speaking on "What’s the Plan? The Bays Precinct panel". The  "Bays Precinct Urban Renewal Program" includes 80 hectares of Government owned land, the White Bay Power Station, Glebe Island, White Bay, Rozelle Bay, Rozelle Rail Yards and Blackwattle Bay and the Sydney Fish Markets.

A two day by-invitation summit on this will be held in Sydney on 19 to 20 November 2014 and workshops for the public in February 2015. This evenings event is in addition, as part of the Festival of Urbanism.

In 2002 students and staff from the "new" Bauhaus Dessau visited Sydney and undertook a planning exercise for the city foreshore. They were interested in the role of computers and telecommunications on the city, so I gave them a talk on Canberra's fibre optic broadband system: "Canberra: Encircled by Light". The results of the Bauhaus study were published in 2003, as the book "Serve City: Interactive urbanism" by Neil Leach, Wilfried Hackenbroich and Regina Sonnabend, available in the libraries of the University of Sydney and Western Sydney and from Amazon.com.".  The effect of ICT on city design and innovation industries is even more important today.

One of the urban waterfront mentioned by this evening's panel is Vancouver. A few weeks ago I was on that waterfront on the Eastern side of Vancouver harbor, around  Lonsdale Quay. This development has managed to retain some of the harbor industry, as well as building offices, shops and homes.

Berlin also got a mention as a location which has had significant development. My impression was that Berlin has rushed into high value development and ended up with more than needed.

What interesting aspect of this development is what would attract Google, who are reported to be looking for a new larger Australian headquarters ("Google searches for blue-ribbon HQ - but can it fit in Sydney?", Mercedes Ruehl, BRW, 2 October 2014).

The topic of "affordable housing" and "key worker housing" came up on the panel. In London this seems to be dome by having very small apartments which are reserved for specific  low salary essential staff, such as nurses, police. Islington has a Shared Ownership Scheme.

One issue which came up is corruption.Currently a significant number of NSW government officials are under investigation for corruption for having accepted illegal payments from developers.

An example coted of a successful waterfront redevelopment was Honeysuckle, Newcastle, NSW. However, I found it a little sterile and Disneyland-like.


I got to ask a question: "My question is has the effect digital tech will have on the urban fabric being taken into account in the Bays Precinct planning. I helped a design study by students from the "New" Bauhaus, which included digital. Has anyone got the copy of their report out of the University of Sydney library. Also have you asked Alan Noble at Google what to do?" None of the panel answered.

It was an interesting evening. There is further event tomorrow: Dr Kate Shaw: Melbourne Docklands – where it went wrong and why Australian governments don’t learn, October 21, 2014, 1:00pm 2:00pm

Sino-capitalist Urbanization With Internet Characteristics

Greetings from the Australian national University where Jane Golley is speaking on "Sino-capitalist urbanization", discussing the nature of China's urban development. She emphasised that China is very unlikely to adopt a pure market system for determining urban land use. The central and local governments will continue to use controls to try to balance development. It occurred to me that perhaps the Internet could be used for some decision making. This could provide a way to get the views of the citizens, while the  central government need not feel a loss of control.

Sydney Harbourside Urban Renewal Project

The NSW government is planning to redevelop industrial land around the harbour in Sydney with the "Bays Precinct Urban Renewal Program". This includes 80 hectares of Government owned land, the White Bay Power Station, Glebe Island, White Bay, Rozelle Bay, Rozelle Rail Yards and Blackwattle Bay and the Sydney Fish Markets.  A two day by-invitation summit on this will be held in Sydney on 19 to 20 November 2014 and workshops for the public in February 2015.

In 2002 students and staff from the "new" Bauhaus Dessau visited Sydney and undertook a planning exercise for the city foreshore. They were interested in the role of computers and telecommunications on the city, so I gave them a talk on Canberra's fibre optic broadband system: "Canberra: Encircled by Light". The results of the Bauhaus study were published in 2003, as the book "Serve City: Interactive urbanism" by Neil Leach, Wilfried Hackenbroich and Regina Sonnabend, available in the libraries of the University of Sydney and Western Sydney and from Amazon.com.".  The effect of ICT on city design and innovation industries is even more important today.

Canberra Busway with Bays Instead of Light Rail

A report from Bob Nairn for the Liberal Party is reported to estimate the cost of a light rail project for Canberra at $915 million, 50% more than previous estimates.

Infrastructure Australia also did not support light rail in its "National Infrastructure Plan". The alternative I suggest is bus transit lanes on existing streets. The existing bicycle lanes can be moved to parkland and the road space freed up used for bus bays. This will allow express buses to overtake local stopping ones, which would not be possible with a light rail system.

Remodel Canberra on its Chinese Twin City

The ACT Chief Minister, Katy Gallagher,  is in China to promote trade and development.  I suggest that Canberra might look to the Chinese city of Changchun (长春), which was modelled on Canberra's original plan. Canberra based architects have been involved in the development of Changchun and this might provide ideas for increasing the density of Canberra's town centres to make the city economically viable and make better public transport affordable.

Plan for Australian High Speed Trains

The Greens party have released "Building High Speed Rail: 21st Century Infrastructure" (The Greens, 5 August 2013). This proposes a dedicated High Speed Rail Authority (HSRA) with a budget of $664M for preliminary work and a $570M environmental impact study. Two lines would be investigated (Sydney - Canberra - Melbourne and Sydney - Newcastle - Brisbane). The trip times appear based on the best current in service technology with Sydney to Melbourne at 2 hours 44 minutes.

Mr. Anthony Albanese, the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, released the High speed rail study phase 2 report, 11 April 2013. However, the ALP government has no proposals to implement high speed rail. Insetad Mr. Albanese is proposing to build a second airport in Sydney (which would not be needed with a high speed rail line from Sydney to Melbourne)

The Greens proposal does not estimate the cost of high speed rail. My suggestion is to fund the project from the increase in land value along the route, building new cities in regional Australia. New cities could be built rapidly, relying on broadband for many services currently provided by bricks and mortar. This would relieve development pressure on Sydney. Also a second airport would not be needed, with passengers changing from aircraft to trains on the busy Sydney -  Canberra - Melbourne air corridor..

Canberra Not a Finnish Vision

Greetings from the National Archives of Australia in Canberra where Dr Robert Bell AM, Senior Curator of Decorative Arts and Design, National Gallery of Australia is speaking on "A capital through Finnish eyes". He is discussing the entry in the 1912 competition for the design for the City of Canberra by Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen, who lost to the design by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony.

Saarinen placed a railway station at the heart of his design for Canberra. This would have been handy for recent proposals for high speed rail. The text of Saarinen's submission is available from Cornell University (from Australian Archives, ACT, Series A762):

To facilitate an undisturbed growth we must first place the different parts of the town in groups, so that each can grow without encumbering the other. We must moreover set down the plan for the nearest surroundings of the town and choose suitable places for its future suburbs, each with a character of its own.
We have, -
(a) the official town with the Houses of Parliament, the Ministerial Buildings, and all houses which are to surround them.
(b) the university quarter;
(c) the military quarter;
(d) the commercial quarter;
(e) the industrial quarter with its population of workmen;
(f) the quarter for hospitals etc....

Finnish Design for Canberra

Dr Robert Bell AM, Senior Curator of Decorative Arts and Design, National Gallery of Australia will speak on "A capital through Finnisheyes", at the National Archives of Australia in Canberra, 5:30pm, 7 August 2013. He will discuss the entry in the 1912 competition for the design for the City of Canberra by Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen, who lost to the design by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony.

Infrastructure Australia Supports Canberra Busway

In its "National Infrastructure Plan", Infrastructure Australia recommends bus transit lanes between Civic and Gungahlin in Canberra, not support the ACT's government plan for Light Rail. In my view, bus transit lanes are the better option, being cheaper and quicker to build then tram tracks.
 The ACT Government previously investigated a light rail line from Civic to Belconnen, but chose the better option of a bus lane, which is now working well, including a new addition routing the buses through ANU.

Bus lanes on Northbourne Avenue: Low-cost public transport measures such as bus transit lanes along Northbourne Avenue connecting the high-growth area of Gungahlin with the Canberra central business district. This will provide greater access and connectivity to activity centres and support the Australian Capital Territory Government’s plans for redevelopment along Northbourne Avenue.

The project needs to be accompanied by a change in the pricing of parking in Civic and other centres in Canberra. This is also in line with the Australian Capital Territory Government’s existing plans.

High Speed Train for Canberra Regional Development

Stephen Byron, from Capital Airport Group, will speak on “Planes, Trains and Regional Development”, at University of Canberra, 5.30pm-7.00pm, 27 May 2013. Capital Airport Group has upgraded Canberra airport for international flights and proposed it be a station for a Sydney to Melbourne fast train.

Centenary Seminar Series 2013

“Planes, Trains and Regional Development”

Stephen Byron, Capital Airport Group
5.30pm-7.00pm, Monday, 27 May 2013
Ann Harding Conference Centre, Building 24, University Drive South, University of Canberra

Capital Airport Group’s Stephen Byron will discuss how better infrastructure will have an impact on Canberra and the region.
The Canberra Airport has positioned itself in
2013/14 for international services following the completion of the new $480m terminal. Canberra and the communities in the region are set to benefit from this major upgrade.
Stephen studied Commerce and Law at the
Australian National University and was development manager for Capital Property Trust and Capital Property Corporation.

For more information, and to register for this event, contact:

Hamish Sinclair
Canberra Urban and Regional Futures
Email: hamish.sinclair@canberra.edu.au
http://curf.com.au/
Campus map: http://www.canberra.edu.au/maps/printing

Ian Warden on Marion Mahony Griffin and Australian Flora

Canberra writer, Ian Warden, will give a free talk on "Tiptoe through the Telopeas: Why Marion Mahony Griffin would have boycotted Floriade", 31 January 2013 at the Australian Botanical Gardens in Canberra. This is part of the Canberra Centenary.

Canberra History Talks

The University of the Third Age is hosting five "Canberra Conversations" events for the centenary of Canberra:

1. February 11: How has Canberra’s planning shaped our lives?
2. April 8: The bush capital – the environment and its impact
3. June 17: The capital as civic cradle
4. August 12: Canberra at Play
5. October 14: Self-government in the Territory, and politics all round

State of Australian Cities 2012

The "State of Australian Cities 2012" report was released by the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Anthony Albanese, on 4 December 2012. The report found a housing shortage, with a reduction in new housing lots and block size and price per square metre increases. There is a rise in the premium for living near the CBD and rapid growth in industry in the CBD. The average number of people living per dwelling is falling. The distance traveled in capital cities is declining. There is a National Summary and for each city.  Unfortunately the report is provided in PDF format, making it difficult to read, so here is the text of the national summary and Canberra:

State of Australian Cities 2012: National Summary

Key findings

The gap between population increase and housing supply in Australian cities is now the largest and most sustained in a century.

• A decline in the number of housing lots produced per capita is occurring across the capital cities but is particularly severe in Sydney. Block size has fallen and the price per square metre has risen sharply.
• There has also been a marked rise in the premium for living near the CBD of cities. In Sydney and Melbourne, a dwelling close to the CBD has increased more than five-fold in real terms since 1986, while one 50 kilometres from the city centre has only doubled in value.
• Housing occupancy rates (the average number of people living in a dwelling) plateaued in the mid- 2000s, after having fallen steadily for nearly a century.
• Most of the industry sectors that are experiencing rapid growth economically are located in CBDs and other dense centres. These industry sectors rely on increasing job densities to drive their productivity.
• Cities may be beginning to economically shrink in on themselves, reversing the dispersing forces, especially associated with manufacturing, that have been dominant since the end of World War II.
• The number of kilometers traveled per person in Australian capital cities has declined markedly since peaking in 2005.
• The per capita freight task in cities is increasing substantially and is likely to become the major driver of urban transport systems.
• Fare recovery in Australian urban mass transit systems continues to decline, raising questions about the sustainability of current financial structures associated with public transport capital investment and operations.
• Age distribution in our major cities shows that under 25s have declined proportionally, while there has been a small increase in working age population and a large increase in over 65s.
• The average labour force participation rate across major cities is 64.8 per cent; however there are significant differences between cities.
• Major cities have experienced increases in female participation in the paid workforce since 2000, some by more than five per cent.
• A growing proportion of older people are working past the traditional retirement age in major cities.

Population and Settlement

There are now 280 cities with over one million people in the greater Asian region. By 2025, it is expected that there will be at least 750 cities of over half a million people in size in the region.

• Australia's resident population in June 2011 was 22,323,933 people, an increase of 2.9 million people or 15 per cent over the last ten years. More than 75 per cent of the population lived in our 18 major cities - cities with more than 100,000 people.
• The proportion of the population living in the capital cities of most states and territories has steadily increased over the past 40 years. Sydney and Melbourne have absorbed nearly 40 per cent of the population growth since 2001.
• In 1996, 60 per cent of major city home owners owned their dwelling outright, compared to 46 per cent in 2011.
• New houses in Australia are possibly the largest in the world, eclipsing the United States. However, there has been little or no growth in their size for a decade and the size of units has fallen.
• While there has been net growth in government-provided dwelling stock since 2006, it has fallen as a proportion of total stock across all major cities, apart from Cairns and Toowoomba.
• Real rental income per dwelling has increased virtually without interruption since rental controls were lifted in 1949.
• Rental vacancy rates remain very low across all capitals but are particularly severe in Perth, Darwin and Canberra.
• In the year to March 2012, Australians spent 279 million nights away, of which 50 per cent were spent in the major cities. Australians made 7.8 million short-term trips overseas, up from 7.1 million in 2008 and more than doubling since 2001.
• Australia hosted 5.5 million international tourists in the year to March 2012, up one per cent from 2011 and five per cent from 2008. Of the 197 million nights these visitors spent in Australia, 82 per cent were spent in our major cities.

Productivity

The morning travel peak in cities has significantly increased in the last 30 years, greatly increasing the pressure on transport networks. This appears to be driven in part by an increase in discretionary travel in the morning peak period.

• The sea ports of coastal major cities, particularly Sydney and Melbourne, are experiencing a significant increase in container (TEU) volumes. More than 80 per cent of containers are discharged and loaded within the urban boundary.
• In 2011, Australia's major city airports had 97,033,481 domestic passengers and 28,872,843 international passengers.

Sustainability

Most Australian cities, except for those located in the far north, have experienced declines in annual rainfall over the last 60 years.

• Since 1952, Australia's major cities experienced increases in average maximum temperatures of up to 2°C.
• The number of very high and extreme fire weather days is estimated to increase by between 15 and 60 per cent by 2020 and double to quadruple by 2050. This may increase the risks of property loss from bushfire in our capital cities, given the close proximity of up to 750,000 houses to substantial bushland.
• Fresh food production on the fringes of our cities is under threat from the outward expansion and economic pressures of our cities.
• Our cities continue to place pressure on urban waterways and estuarine environments, many of which contain sites of international heritage significance.
• Total open space in and around our cities can amount to 60 per cent of the urban area.
• Local, state and territory governments are moving to better manage natural and urban systems and are addressing challenges such as the urban heat island effect, cleaning waterways and more sustainable buildings.

Liveability

Melbourne has been ranked first on the global 2012 Economist Intelligence Unit Global Cities Liveability Index and Adelaide has retained its top ranking in the Australian My City Survey.

• The proportion of families with children living in higher density residential dwellings has increased in major cities.
• The proportion of the population that is Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander is largest in Darwin (9.2 per cent) and smallest in Melbourne (0.5 per cent). However, Sydney's Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander population (54,747 people) is the largest in the country.
• The cost of living for the residents of Australia's capital cities has been relatively stable for over two decades.
• Of the capital cities, Hobart has the highest proportion of people who walk to work whilst Perth has the lowest. Darwin has the highest proportion of people who cycle to work whilst Sydney has the lowest.

Governance

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Reform Council Review of Capital City Strategic Planning Systems was released in April 2012. It highlighted the need for ongoing intergovernmental co-operation on cities issues to help all levels of government implement effective strategic planning systems.

• An Infrastructure Finance and Funding Reform report, prepared by the Infrastructure and Finance Working Group, was released in June 2012. It stressed the importance of improved planning, a deeper pipeline of projects and funding reform.
• In June 2012 the Productivity Commission released the first national study of the regulatory role of local government. Its key message is that implementing and enforcing state laws, rather than local laws, is dominating local governments' regulatory workload.
• The 2012-13 Federal Budget included a framework for the second phase of the Nation Building Program (NB2) which will run from 2014-19 and help deliver on the goals and objectives of the      National Urban Policy.

State of Australian Cities 2012: Canberra Summary

Population and Settlement

The Canberra - Queanbeyan metropolitan area population increased from 360,537 in 2001 to 418,292 in 2011, a growth rate of 1.5 per cent, which is exactly the national average.

• Canberra-Queanbeyan is Australia's eighth largest city and is home to 1.87 per cent of Australians.
• Over the five years 2006-11, Canberra-Queanbeyan's stock of private dwellings increased by 14,062.
• With a population increase of 37,210 over the same period, there were 2.65 additional people for each new dwelling constructed. Canberra-Queanbeyan's 2011 household occupancy rate was 2.76 people per dwelling, aligning with the 2011 average major city rate of 2.73.
• Of Canberra-Queanbeyan's total stock of 158,706 private dwellings in 2011, 7.38 per cent were unoccupied, well below the major city average of 9.16 per cent.
• In the year to March 2012, Canberra hosted 5.3 million domestic visitor nights, down from 5.6 million in 2012, and 4.1 million international visitor nights, up significantly from 2.7 million in 2008.

Productivity

• In 2011, Canberra Airport had 3,158,957 domestic passengers.
• Canberra's labour force participation rate has been relatively stable since 2000, and remains Australia's highest at 72.4 per cent, well above the national average of 65.1 per cent.
• The labour force participation rate for males in Canberra is 76.4 per cent and has dropped 2.3 per cent since 2000.
• The labour force participation rate for females in Canberra is the highest rate of the surveyed major cities at 68.8 per cent and has increased slightly since 2000. Canberra's labour force participation is higher than the national average of 65.1.
• Canberra has one of the highest rates of labour force participation for males aged 65 years and over, being 18.8 per cent, having more than doubled since 2000. Participation of females in this age group is 6.3 per cent, up from 3.7 per cent in 2000.

Sustainability

Consistent with other inland major cities (Albury-Wodonga and Toowoomba), Canberra experienced a trend of larger increases in average annual temperatures and decreases in average annual rainfall than major cities in other parts of Australia. 1

Liveability

In 2011 Canberra was included in the Mercer Quality of Living Index for the first time, debuting in 26th position - above Adelaide (30th) and Brisbane (37th), but below Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

• According to the Australian City Liveability Index survey of residents in ten Australian cities:

• Canberra has the highest proportion of residents who feel that their city is a 'place for people and their property' (69%) and, with Melbourne, equal highest proportion of residents who consider Canberra has 'good educational facilities and healthcare services' (71%).
• Compared to other capital cities, Canberra also has a high proportion of residents who agree that the city has 'good transport infrastructure and services' (53%).
• Only 42 per cent of Canberra residents feel that the city provides 'quality affordable housing'.

• According to the 2012 AMP NATSEM Income and Wealth Report's analysis of typical household goods and services Canberra is the second most expensive of the capital cities after Sydney. Rental costs, other utilities, and household contents and services are most expensive in Canberra.
• In Canberra, 23 per cent of people living in flats, units or apartments were in households with children.
• Canberra remains the volunteering capital of Australia, with 21.2 per cent of the population aged 15 years or over volunteering with a group or organisation in 2011. However, this represents a slight decline on 2006 levels, when 22.3 per cent of the population were involved in volunteering.
• In Canberra 81 per cent of people travel to work by car and just 7.6 per cent by public transport.
• Canberra has the highest rates of active travel (walking and cycling) of the eastern capital cities, with 2.7 per cent of people cycling to work, and 4.7 per cent travelling to work on foot. Only Darwin records higher rates of walking and cycling. Governance
• The Canberra-Queanbeyan urban area straddles the Australian Capital Territory-New South Wales border and is subject to strategic planning by both jurisdictions.
• The ACT Government released the new ACT Planning Strategy in August 2012.
• The key planning strategy for Queanbeyan is the NSW Government's Sydney-Canberra Corridor Regional Strategy, scheduled for review every five years. A systematic review is currently underway.
• Following completion of the NSW Government's Long Term Transport Master Plan, a Regional Transport Plan will be developed and linked to the existing regional strategy.
• In May 2012, the ACT became a member of the South East Regional Organisation of Councils (SEROC), in recognition of the significant dependencies between the ACT and the surrounding NSW region.

Turnbull Advocates A More Compact Liveable Canberra

Presenting the 2012 Walter Burley Griffin Memorial Lecture at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra last night, Ms Lucy Turnbull, called for more densely populated Australian cities. Turnbull is familiar with planning issues, having been the Deputy Chair of the COAG Capital city strategic planning expert advisory panel, Lord Mayor of Sydney and is currently an independent member of the Sydney Metropolitan Development Authority. She praised the work of Canberra's planners is providing a coherent view of the city, which follows on from Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony's design for the city.

Turnbull singled out the Affordable Housing work of CIC Australia for praise. She noted that Australia's ageing population will require a new mix of housing stock and more single person houses will be needed. The role of the urban environment to support the innovation sector of the economy was also mentioned.

After the talk I asked Ms Turnbull and Professor Alastair Swayn (ACT Government Architect) if sufficient account was being taken of the effect of high speed broadband on city design. Also I pointed to the innovation precinct forming between the ANU and Civic in Canberra. They mentioned the effect which teleworking is having on cities.

Walter Burley Griffin Memorial Lecture 2012

Ms Lucy Turnbull OA LLB MBA, an independent member of the Sydney Metropolitan Development Authority, will present the Australian Institute of Architects 2012 Walter Burley Griffin Memorial Lecture in Canberra, 10 October 2012.

Australian cities before and after Walter Burley Griffin

DATE: Wednesday 10 October
TIME: 5.45 arrival for a 6pm Start
COST: FREE PUBLIC LECTURE 

Register

The annual WBGML has been delivered in Canberra since 1961. Over that time it has been given by a number of distinguished individuals from many fields of expertise, including Gough Whitlam, Professor Manning Clarke and Romaldo Giurgola. This year it is our pleasure to host Lucy Turnbull and Alastair Swayn to present the 2012 Walter Burley Griffin Memorial Lecture.

Lucy Turnbull's title for the paper will be 'Australian cities before and after Walter Burley Griffin'. 

Lucy is a former Australian politician and former Lord Mayor of Sydney, is a prominent Australian business leader and company director. Turnbull was the first female Lord Mayor of Sydney, between 2003 and 2004 and was Deputy Lord Mayor, between 1999 and 2003. She was the first woman to hold both offices. As Lord Mayor, in 2003 Turnbull awarded laurete Aung San Suu Kyi the keys to the city of Sydney. 

With a background in commercial law and investment banking, Turnbull is a Director of Turnbull & Partners Pty. Ltd, a private investment company. Lucy has a longstanding interest in cities and their planning, governance and management. as well as the importance of technological innovation to the national economy. She is an independent member of the Sydney Metropolitan Development Authority which is charged First Government Architect for the Australian Capital Territory with the urban renewal and revitaltisation of several precincts in Sydney, including Redfern-Waterloo. 

On 26 January 2011, Turnbull was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia for her distinguished service to the community, particularly through philanthropic contributions to, and fundraising support for, a range of medical, social welfare, educational, youth and cultural organisations, to local government, and to busines. 

DATE: Wednesday 31 October 
TIME: 5.45 arrival for a 6pm Start ... 
COST: Free Public Lecture
Register

Capital Metro Light Rail Project for Canberra

The ACT Labor Party has proposed a light rail network through Canberra, under the title "Capital Metro Light Rail Project". This would start with a line from Civic (the City Centre) to the Gungahlin Town Centre (the northern satellite town). This is estimated to cost $614m,  but only $30m is to be initially committed to design work. In my view, a bus rapid transit system would be cheaper, could be started sooner and has more chance of actually being built.
The use of the term "Metro" in the Canberra proposal and the lack of a commitment of funds to build the project is reminiscent of the previous NSW Government's failed plan for a Sydney Metro. But a useful transport initiative which the former NSW Government did implement, and could be emulated in Canberra, are Metro Buses.
The ACT Government released details of a "City to Gungahlin Transit Corridor Study" some months ago, with options for Light Rail Transit and Bus Rapid Transit. Two ways to run the route down Northborne Avenue (Canberra's main street) were considered: in the curb lane and down the grassed central reserve.


The new proposal is to use the central reserve for trams. This will require extensive work to install rails, overhead power (although no overhead wires are shown in the artist's renderings) and possibly fences alongside the track.  The  proposal will increase carbon emissions, as the trams will run on coal fired power and freeing up roadway will increase pollution from cars.

In my view a better option would be a bus transit lane on the existing roadway and a new bicycle path in the centre of the median. This would be quicker and cheaper to build. It could operate with existing buses while new hybrid renewable units were acquired. The busway would reduce pollution by displacing cars from the roadway. There more chance of such a system being built, as it could be done in stages, delivering tangible benefits at each stage.