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Urban leader - A newsletter for urban design champions

Issue no. 509 | 01 Junel 2010

Welcome

This newsletter aims to help you champion good urban design in New Zealand by providing regular, informative and relevant information about urban design initiatives.
In this issue we have:

Signatory news

arial view of Auckland CityAuckland City Council’s Future Planning Framework is a spatial planning model that can be applied at the city wide, area and neighbourhood levels. The model represents a sustainable urban form for growth in the Auckland Isthmus. The Future Planning Framework was the winner of the recently announced New Zealand Planning Institute (NZPI) Nancy Northcroft Award.

The Department of Building and Housing is seeking input into proposals for regulations to support the Unit Titles Act 2010. Submissions close 10 June 2010.
Selwyn District Council’s Subdivision Design Guide focuses on the importance of designing around the individual site context and provides an increased opportunity for using discretion. The Council and Context Urban Design were awarded the NZPI Best Practice Award for the Subdivision Design Guide.
Other recipients in the 2010 NZPI awards include Boffa Miskell and Christchurch City Council for the Christchurch Central City Residential Capacity Study, and the NZ Transport Agency for its Urban Design Principles Guidance Material.
Healthy places, healthy lives: urban environmental and wellbeing is a report to the Ministry of Health from the Public Health Advisory Committee. This publication deals with the strong link there is between urban design and health in New Zealand and how cities and towns can be designed in ways to improve our health and reduce health service costs.
 

Ministry for the Environment news

Book the date of Thursday 19 August 2010 to come to Wellington for this years Urban Design Symposium for Urban Design Protocol signatories. The Symposium is being planned in conjunction with councils of the Wellington Regional Strategy. Invites and details of speakers will be sent out in early July 2010.

Upcoming Urban Design Events

The Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand (EIANZ) is holding its 2010 conference in Wellington on 26-29 October 2010. Themes include urban challenges, valuing ecosystems, community action, and natural resource governance. Confirmed speakers include Prof Peter Newman. The deadline for submitting abstracts is 4 June 2010.
Planning for Community Health and Wellbeing, one day workshops in June 2010 will introduce planners to health and wellbeing impact assessment (HIA), The workshops are being workshops being held in Wellington, Christchurch, New Plymouth, Hokitika and Dunedin and run by Quigley and Watts Limited for the New Zealand Planning Institute.

Find out about the major changes in the NZS4404 Land Development and Subdivision Infrastructure standard at the IPENZ workshops supported by the Ministry for the Environment being held in August 2010 in Auckland, Tauranga, Taupo, Nelson, Wellington , Christchurch and Dunedin.
The Australasian Housing Researchers Conference is being held in Auckland on 17-19 November 2010. This is an opportunity for practising housing researchers to present issues in the housing environment. Closing dates for abstract submissions is the 30 June 2010.
An international design competition is calling for ideas about how Delta cities (low-lying areas between rivers and the sea) can cope with climate change threats. Delta city of the future: Changing Perspectives is open to teams from any profession. The best seven teams will participate in an expenses paid ‘pressure cooker’ event in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Entries close 1 July 2010.
The Future of Cities Congress is being held 5-7 October 2010, in Incheon, Republic of Korea. The congress aims to address the monumental challenges facing rapidly growing cities. Topics under debate will include eco-efficiency, resilience, green economies, and happiness in cities.
Cairns, Australia will host the Greenhouse 2011 Conference on 4-8 April 2011. This will be an opportunity to hear about the latest in climate change science from researchers around the world.
 

Useful Links and Current Information

  • The government has announced a new financial assistance package to help people get leaky homes fixed faster. The package involves the government and local authorities each contributing 25% of the agreed repair costs. Homeowners contribute the other 50% using a government guaranteed loan if necessary.
  • Lots of bike friendly initiatives to report this month. The NZPI Conference in April offered guided cycle tours of Christchurch for conference attendees. The tours focussed on linking planning, urban design and transport issues. Cycle Aware Wellington and Wellington Waterfront have developed a courtesy code for cyclists and pedestrians using the waterfront. Google maps have also added bike directions for about 150 US towns and cities. Minneapolis has just been name the US’s top bike friendly city with over 120 miles of on- and off- street cycling facilities and indoor bike parking.
  • Forbes Magazine has released its Most Livable Cities list for 2010 with Pittsburgh, and other university towns, topping the list. Cities were ranked on five criteria - unemployment, crime, income growth, the cost of living, and artistic and cultural opportunities. Perhaps the key to livability is education, or maybe it is the availability of dates? AskMen.com has ranked the world’s top 29 cities for men . This ranking system is based on factors such as the price of an iPod, the city’s GDP, the ratio of men to women, and the efficiency of public transit. CNN researchers have also been exploring the world’s ‘greenest’ cities and discovered that these cities tend to recognise and focus on their complexity, rather than one aspect of sustainability.
  • And on a more light hearted note…IBM have just released a new video game called CityOne. You get to play the role of city planner and deal with ‘real’ environmental and economic issues facing cities today.

Website of the month

housing new zealand buildingHousing Research for New Zealand is a collaboration between several organisations that carry out research into various aspects of housing issues – social, economic, technical and environmental. Signatory organisations that contribute include Auckland Regional Council, BRANZ, and Housing New Zealand.

Podcast of the month

“With ugly sprawl everywhere you look in America, its time for a national makeover.” Finally reality tv moves beyond plastic surgery and making over homes. American Makeover is a new web only video series looking at alternatives to sprawl.

We want your news items

Do you have news that you would like reported in the next Urban Leader? We welcome your stories, and would like to receive more information from Protocol signatories. Email us at urban.design@mfe.govt.nz.
Submitted articles may be edited by the Ministry for the Environment