2011 Healthy Cities Conference a Success

This year’s Healthy Cities Conference in Noosa had over 70 presenters, who contributed to a range of session streams including,

- Physical Environments in our Cities and Neighbourhoods
- Green Principles – Green Design. The Future of Viable Healthy Cities
- Healthy People – Healthy Places
- Disaster Management – The Impacts on Population Health

During the closing forum delegates were asked to raise, with a panel of keynotes the major issues affecting healthy cities.  The 2012 Conference in Geelong will follow up some of the excellent contributions by the delegates in the forum.

Robert Prestipino the Directoror Vital Places spoke about “Local Ecommerce and Sustainable Towns – Will our Regional towns and communities be saved by digital highways?

Robert said “The evidence is clear. Regional identity and lifestyle is in decline. This decline has been long term and gradual. The issue is what are we going to do about it? Decades of concern and initiatives have done little to strengthen the future prosperity of regional communities. To turn things around and deliver the community’s aspirations for the future of their children and grandchildren will clearly require a new approach.”

He discussed how we create great regions to live, work and play… places of opportunity & lifestyle?

Matt Coetzee the Development Manager of Community Development with Aurecon discussed Australia’s sequence of extreme weather events. Cyclone Yasi and the floods of December 2010 / January 2011 saw more than 75% of Queensland officially declared a disaster zone. The impact on infrastructure and homes was devastating but the scale of the tragedy became that much more apparent as news of human fatalities was relayed by Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh.

Matt said “Sustainable urban development is a useful concept in considering opportunities to alleviate the impact of extreme weather events, and extreme floods in particular. Sustainable urban development provides a framework focused on creating urban communities where both the current and future needs of residents are met. There are two important principles—resilience and connectivity—that underpin sustainable urban development.

By defining the risks associated with potential extreme events and translating those risks into planning and design solutions urban planners attempt to increase an urban feature’s capacity to absorb change. This capacity, otherwise known as its resilience, allows it to persist in the face of the change and thereby improves its sustainability”.

The positive delegate feedback was overwhelming. Lisa Wood, Associate Professor and Deputy Director, Centre for the Built Environment and Health, School of Population Health said “A good mix of speakers, topics and participants overall. Indeed the diversity of participants greatly contributed to the informal sharing and learning that went on outside of sessions and it was good to see the intermingling of varied sectors and fields.”

The 2012 Conference will be in Geelong, Victoria from the 6^th – 8^th June 2012. Call for papers will open on the conference website soon, www.healthcities.com.au

Insurers reject proposals for mandatory flood cover

THE nation’s largest insurers have unanimously rejected proposals for mandatory flood cover and supported calls for a new government inquiry into disaster mitigation to find better ways to protect against natural catastrophes… more

The Myths of Recovery – Ed Blakely

The the worst is over in Queensland and Victoria. We can now turn our attention to what went wrong and how we can get it right in the future. But before, we try to get things moving in the right direction, we need to know what the best directions to go in are. As the Tin man said to Alice: “If you don’t know where you are going, any direction will do”.

Some directions provide false hopes and inevitably lead to repeating the same or worse problems. Here are a few myths that can and should be avoided. Here are the issues I suggest are the Five big myths of disaster recovery.

1. Put it all back together-she’ll be right mate!–It is tempting to think that if we just do what we have been doing and leave people to their own devices, everything will work out well. We feel the only thing government can do is get in the way. We want to get back to normal with everything in the same place. In fact, this idea is re-enforced by government leaders saying after disaster: “We are going to put it all back just like it was and soon.”

2. Just Fix what’s broken– putting in another dam and cleaning up will not be enough, no matter how tempting such ideas are. New Orleans had many levee failure pre-Katrina. If the levees don’t work in one time, more of them will not serve in another disaster. it is time to look at the fundamentals of what is causing and what will cause new disasters and make fundamental changes, as the Dutch have done, to deal with the problem or to recognize it can’t be dealt with.

3. We can do it alone–we had the disaster and we don’t need anyone form another place telling us how to handle our problems. We have plenty of smart people. It is true local people have a lot of good local knowledge but other experts may have more information and more experience–borrow it.

4. Property rights are first–our nation is built on the fundamental right to own and dispose of property as one sees fit-with a few rules. but how do we deal with property that exposes everyone to danger? who pays for rescuers and what is the role of government when the property right conflicts with the safety of the total community? We have to tackle this isue by making sure that everyone is re-settle in ways that benefit the entire community and without financial loss or too great a personal sacrifice.

5. Better warning systems is all we need–warning are good but the new storms are coming faster and hitting harder than our systems can cope with. Since we know the primary cause of the problems, we need to use the first warning by making sure natural systems flow properly and that new building in the hills or on flat land do not disrupt natural system to the point greater dangers are created.

In essence the trust is always the best antidote to any myths. so, we need to get as much information as we can before we act. Unlike Alice, we have to know where we intend to go

Ed Blakely, in charge of the rebuilding efforts in New Orleans after “Katrina”, he will present at the Healthy Cities Conference http://www.healthycities.com.au/

Wednesday 27th to Friday 29th July  2011
Venue: The Outrigger Little Hastings Street Resort & Spa NOOSA, Queensland

Sustainable Urban Development: Responding to Extreme Events

Australia, particularly Queensland, has recently been struck by a sequence of extreme weather events. Cyclone Yasi and the floods of December 2010 / January 2011 saw more than 75% of Queensland officially declared a disaster zone. The impact on infrastructure and homes was devastating but the scale of the tragedy became that much more apparent as news of human fatalities was relayed by Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh.

Sustainable urban development is a useful concept in considering opportunities to alleviate the impact of extreme weather events, and extreme floods in particular. Sustainable urban development provides a framework focused on creating urban communities where both the current and future needs of residents are met. There are two important principles—resilience and connectivity—that underpin sustainable urban development.

By defining the risks associated with potential extreme events and translating those risks into planning and design solutions urban planners attempt to increase an urban feature’s capacity to absorb change. This capacity, otherwise known as its resilience, allows it to persist in the face of the change and thereby improves its sustainability.

The elements of the physical, biological, social and economic system in which we operate are fundamentally connected. This interconnectivity is relevant in all systems, but particularly in urban environments, where the proximity of the component elements and the frequency of interactions are higher.

These high-level principles point to four areas of response available to help manage the impact of extreme flood events before they occur. Looking particularly at existing and future developments and structures, this paper will discuss the management imperatives needed to ensure our urban fabric is planned, designed and constructed to not only respond proactively to extreme weather events and the ‘human contribution’, but also addresses the need to remove the barriers to decision making when related to complex, interacting systems.

Mr  Matt  Coetzee,  Development Manager – Community Development  Aurecon

Healthy Cities: 4th Making Cities Liveable Conference – Wednesday 27th to Friday 29th July  2011 Noosa Qld, Australia

Urban Flooding Policy – What can we learn from the UK?

Many areas in Australia have recently faced major flooding following a long drought period. Whilst policies are in place to manage the impact of flooding including achieving appropriate flood immunity levels for development and minimising the impact of development on flooding – it is evident that many areas are at risk of flood inundation and its associated damage to homes, businesses and infrastructure.

The United Kingdom has also faced these issues with 1 in 6 (5.2 million) properties currently assessed to be at risk of flooding. A number of large flood events over the past 12 years led to a significant rethink in the approach to managing flood risk in the UK. One of the major changes relates to the improved links between development planning and flood risk management.

There was a renewed recognition that inappropriate spatial development has the potential to provide a triple threat to flooding by adversely affect flood sources (through increased runoff), flood pathways (through interference with defence and flowpaths) and receptors (by increasing the loss and damage caused by flooding). The Planning Policy Statement 25 on development and flood risk, has now evolved from an earlier planning guidance to prevent inappropriate development with respect to flood risk. At all stages of the development planning process, this planning document requires planning authorities to apply a risk-based sequential approach to the zoning and allocation of development land to ensure developments are placed at locations with as low a risk as possible depending on their potential vulnerability.

This paper will describe how planning policy and its implementation in the UK has evolved. Case studies will be used to illustrate particular aspects and draw out lessons learnt from its implementation. Potential refinement of Queensland policy to incorporate changes will be considered with discussion regarding the implications of such changes.

Miss Trinity Graham 
Principal Water Engineer
Aurecon 

Healthy Cities: Making Cities Liveable Conference 2011

Shopping not a waste of Energy

General waste that will be produced at Sydney’s newest shopping centre, Top Ryde City, is scheduled to be recovered and reused to create renewable electricity, thanks to an innovative and sustainable waste management process implemented by Veolia Environmental Services.

In a bid to reduce the amount of general waste and recyclable materials going to traditional landfills, Veolia Environmental Services is looking to recover up to 60-65% of all general waste and recyclable materials, once the centre launches on November 5.  The company’s Woodlawn Eco-Precinct enables general waste to be recovered and reused.  General waste from the Ryde site will be transported to our Woodlawn Bioreactor, where the gas produced from the waste breaking down, will be used to create renewable energy. 

Top Ryde City’s management estimates that it will produce approximately 1,440 tonnes of general waste a year.  By utilising bioreactor technology, Veolia will able to produce approximately 411,840kWh of electricity per annum from this waste.  With households estimated at using 8000kWh of electricity per year [i], a year’s general waste from Top Ryde City is estimated to produce enough power for 50 households for a year. Michelle Thomas, Defined Developments Project Marketing Manager, says the work that Veolia Environmental Services provides is ground-breaking. “It is wonderful to know that a shopping centre of this size can make a genuine difference to its eco footprint,” said Mrs Thomas.

Veolia estimates that each tonne of Commercial and Industrial (C&I) waste sent to its Woodlawn Bioreactor instead of a traditional landfill, will help save 1.2 tonnes of greenhouse gas (tCO2-e) [ii]. The company also estimates that 1,440 tonnes of general waste produced at Top Ryde City a year, will equate to a saving of 1,728 tonnes of greenhouse gases (tCO2-e) per year. This is equivalent to taking 430 cars off the road for a year [iii] or planting over 6,000 trees [iv].

Healthy Cities Conference,  Noosa, July 2011

Present a paper at the Conference

Healthy Cities: 4th Making Cities Liveable Conference

Thursday  28th and Friday 29th July  2011

Venue: The Outrigger Little Hastings Street Resort & Spa NOOSA, Queensland

“Healthy cities are all about local involvement. They continually and actively explore ways to contribute to implementing WHO strategies at the urban and local levels. They have the potential to provide essential public health leadership, to create the preconditions for healthier living and participatory governance and to facilitate intersectoral action. Further, in times of economic downturn, city governments can play a key role as advocates and guardians of the health needs of the people who are most vulnerable and socially disadvantaged”. WHO

“Where people live affects their health and chances of leading flourishing lives. Communities and neighbourhoods that ensure access to basic goods, that are socially cohesive, that are designed to promote good physical and psychological wellbeing, and that are protective of the natural environment are essential for health equity.” Closing the gap in a generation report,WHO

The 4th Making Cities Liveable Conference will be a platform for Government and Industry sector professionals to discuss causes, effects and solutions that relate to population health, sustainability, natural resource management, transport, climate change and urban design and more.  Delegates will examine the impact of urban and transport planning on the health and well-being of the population and the planet.

We will examine public policy and social/community outcomes and consider what actions we can take to positively influence the ongoing debate.

+ Intensification of Regional Cities and Places
+ Impacts of buying local on Community Sustainability
+ Green Principles Green Design – The Future for Viable Healthy Cities

2. Coastal Urbanisation – Rapid Development Affecting Sense of Place

3. Climate Change Adaptation
+ Renewable Energy
+ Community Engagement
+ Natural Resource Management
+ Waste Reuse Technologies

4. Links between Environmental Sustainability and Human Health: the Co-benefits Framework
+ Population Health Management – immunisation, bio security, food safety and epidemic control
+ Managing Communicable Disease Outbreaks – Health Security
+ Child-friendly Cities – Physical Environments in our Cities and Neighbourhoods
+ Disaster Management – public welfare -  recovery and rebuild

5. Technology and its Place in Healthy Cities
6. Managing Legislation and Policy to achieve Healthy Cities

Submit an abstract here

www.1000mikes.com BlakelyCityTalk on air 8:00 PM Sunday night Sydney, Aus time

 

“This weeks show is about is a Bigger Australia and/or a Better Australia. In keeping with the focus the show is about cities and communities and how we live in them with good examples from around the world presented to help make our cities and neighbourhoods better places to live, work and play. However, how big is too big is the issue this week in dry parched Australia which like Europe and he United States is receiving new migrants with little or no capacity to support them.”

Guest this week will be Brian Haratsis his latest book is ”Australia 2050″ .

Click here to visit the site and download the podcast or play the radio show. Ed will keynote at the Making Cities Liveable Conference in Noosa in 2011

Welcome to the Making Cities Liveable Conference Blog

The annual Healthy Cities: Making Cities Liveable Conference started in 2007. 

This blog will feature stories and links to mainstream media that are of interest to our delegate community.  We will also host stories and comment from our speakers along with selected abstracts from conference papers for comment.

Over the next few months we will be building the article archive and would welcome any stories you would like posted.  Just send them to admin@healthycities.com.au