House full!
The Angliss Conference Centre in Melbourne was sold out for the sixth annual Smart Urban Futures conference in March 2019.
Keynote speakers included:
- Lynn Richards, President and CEO, Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), Washington DC, USA
- Dongho Chang, City Traffic Engineer, City of Seattle, USA
- Paul Roberts, Director, Turnberry Consulting, London UK
- Susanne Legena, CEO, Plan International Australia
- Greg Vann, Director Planning, Ethos Urban
If you own a home in a walkable neighbourhood, real estate analyst Jodie Walker from Secret Agent had good news. She said while Melbourne house prices have hit a downturn, “walkability has a protective effect in a falling market.”
We've produced a short summary of the conference highlights - check it out here.
Pre-conference workshops
On 20 March we held pre-conference workshops with two of our international keynote speakers:
- Dongho Chang focused on road safety, with Seattle one of the leading cities in the US promoting both multi-modal transport and a Vision Zero approach to the road toll.
- Lynn Richards discussed 'Putting People First - Transforming the Suburban Landscape.' She provided concrete examples of how we can transform boring, car-dominated suburbs into interesting, walkable neighbourhoods.
These small-group events offer unique opportunities for Australian practitioners to engage with global experts in a genuine conversation about international lessons and how they can be applied in Australia.
The Smart Urban Futures conferences are hosted by Victoria Walks and the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV).