After the Rains – thinking about Urban Planning in a future of havoc weather
Dorothea Mackellar’s poem ‘My Country’ is best known for its second verse – “I love a sunburnt country, A land of sweeping plains, Of ragged mountain ranges, Of droughts and flooding rains”. As vast tracts of Australia again face the prospect of massive floods I wonder if our Urban Planners ever consider the significance of the observation of Mackellar’s poem? And if they haven’t in the past, should they do so now? One thing we know is happening is the greater focus on weather related phenomenon by the Insurance sector who right now, must be wondering when they can catch a break. As our population grows and demand for land for housing is increasing, it becomes a bit too simple for local governments of all types to open what could arguably stated as ‘precarious development sites’ whilst ignoring the prescience of Mackellar’s words.
We’ve seen around the world the human push for settlements in perhaps the most unlikely of places – at the feet of volcanoes; floating on the oceans; in ‘forever dry’ flood plains and on land below sea level. Let’s not forget the ACT’s past decision to build a housing development in among a pine plantation, London’s great fire enabled through tinder box housing design within arms reach of the next house; and now a days we have the increasing encroachment of suburban development in Australia’s fire friendly eucalypt forests.
After these rains subside and the floods ease, will thought be given to the Urban Planning decisions being made around the country? It may well be a case of ‘Caveat Emptor’ (let the buyer beware) and surely responsibility for development must finally rest on those who are deemed to have the knowledge and forethought to enable housing construction in areas blatantly exposed to events that not only should have been foreseen, but increasingly that we have recent history of experiencing. The Insurance industry are paying attention and premiums of housing insurance are climbing as that Indusry factors in the higher probabilities of weather related damage.
So after these rains are over – what changes if any, will Urban Planners take?
it’s OK not to know your career path when you leave university – sometimes that won’t emerge until much later down the track,” Barber says. “We should remind kids that the pathway they select to start off with is unlikely to be their final pathway, Was interviewed by #TheodoraSutcliffe who wrote this article for…
Read More >At a recent session with the Gen Y group working on the ‘Future Melbourne’ project for the City of Melbourne I suggested that the group consider what the result might be if they could ‘invert’ the way the State of Victoria operates. What would you be likely to see if more of the functions of…
Read More >McKinsey’s interview with Richard Thaler on ‘debiasing the corporation’ is a really good one. I’ve spent the best part of two decades trying to help organisations unpack their biases through the use of foresight. I recommend this article to you Nobel Laureate Richard Thaler offers some great insights as to how to make more…
Read More >As the Ipswich Council has determined that recycling schemes are too expensive and indicates it will end collections, the question is ‘what happens next’? If result of the explosion in Tip fees by Councils around Australia is anything to go by, what happens next will not be good China recently decided to end acting…
Read More >As Nations look to develop their understanding of Productivity and more effective planning, National Productivity Councils are often the first point of call for Governments looking for ideas. The Asia Productivity Organisation has been running since 1961 helping its member countries develop more effective approaches. I’ve just spent a week in Tokyo helping a group…
Read More >Okay I admit that on the first take this idea might sound a little crazy. I reminded myself however of that saying that ‘all great ideas must at first sound crazy to the existing paradigm…’ or some such thing. You might know who said it (please send me an email if you do). So I…
Read More >We all use words that tell us about the results that were achieved and whether our expectations were met, missed or exceeded. Surprised? Disappointed? Delighted? The only way you can experience these emotions and others like them, is to have an expectation in mind. And the ONLY way you can teach your organisation to learn…
Read More >The last couple of months have been hectic to say the least, with a myriad of client engagements across an array of industry sectors. And as you can see from the list below one thing is clear: EVERYONE wants to understand what is shaping their future and how they might be able to influence that…
Read More >Those of you that have been tracking this website for a while will know that towards the end of each year, I nominate the following year’s area of focus. For instance I declared that 2015 would be the International Year of Battery Technology, and as the news stories, product research and renewables push shows, it…
Read More >I’ll be helping to kick off the Local Government Corporate Planners Conference in a couple of weeks, offering some thoughts about emerging issues for Councils and an approach to planning that should alleviate some issues for them. You can find details in this link to the conference program which is being held at Citadines…
Read More >