A fascinating video from Julie Anne Gentern who discusses a few issues around sustainability issues around transport.
Most cars and towns are car dependant and this can have negative effects including air and water pollution. It also carries the cost of accidents and the negative health effects including the ‘obesity epidemic’ that New Zealand is in the midst of.
30% of New Zealander’s don’t have access to a car, whether it be from age, disability or just choice. As we are so dependant on cars, this gives those without a huge disadvantage.
By replacing every car in New Zealand with an electric one may reduce the carbon emissions in the long term, but ultimately fossil fuel is used in the manufacture of the cars themselves not to mention the batteries. And in the end it doesn’t bring the benefits of a city designed so you can walk and cycle and take electric transport for your basic daily needs. The development of motorways takes away the ability to walk around different areas within cities.
Her solution: “Development and redevelopment is happening all the time so we can see a rapidly changing urban forum, but instead of seeing it spread out, we want to see it pull in. Back to transport nodes, where people can feel safe and easily take a bike or walk”.
“We can’t promote both car oriented development and pedestrian, bike and transit orientated development. We have to choose one or the other”
Do you remember a time when it was safe for our children to walk to their friend’s house or go to the park unaccompanied? It seems that those days are long gone, but in various cities in Spain, they are looking at resurrecting this.
Image Credit: Melissa Garcia Lamarca
In large, busy urban areas, where the majority is dominated by cars, roads housing and business (obviously designed by adults) they are building safe and accessible spaces for children in public areas.
The project, called City of Children, aims to make it possible for children to leave their home without being unaccompanied by an adult so that they can meet with their friends and play in public places within the city: from courtyards to sidewalks, from public squares to parks. Through children’s proposals and ideas, participation in decision-making and realisation of their projects, it aims at building a children’s culture in the minds of adults and especially in administrators so that they know how to make their decisions, having interiorised children’s thoughts and needs. The project believes that only when adults understand that spending for the good of children is not a cost but an investment that will bring returns many times over will it be possible to think seriously of the future of our cities.
This is great food for thought for New Zealander’s. Although we don’t have the large population numbers as other countries, it could be an idea to include all of our community, young and old, when thinking about our urban design.
It is generally accepted that New Zealand needs to spend big on on infrastructure over the next few decades. The Government looks committed to to using the PPP model. New Zealand is in it’s infancy in regards to PPPs, and even in countries where there are well established PPP laws, policies and plans, it doesn’t always go to plan.
However, what is established wherever PPP have been tried is the vital importance of design in realising long-term value. In parts of Australia the public sector retains the design component, specifying design requirements for those bidding. The general idea had always been that this was best left to the private partner, the thinking being that they were best placed to discover design innovations.
The PPP model is an evolving one. There certainly seems to be room to configure it in a way that best meets our needs here in New Zealand.
Your thoughts and comments are welcome.
Watch the interview from TV3 News as Group Manager for Australian-based GHD , Steve Kanowski, joins Michael Wilson to discuss the pros and cons of public-private partnerships.
