To celebrate our 100th episode we re-interview four of our previous guests. We ask them about their experiences with the podcast and what has happened in their professional sphere since their earlier interview.
To begin with, Jess has a brief introduction where she explains the origins of PX and the subsequent journey over the past eight years.
Our first guest is Chris Abery, one of Australia's leading retail planning analysts. Chris is at the consultancy Deep End Services
https://www.deependservices.com.au
Chris was our very first guest (PX1) on the podcast which was released on 7 December 2014. His podcast extra recommendation is 'get a dog'. His is named 'Freddie'.
Our second guest is Liz Hui, an accoustic engineer who is at Marshall Day
https://www.marshallday.com.au
She is also a Planning Panels Victoria Member. Liz appeared in PX73 which was released on the 22nd December 2020. Her podcast extra recommendation is the Melbourne School of Design (MSD) Youtube channel where a video featuring Trevor Cox 'Soundscapes' should hopefully appear soon. The MSD Youtube channel is at
https://www.youtube.com/@MelbourneSchoolofDesign-MSD
Our third guest is Mark Sheppard, an urban design expert and author. Mark is at Kinetica
https://www.kinetica.net.au/home/
He is also the President of VPELA, our major sponsor
Mark appeared in PX14 on the 10th December 2015. His podcast extra recommendation is 'Antifragile - Things That Gain from Disorder' by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
Our final guest is Nicola Smith, an urban planner who has her business Niche Planning Studio, which has offices in Melbourne and Perth.
https://www.nicheplanningstudio.com.au
Nicola appeared in PX12 which was released on the 30th October 2015. Her podcast extra recommendation is 'Love Island'
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Island_Australia
The edition finishes with some closing comments by Jess and Pete.
Audio production by Jack Bavage. The episode was released on 14 December 2022.
In PlanningxChange episode 99 our guest is Alex Fenech, a landscape architect based in Florida. At the time we recorded the interview Alex was a Vice President at EDSA (https://www.edsaplan.com) one of America’s leading landscape and urban design firms.
Alex is the past President of ALSA Florida (American Society of Landscape architects) - https://www.aslaflorida.org/AboutFL
In a wide ranging interview Alex talks of the many parts of a landscape architect’s role. These include not just technical knowledge such as soil types and nutrients, drainage and plant characteristics but also an understanding of how people relate to settings. Alex outlines that ‘people’ are not one standard type but that there are social, cultural and generational differences on how we perceive our environment, and the landscape design needs to understand the variety of user experiences. He talks of the need to plan for the life of a landscape environment in terms of care and maintenance, which is often overlooked.
Alex discusses the considerable amenity uplift that well considered landscaping can provide to a variety of settings including as a ‘link’ between buildings, town and city image and the improvement that well curated landscaping can have on heavily used transport corridors. A number of EDSA projects are mentioned as examples.
He talks of understanding the client brief and the skill in ‘steering’ a client to possibilities they might not have expected. There are a number of examples he provides in America and overseas where landscaping and urban form produce outstanding sensory perceptions.
In Podcast extra or Culture Corner (a segment inspired by the ‘London Calling’ podcast), Alex recommends ‘Drain the Oceans’ shown on National Geographic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drain_the_Oceans), this program considers the ocean floor using underwater scanning systems that bring new insights into archeology and sometimes challenge conventional wisdom.
Jess praises the movie ‘The Lost City of Melbourne’. https://www.thelostcityofmelbourne.org which considers many of the demolished buildings of Melbourne which in contemporary times would obtain heritage listing. Her second ‘extra’ is the book ‘The couple upstairs’, by Holly Wainwright https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781761263071/. ‘Writing with both a light touch and vivid intensity, Holly Wainwright explores love, regret, whether you can stop history repeating, and whether or not you should.’
Pete talks about his life long interest in bushrangers and the website: https://aguidetoaustralianbushranging.com.
Audio production by Jack Bavage. The episode was released on 28 October 2022.
In PlanningxChange episode 98 our guest is Tim Ellis one of the world’s leading magicians. Details about Tim are found at https://www.timellismagic.com and at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Ellis_(magician)
What do magic and city planning have in common? The connection to this episode is Tim organising the Melbourne Magic Festival - MMF (https://melbournemagicfestival.com). This is the largest magic festival in the Southern Hemisphere. It typically occurs late June/early July each year. It consists of a main venue in central Melbourne comprising four different sized theatres and various satellite venues in Melbourne’s suburbs and country Victoria. The festival is a purely private venture receiving no public support grants.
How is a festival put together? What are the logistics, what makes it a success? How does one gauge success? What does it mean for the host city?
Tim with many years of experience organising and financing the MMF is well placed to answer these questions and illuminate the creative impulses and tensions putting on one of Australia’s best events.
In Podcast extra or Culture Corner (a segment inspired by the ‘London Calling’ podcast), Tim recommends any ‘Derren Brown Specials’ (on Netflix), master magician and on Disney +, ‘In & of itself’ by Frank Oz. (preview at www.youtube.com/watch?v=_62BeXxd_jo)
Jess praises the work and resources available through local historical societies (in Victoria see https://www.historyvictoria.org.au/societies/). Pete talks of an article he has had published in ‘Bellcord’, the newsletter of the Melbourne Tram Museum (https://www.trammuseum.org.au/bellcord.htm) about the Tramway Union Banner of 1916.
Audio production by Jack Bavage. The episode was released on 2 October 2022.
In PlanningxChange episode 97 our guest is David Beaumont one of Australia's leading landscape and portrait painters. David is based in the historic seaside town of Queenscliff. From there he embarks on various solitary sojourns to the outback to immerse himself in the breadth and depth of the Australian landscape. He is also a frequent observer of the gritty parts of Melbourne where he observes the human condition in its rawest expression.
We are fortunate to have him on the podcast to talk about art in the city, a topic far from strategic master plans and city planning ordinances. The discussion rambles through art history, contemporary approaches to public art, the palette of the city and the absurdity of life.
Audio production by Jack Bavage. The episode was released on 1 September 2022.
In PlanningxChange episode 96 our guest is Simon Kuestenmacher, one of Australia’s leading demographers.
Simon is a Director and Co-founder of The Demographics Group based in Melbourne, Australia.
Simon holds degrees in geography from leading universities in Berlin and Melbourne and worked for several years as a business consultant with KPMG Australia.
In 2017 Simon, with Bernard Salt, co-founded The Demographics Group. The group provides specialist advice on demographic, consumer and social trends for business.
Simon has presented to numerous corporate and industry audiences across Australia and overseas on demographic trends, consumer insights and cultural change in Australia.
His presentations and quirky observations are enjoyed by groups from the financial services, property, government, education, technology, retail and professional services industries, among others.
Simon is a columnist for The New Daily newspaper and a contributor to The Australian newspaper and he is a media commentator on demographic and data matters.
Simon has amassed 300,000 global followers on social media, reaches over 25 million people every month and ranks as one of the world’s Top 10 influencers in data visualisation. If you can’t get enough of data that explains how the world works, make sure to follow him on Twitter or any of his other social channels.
Audio production by Jack Bavage. The episode was released on 1 August 2022.
In PlanningxChange episode 95 our guest is Lucinda Hartley. Her bio reads as follows: ‘Urban designer turned entrepreneur, Lucinda Hartley uses big data to measure the quality of life and wellbeing of neighbourhoods. She is a co-founder of Neighbourlytics, a social analytics platform which has created data for more than 500 neighbourhoods in over 10 countries and is influencing some of world’s most significant urban development decisions. Lucinda was recently named as one of 100 Women of Influence by the Australian Financial Review and one of Melbourne's Top 100 most influential people by The Age.
With over a decade of experience in urban innovation, Lucinda was a Myer Innovation Fellow, Westpac Social Change Fellow, and was previously co-founder and CEO of award-winning placemaking consultancy, CoDesign Studio. Prior to this her insights contributed to defining UN Sustainable Development Goal 11 (Cities). A designer turned tech-founder, Lucinda is alumni of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Singularity University. Lucinda doesn’t separate work and personal life: first we shape our cities, then they shape us.’
Audio production by Jack Bavage. The episode was released on 11 July 2022.
In PlanningxChange episode 94 our guest is Laura Gannon an Associate Director at Meridan Urban with almost 20 years of experience in strategic land use planning, bushfire risk and community resilience across both the public and private sectors. Laura specialises in management consulting approaches to the integration of natural hazard risk management into land use planning policy and strategy, with a particular emphasis on bushfire risk and resilience, floodplain risk management and climate adaptation. She has extensive experience in the areas of planning policy, strategic and statutory planning accumulated through a number of senior leadership positions.
Laura is a corporate member of PIA, Member of the Fire Protection Association of Australia and the Australian Institute of Emergency Services. Laura holds relevant Planning, Bushfire Management and Project Management qualifications.
Audio production by Jack Bavage. The episode was released on 14 June 2022.
In PlanningxChange 93 the tables are turned and we are interviewed. PX was a guest at the Ratio Consultants breakfast speaker series. Colleen Peterson (PX23), the CEO of Ratio presented and asked questions. The interview reveals the formation of PX, the mechanics of how we put interviews together, what we have learnt and how we work together. A bit self indulgent but there you go. We hope you enjoy this.
The interview was recorded on the 7th April 2022. Interview produced by Jack Bavage. The podcast release date is the 18th May 2022.
In PlanningxChange episode 92 the subject is Phil Priest, Group Manager City Development at the Moreland City Council. The following is an extract from VPELA's Journal 'Revue' of October 2021 which described Phil’s career and his recent awarding of the Paul Jerome Award for contributions to the public sector.
“When planners think of Moreland Council, they think of Phil Priest. Phil has been a mainstay in planning in the inner city for decades, providing exemplarily service to the public sector and leading Moreland’s successful transition from a dying industrial heartland to a beacon for inner city urban renewal. Phil earn’t his stripes at City of Melbourne, before joining Moreland in
2003 as the Manager of Urban Development. For the next 17 years, he had a variety of managerial and planning roles, including Group Manager City Development, where he led multi disciplinary teams of over 70 professionals with responsibilities for town planning, building and environmental health.
After a brief stint at DELWP as the Director of Developer Approvals and Design, Phil has returned to his old stomping ground at Moreland Council as Acting Director City Futures. But Phil’s contribution to planning and the public sector goes beyond titles. He is very approachable, facilitative and reasonable, always finding a sensible balance between local community pressures to limit development and pursuing urban consolidation in Moreland’s activity centre’s and transit corridors.
As the manufacturing industry dwindled in the 80’s and 90’s, Phil oversaw a seismic shift in Moreland’s industrial precincts that has seen them embrace change and become exemplars for inner city urban renewal.
During his time, Moreland has earned a reputation as a pioneer and leader in Local Government planning circles. He has led many planning initiatives including the Moreland Apartment Design Code prior to the introduction of BADS, the introduction of the ESD Policy in the Moreland Planning Scheme and more recently initiatives to reduce emissions. He has championed planning leadership at Moreland through proactive, forward looking initiatives such as VicSmart for 2 lot subdivisions. These are consistent with Phil’s unwavering commitment to process improvement and driving efficiencies.
Phil directed the implementation of a digital planning system at Moreland, well before others. This proved fortuitous when Covid hit, with Moreland well prepared for the mad scramble away from paper. A quick look at the Moreland website today shows a leading Council who understands their community’s needs and the responsibilities of an effective planning system.
Phil is particularly supportive to planners entering the industry and provides an excellent working environment where staff are encouraged to succeed. His sensible approach and ‘can do’ attitude has earn’t him a solid reputation amongst planners and the wider industry.”
Audio production by Jack Bavage. The episode was released on 27 April 2022.
In PlanningxChange episode 91 we interview Matt Roberts about Ian Nairn, an architectural and planning critic in the UK during the 1950s - 1970s. Matt is an architectural historian and a member of the podcast team that produces About Buildings and Cities. Details are at https://aboutbuildingsandcities.org.
The About Buildings and Cities podcast produced a three part series on Ian Nairn. This is highly recommended as a lively and insightful review of the broad career of Ian Nairn, his times and his impact on the public imagination.
Nairn came to prominence with a special edition of the Architectural Review called ‘Outrage’ published in 1955. In this he coined the term ’Subtopia’ for areas around cities that had been failed by urban planning and lost their sense of place. ‘Outrage’ was followed soon afterwards by ‘Counter-Attack’. Nairn also contributed to various books on British cities and architecture (although not a trained architect) such as ‘The Buildings of England’.
Nairn also contributed to the evolution of guide books most notably with his ‘Nairn’s London’ (1966) and ‘Nairn’s Paris’ (1968).
Of his writings Jonathon Meades has said:
Mere architectural description could not suffice for that land of joke-oak and real rhododendron; what it demands is an acute sense of place and the gift to render that sense. Nairn possessed both, and in his London book he showed a third gift, that of the realization of the emotional power of townscape. That trinity of gifts made him a great poet of the metropolis.
Nairn also enjoyed a lengthy TV career producing programs on various British towns and cities and on places on the continent.
Many of these programs are available through YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQfgA_6HLT0&list=PLzBwppKDCE9BLOqw1SqWdH14H_onhYgWn
The BBC produced a program ‘The Man who fought the planners: The story of ian Nairn’ which is available on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvoXJ1Ye9R4&t=137s
Many of the insights of Nairn are as relevant today as then.
Matt Roberts provides us with a fascinating insight into the life and times and legacy of Nairn; we are very grateful to our podcast ‘cousin’ for sharing this knowledge. Audio production by Jack Bavage. The episode was released on 25 March 2022.
In PlanningxChange episode 90 we interview Scott LaMont the CEO of EDSA, an international planning and landscape architecture consultancy. Scott joined EDSA in 1996 and has been a driving force in the firm’s practice and strategic growth since. Before being named CEO, he was a Studio Leader and Principal for 12 years, instilling the firm’s ethos with a design sensibility and comprehensive approach to projects while fostering long term client relationships. Scott is focused on the big picture tenets of people, client service and vision while leading the 120-person firm towards inspirational design with enthusiasm, devotion, creativity and humility. He is committed to the exploration of sustainable, modern ideals and fostering values which positively personify humanity by balancing superior design and pragmatic business planning. His broad range of global experience spans large scale planning assignments to mixed-use residential, hospitality and urban works that have strengthened EDSA’s reputation as a design leader. The firm has offices in USA cities and in a number of countries. He has a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture, University of Florida.
Audio production by Jack Bavage. The episode was released on 5 March 2022.
Peter was involved in a serious bicycle accident in 2020 that left him a paraplegic and his disability has offered him a unique understanding of the way transport planning affects the movement of people. He looks forward to recommencing his career after a twelve-month recovery period, applying his insights to future projects, and he has already started training to get back on some sort of bicycle.
Audio production by Jack Bavage. The episode was released on 13 February 2022.
PlanningxChange Episode 88, features Catherine Heggen, a town planner with UK and Australian experience over a 35 year career.
Catherine’s 35-year career has been devoted to the provision of project based consulting advice to a wide range of private sector and government clients. Her professional capabilities and experience lie at the intersection of urban planning, statutory control, place making and project facilitation.
Catherine’s experience extends across all aspects of development planning, from high rise inner city apartment complexes, medium density housing projects as well as delivery of social housing models, built form impact analysis and urban design appraisals, innovative greenfield subdivision and ‘environmental living’ communities, institutional master plans and environment impact assessments.
Catherine is the author of professional papers and articles including ‘A Walk on the Wild Side’. The paper was presented at the Victorian Planning and Environmental Law Association Conference 2018.
Catherine has particular skills in development planning often involving urban design, heritage issues and visual landscape impact assessments. She has been Chair of Victoria’s Heritage Council, a Trustee of Melbourne’s Heritage Restoration fund and a jury member of various urban design, planning and landscape institute awards.
Audio production by Jack Bavage. The episode was released on 18 January 2022.