The ACT Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects
has developed a program of talks to provide the local profession, allied
professional bodies, government and the community with a venue for further
debate on the issue of sustainable cities. The theme this year is Opportunities
from Change and each session will focus on opportunities that are arising
through the changes that are occurring to our cities and the ways in which we
might capture these opportunities.
The three presentations at this event were quite interesting:
Michael Harrison's talk about the City of Sydney's sustainability initiatives was eye-opening in terms of the scale of the plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. They plan a 70 per cent emissions reduction over the next 20 years (based on 2006 levels), and for a significant portion of that reduction to come from the roll-out of cogeneration and trigeneration plants across the city. It would be good to look at their total plan to see whether there might be any elements of relevance to Canberra.
Alastair Swayn, the ACT Chief Architect, referred to issues in regenerating Canberra's city centre, including the need for a vision statement, with some associated guidelines or rules to deliver the desired character.
Dorte Ekelund gave an overview of the Commonwealth's current work on a national urban policy that will be released sometime this year.
An interesting issue raised duing discussion was the global white roof movement that is seeking to increase reflection of light and heat by painting roofs white. As one of the speakers pointed out, communities in the Mediterranean have known about the benefits of painting their houses white for an awfully long time, so it's not exactly a new idea.
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