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12 September 2011 – 9:45 am

Conference: Urban Design: The Art of Memorable Places

21 & 22 November Auckland 28 & 29 November Wellington

http://www.conferenz.co.nz/training/urban-design-art-memorable-places

Conference: Planning Law Update

The latest legal and political discussions impacting planning today

5 December, 2011, Stamford Plaza, Auckland
Regular changes to the legal and regulatory framework of planning law mean the landscape in which planners work becomes increasingly complex. Keeping up with Court rulings and legislation updates is essential, but can prove to be complicated and time consuming.

Keep up-to-date with the Planning Law Update conference bringing you a one-stop supply of all the latest legal activities affecting planning. This one day event is packed full of the most recent developments and also provides a perfect opportunity to network with your peers.

Masterclass: Mediation and Caucusing for Planners Masterclass
Providing the necessary skills to resolve environmental disputes

6 December, 2011, Stamford Plaza, Auckland

With a demand increase in alternative dispute resolution processes in planning, Mediator Gay Pavelka will provide you with the essential tools to understand and facilitate a mediation and ensure an efficient caucus process.

Click here to view the full agenda and register.
P.S. Don’t forget about share a ticket offer: If you would like to attend the conference and have a colleague attend the workshop, book at the same time and save up to $495.

9 September 2011 – 10:56 am
Also posted in NZ policy issues and news & events and research

Why we need a National Research Agenda – 2 perspectives

Cr Andy Foster from Wellington City Council spoke on the benefits of having a national research agenda for a city council. He reinforced the priorities for research of Metropolitan Urban Limits, How to incentivise and work with developers. He noted the real need at a local government level for tools and scenario planning.

Melanie Thornton spoke from a regional government perspective:
WGN_DOCS-#963459-v1-Presentation_to_Centre_for_Sust_Cities_2

Sarah McDermott spoke from the Ministry for Science and Innovation:
Sarah_s ppt

9 September 2011 – 10:44 am
Also posted in NZ policy issues and news & events and research

Towards a National Research Agenda for Urban Sustainability

On the 7th of September we held a meeting of councils and central government agencies and some business interests to discuss the priorities for urban research and how we might get that happening. The following powerpoints represent a selection of research currently happening within the Centre:

2011New Zealand Centre for Sustainable Citiesa

Chapman (7sep11) Urban form & intensification – for website

Robin Kearns Urban Sustainability 7 Sept

CEC research agenda workshop LIUDD and infrastructure 6 9

Indigenous knowledge and sustainable urban development – research questions

pengjun zhao_WILUTE_7thSep2011

27 June 2011 – 2:36 pm
Also posted in NZ policy issues and news & events and research and urban design

Growth Misconduct? Avoiding sprawl and improving urban intensification in NZ – Available for purchase

Growth Misconduct? Avoiding sprawl and improving urban intensification in New Zealand
Edited by Karen Witten, Wokje Abrahamse & Keriata Stuart

New Zealand’s population is expected to grow by one million people in the next 20 years. The arrival of ‘peak oil’ and accumulating evidence of climate change force us to reconsider the way we grow our cities. This book provides insights into the multifaceted practice of urban intensification. It highlights both the promise and the limitations of planning models such as smart growth and new urbanism in New Zealand cities. Growth Misconduct? is intended to further our knowledge, spark debate and help us think critically about ways to create livable, beautiful, environmentally sustainable and prosperous cities. The book highlights where intensification has gone wrong to enable planners and designers to overcome these barriers and work towards models of urban intensification that will bring environmental, social and economic gains.

rrp $34.99
Steele Roberts Aotearoa Box 9321, Wellington, New Zealand
+64 4 499 0044 info@steeleroberts.co.nz www.steeleroberts.co.nz

9 May 2011 – 10:23 am

Hansen’s NZ Tour, May 2011 Correction to Auckland start time

Thurs 12th May: Auckland: public lecture

6.30pm

(not 6pm as previously noted)

, University of Auckland Business School, OGGB4, Level 0, Owen Glenn Building, 12 Grafton Road.

19 April 2011 – 1:01 pm
Also posted in climate change and news & events

James Hansen’s NZ Tour Dates

James Hansen will be touring New Zealand next month, giving a public lecture entitled “Climate Change: a scientific, moral and legal issue” in Auckland, Palmerston North, Wellington, Dunedin, Gore and Christchurch.

Coal and lignite will be a major focus of his visit, and he’ll be participating in a symposium on “the future of coal” in Wellington on May 17th.

Hansen’s tour is being sponsored by a number of groups, including 350.org, Greenpeace, Organic Systems NZ, Oxfam, The Pure Advantage, the Institute of Policy Studies, and a number of interested academics and individuals.

Hansen’s NZ Tour, May 2011
Thurs 12th May: Auckland: public lecture 6pm, University of Auckland Business School, OGGB4, Level 0, Owen Glenn Building, 12 Grafton Road.

Fri 13th May: Palmerston North: public lecture 1.30-2.45pm, Japan Lecture Theatre, Massey University.

Mon 16th May: Wellington: public lecture 5.45pm, Rutherford House, welcomed by Mayor Celia Wade-Brown.

Tues 17th May: Wellington: 8.45 am – 5.30 pm IPS Symposium on the Future of Coal (pdf) Victoria University: (he will speak 10.20 to 11.30, on panel 4pm -5.30pm).

Wed 18th May: Dunedin: public lecture5.30 – 7pm, St David’s Lecture Hall.

Thurs 19th May: Gore: 2 pm public meeting hosted by Mataura Landcare group, Gore District Council.

Friday 20th May: Christchurch: public talk 5.30 pm, hosted by Kennedy Graham, MP, venue to be confirmed.

Saturday 21st May: Auckland: Daytime event to be confirmed.

18 April 2011 – 10:53 am
Also posted in climate change and health

Climate Change and Health papers

Global Climate Change And Health –A New Theme For Research in Environmental Medicine.
The ‘Hothaps’ programme for assessing climate change impacts on occupational health and productivity: an invitation to carry out field studies.

31 March 2011 – 11:41 am
Also posted in climate change

summary of the IPCC Expert Meeting on Human Settlements and Infrastructure

Thanks to Professor Alistair Woodward for providing us with this brief summary of the IPCC Expert Meeting on Human Settlements and Infrastructure – March 22-24, Kolkata

The 4th Assessment Report had no stand alone section on urban issues, despite the importance of cities as an economic force and the centre of population growth world-wide. It has been resolved that the 5th Report will focus more explicitly on settlements and the related issue of infrastructure, and also will attempt to bridge more satisfactorily the work of Working Group 2 (impacts and adaptation) and Working Group 3 (mitigation). It might be noted also that AR4 focused strongly on technology and efficiency as responses to climate change; here there is an opportunity to take a broader approach, and examine the systemic and structural influences on land use and energy consumption.

31 March 2011 – 11:36 am
Also posted in NZ policy issues and behaviour change and climate change and health and housing & building and news & events and transport and urban design and urban governance

Call for Papers 2011 PHA Conference

Themes and streams

1. A vision for the future of public health: for projects or work that suggest new ways of working in public health or successful models of intervention.
2. Sustainable communities and environments: for projects or work that suggest ways of sustaining strong communities and safe environments.
3. Diversity: for projects or activities that reflect health development issues for specific communities or groups of people.

More details available on the website

30 March 2011 – 3:29 pm

New UN Habitat report

The world’s cities are responsible for up to 70 per cent of harmful greenhouse gases while occupying just 2 per cent of its land.

This report explores the threats and opportunities of our cities in relation to climate change.

22 March 2011 – 1:04 pm
Also posted in climate change and news & events

Call for Papers – Cities at Risk: Building Adaptive Capacities for Managing Climate Change

Taipei, Taiwan
April 11-13, 2011
Asian coastal cities are increasingly vulnerable to flooding disasters resulting from the combined effects of climate change (sea level rise, intensified storms, and storm surges), land subsidence, and rapid urban growth. As a part of the ongoing multi‐year effort titled “Cities at Risk” (CAR), which aims to reduce risks and vulnerabilities of Asian coastal cities brought on by climate change and urban growth, a series of international conferences were envisaged. The first such conference, CAR I, was held in Bangkok in February 2009 with support from APN, ICSU and Ibaraki University (Japan). Since then a number of priority activities have taken place, including formation of active city teams working on vulnerability assessment issues and establishment
of the IRDR International Center of Excellence at Academia Sinica in Taipei. Other cities throughout Asia are also establishing national centers for disaster risk management. Hence, a second international conference –
CAR II – is now being organized with support from Academia Sinica and other partners to assess progress, to consolidate a network of researchers, decision‐makers and institutions in the region and to identify priorities for the next several years.
Details here:

11 March 2011 – 9:58 am
Also posted in housing & building and news & events

Bristol Celebrates Insulation

The event – entitled “Insulation Celebration” will take place on Sunday 20th March. 8 Homes will be opening across the city featuring interesting retrofitting solutions to wall, floor and loft insulation, 1 is a new build, and a couple are designed to Passiv Haus standards – so some really interesting things to see. Also, representatives from the construction companies involved in the projects will be available at a minimum of 4 homes, and architects who designed the retrofits at a further 2-3. This should provide some really valuable information that students, staff and general public can learn from.

Because we are so thrilled with what we have put together we have also given our website (www.bristolgreendoors.org) a makeover! Like some of the homes, the refurbishment is still in progress but we hope you will like the new features that are already up and running and will find items of interest. From Monday it will include a booking system necessary for visiting the homes.

So, if you are considering insulating your walls (and from my own personal experience I can assure you it makes a fantastic difference) find out more and plan on visiting some homes on the 20th. You could come with a neighbour and consider how a joint scheme might work. Alternatively pass this on to a friend or someone who you think will be interested.

1 March 2011 – 3:53 pm

Renewable Energy: Current global trends and possible long term futures

Tuesday, 15th March 2011 from 12-1.30pm
Terrace Conference Centre, 114 The Terrace, Wellington

Dr Eric Martinot, Teaching Fellow, Victoria University of Wellington and Senior Research Director, Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies, Japan.

PDF Flyer

17 September 2010 – 8:25 am
Also posted in climate change and health and news & events

20th International Clean Air and Environment Conference – Call for Abstracts

Christchurch Convention Centre
Christchurch, New Zealand
Tuesday 5th – Friday 8th July 2011

Call for abstracts document

19 July 2010 – 2:09 pm
Also posted in NZ policy issues and news & events and transport

Seminar – Tourism and Oil

Susanne Becken, Associate Professor, Lincoln University
Hosted by Victoria University of Wellington, Tourism Management Group

Wednesday 28 July at 12.15 – 13.15- followed by coffee
Board Room, Level 12, Rutherford House
ALL WELCOME Read More »