RMIT University and the University of Tasmania are hosting a Summit on ‘New Ideas for Australia’s Cities‘ on 16 August 2007, State Library, Melbourne. The Urban 45 Summit is an initiative of leading urban and housing researchers. Both the Summit and the resulting document will focus on the complex and integrated problems in Australia’s regional centres and major cities. All are welcome and the event is free. Numbers are limited so please book early. The details and registration are to be found on www.rmit.edu.au/ahuri/urban45 or email urban 45 @rmit.edu.au.

Barbara Norman, Global Cities Institute, RMIT University

Posted on the email listserve, Greenleap, was this article by Matthew Wright from the independent action group, Beyond Zero Emissions. Although posted back in April, this article tracks some of the recent uptake of local Councils and businesses in Melbourne who are responding to climate change by taking the carbon neutral pledge. Read on for a summary of recent action with links at the end of the article for more information. This post also serves as an excellent complement to an earlier article written on this site, click here.

Zero In On Good Council
Matthew Wright, Beyond Zero Emissions
10 April 07 – Melbourne, Australia

Australian local governments are at the forefront of widespread institutional solutions to combat the catastrophic effects of climate change, seizing the opportunity to lead with Zero Emissions targets and local action plans.

Whilst Federal Government is blind to the urgency, local councillors are envisaging collective futures based on renewable energies and ecologically sustainable development. The public has awoken to the dire consequences of climate change and local councillors have taken note.
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This seminar being held by Swinburne University on the 27 July, is a discussion and critique of the Melbourne 2030 plan by Professor Terry Burke and Professor Peter Newton, Institute for Social Research, Faculty of Life and Social Sciences, Swinburne University. Terry Burke is professor in the Cities and Housing area of the ISR and was involved as a consultant on the housing aspects of Melbourne 2030. Peter Newton is the author of Transitions: Pathways to More Sustainable Urban Development in Australia, to be published in November 2007.

Time: 12.30 to 1.30pm
Venue: Building EN204, Swinburne University, Burwood Rd, Hawthorn
More Information: Faculty of Life and Social Sciences, Swinburne University

The Cities Feeding People- ‘Grow it where you live! Conference was held in Melbourne from 20 to 25th March, 2007. It was the fourth annual conference of the Australian City Farms and Community Gardens Network. The conference showcased many of the successful projects that already exist in Victoria as well as promoting discussion on projects from around Australia and worldwide. The keynote talks have now been published as audio files that are able to be downloaded from the CERES website; http://www.ceres.org.au/community/conference.htm. The evaluation of the Conference can also be downloaded from the Australian City Farms and Community Gardens website at http://www.communitygarden.org.au/.

The Australian Centre for Science, Innovation and Society (ACSIS) would like to invite you to the following event, put on by one of the projects it supports.

Climate Change and Rural Health
A one day seminar on the challenge of climate change for health in rural and regional Victoria

What will the impact of climate change be on the well-being of people in rural and regional Victoria? How should this be affecting future policy and research agendas? These questions will be addressed by experts from universities, government and community organisations in this one day seminar to be opened by the Honourable Bronwyn Pike, Minister for Health.
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This talk will feature three key speakers; Mr Todd Harper who will lead a seminar featuring Dr Kami Pothukuchi and Professor Rob Moodie discussing the role for Planners in community and regional food systems.

Todd commenced as the CEO of VicHealth in April 2007 after spending many years in tobacco control and health promotion in both Victoria and Tasmania. He has a degree in economics, a postgraduate diploma in health promotion and a graduate diploma in health economics.

Kami is Associate Professor of Urban Planning at Wayne State University, USA. Her research examines the links between food and the health of communities, and the roles public and not for profit agencies might play to foster these links. Dr Pothukuchi has written and spoken extensively concerning the contributions of urban agriculture to neighbourhood health, efforts to attract grocery supermarkets to underserved communities, community food assessments, and roles of urban planning agencies in building more sustainable food systems.
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Introduction to Energy Management equips participants with a broad understanding of energy use, assessment and auditing techniques. The course provides coverage of key fundamental issues, energy use patterns, equipment types and retrofit technologies. Follow up support is provided to participants and site visits can be arranged on request. The training course is made with reference to Aus Standards level 1 – 3, and EPA SEPP.

Content
Energy Fundamentals
Units, conversions, fuel GHG content
Energy Use in residential, commercial and industrial context
Energy facts; sector / fuel use
Energy Audit Process Read the rest of this entry »

The environmental not-for-profit, Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF), has recently released the Consumption Atlas, a new interactive online tool that reveals that “people living in Australia’s wealthiest metropolitan areas are responsible for the country’s highest household greenhouse pollution based on their levels of consumption of goods and services.”

Below is an article from the ACF website (or click here) with more details about the Atlas and household consumption. To go directly to the Atlas go to http://www.acfonline.org.au/custom_atlas/index.html.

ACF’s Consumption Atlas enables Australians to view the greenhouse pollution created by households in their suburb. The Atlas shows that the more things people buy, the greater their contribution to climate change. ACF is encouraging householders to be smarter with how they spend their money, and consider the impact of their purchasing behaviour on the environment.
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The GLOBAL CITIES INSTITUTE holds a variety of forums which relate to the topic of sustainable cities. The most relevant upcoming forums for this topic are:

Urban Infrastructure Program: Projects in Shanghai
With speaker, Malcolm Smith from ARUPS, London
Thursday 2 August

And;

Urban 45: New Ideas for Australia’s Cities
A unique and exciting opportunity for policy makers, planners, academics, researchers and all those interested in the future of our cities to participate in a forum focusing on key policy issues. Speakers include Professor Paul James (Director, Global Cities Institute) and Michael Lennon (Disability Housing Trust, Victoria). Read the rest of this entry »

Community Sustainability Seminar - RMIT Global Cities Institute, Thursday 19th July 2007

The Community Sustainability Program of the Global Cities Institute is pleased to invite you to the second session in their seminar series. These seminars are open to researchers interested in the issues of community sustainability in global cities. The following presentations will be given at the seminar:

1. Dr Ruth Lane, School of Global Studies Political geographies and carbon economies of used household commodities.
In first world countries such as Australia, new market niches are emerging for energy or water efficient goods as affluent consumers upgrade to reduce their environmental footprint and the costs of running their households. While conventional economic drivers work well for technological innovation, an exclusive focus on the production of new commodities hides the significance of the circulation and disposal of existing commodity items

2. Anuja Cabraal, School of Economics, Finance and Marketing Microfinance- a case of building social and financial inclusion in a developed world context.
The presentation will focus on poverty alleviation in Australia, particularly in the context of social and financial inclusion. This will be followed with an outline the current arena of Microfinance in Australia.

Date: Thursday 19 July 2007
Time: 3.30-4.30pm
Venue: Meeting Room, Building 37, level 5 (Please note this is the regular venue for the seminars)
RSVP: There will be light refreshments served, please rsvp to: michelle.farley @rmit.edu.au