Archive for February, 2008
HAN BREZET LECTURE CANCELLED
Posted in Events, Sustainable Cities Round Tables, Visions by Ferne Edwards on February 5th, 2008
Unfortunately the Han Brezet public lecture, “How do we harness creativity?“, which was to be held TONIGHT, Wednesday 6pm at the Carrillo Gantner Theatre, Sidney Myer Asia Centre, the University of Melbourne, has been CANCELLED due to Prof Brezet having a medical emergency en-route. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused - please forward this email to others you know who planned to attend. At this stage we are not able to re-book the event.
Design Victoria, one of the partners for the event will be holding their seminar, “Sustainable packaging trends and opportunities“, on 13 February 2008. This will feature a presentation by Professor Scott Boylston from Savannah College of Art and Design (USA), together with a panel of experts, this seminar will consider the role designers play in designing sustainable packaging - Book a place. See the attached pdf for more details.
For updates about future sustainability events in Melbourne, visit www.SustainableMelbourne.com.
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Event reminder - Tomorrow night (Wednesday 6 February) - Han Brezet to speak
Posted in Events, Movements, Policies, Research, Sustainable Cities Round Tables, Visions by Ferne Edwards on February 5th, 2008
How do we harness creativity for a sustainable future? Design, Innovation, Opportunities and Dilemmas – A view from The Netherlands
Professor Han Brezet Head, Design for Sustainability (D4S), Technical University of Delft; City Innovator, Rotterdam; TV Judge, ‘Best Ideas of the Netherlands’
Prof Brezet’s work has supported many famous new products and entrepreneurial activities: the Rotterdam Sustainable Dance Club; Formula Zero (hydrogen fuel cell racing); the Friesland Solar-boat Challenge; the Mitka for Nike; portable electric vehicles; SustainableRotterdam.com; home biogas generators; bamboo products… In the Netherlands, as in Australia, the reality of climate change is shifting the focus of design and innovation from eco-products to new services, new institutions new life-styles and to greater engagement of the community in re-inventing the future.
Sustainability Victoria, the City of Melbourne, the Victorian Eco-Innovation Lab, SustainableMelbourne.com and Design Victoria are pleased to invite you to this important free public lecture by an important ECO-LEAD visitor to Melbourne*.
Wednesday 6 February 2008 6pm to 7.30pm (followed by drinks) Carrillo Gantner Theatre, Sidney Myer Asia Centre, University of Melbourne, Swanston Street, opposite end of Faraday Street, Carlton. Visit http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/venuehire/general/maps.html for a map of the campus.
Professor Han Brezet is head of the oldest Design for Sustainability program in Europe at the Technical University of Delft. He is the City Innovator for Rotterdam, charged with generating new interests, possibilities and collaborations, for the future of Rotterdam. He has focused on the creation of ‘creative city platforms for change’, bringing together designers and design students with industry, government and the community to envision new possibilities for Rotterdam’s development. He is also one of three judges for the “Best Ideas of The Netherlands” TV reality show - one of the most popular reality television shows on Dutch TV in which thousands of people compete to get their ‘invention’ to the market (think The New Inventors meets Australian Idol).
Prof Brezet is also a leader of the research and development program of the Cartesius Institute for Sustainable Innovation in Friesland and a Professorial Fellow of the Australian Centre for Science, Innovation and Society (ACSIS) at the University
of Melbourne.
This lecture will contribute to the development of Future Melbourne, the City of Melbourne’s plan for the future of the city in 2020 and beyond.
* ‘ECO-LEAD: Leading thinking in eco-innovation’ is a program of Sustainability Victoria and VEIL (the Victorian Eco-Innovation Lab at the University of Melbourne).
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Comment - Melbourne - A Car Free City
Posted in Policies by Ferne Edwards on February 4th, 2008
The section below is republished with permission from the Going Solar Transport Newsletter #44, 30 January 2008, compiled by Stephen Ingrouille. Going Solar, www.goingsolar.com.au/transport. This newsletter provides an excellent commentary on local sustainable transport issues in Melbourne.
Melbourne - A Car Free City
“A new pedestrian junction is needed at Flinders Street. It must be easy to walk down Swanston Street and cross to St Kilda Road. There are several options: blocking Flinders Street, dropping Flinders Street to make a vehicle underpass, or making a diagonal pedestrian crossing and limiting traffic to one lane. The aim should be to connect Swanston Street more comfortably with Federation Square, Flinders Street Station and the arts precinct. The second stage — easy once the first step is taken — is to make the area bounded by Elizabeth, Russell, Flinders and La Trobe streets into a pedestrian precinct. The car parks must be closed. The land is too valuable to waste on car parking. The top end of Swanston Street must be redesigned and landscaped to make more space for walking, and a clear connection to the residential district and Melbourne University. There is a constant flow of students and others between Melbourne University, RMIT & the city. The City Baths corner of Swanston and Victoria Parade is an important city gateway, but at present it’s an ugly mess. A car-free central Melbourne can be created without improvement to the public transport network, but it will work much better with improved train, tram and bus services. A car-free city will be not just for the people who live there, but for all Melburnians.”
Ref: Nicholas Low, The Age, 9/9/07
“The key to reducing congestion on the eastwest corridor is to eliminate many of the single occupant vehicles that take this route every day. The only transport option that will encourage people out of their cars is a heavy rail link. So, Mr Brumby, build a tunnel, but put trains through it, not more cars.”
Ref: James Christou, The Age, 18/12/07
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Event - A Taste of Slow - 22 - 24 February
Posted in Events, Movements by Ferne Edwards on February 1st, 2008
The upcoming A Taste of Slow Festival’s program features a 2 1/2 day program of Spoken Word sessions on food politics, ethics and sustainability. They also have an amazing array of international and Australian speakers including Percy Schmeiser (the canola farmers sued by Monsanto), Helena Norberg Hodge, Greg Critser (author of Fat Land), Mel Ware (river activist from PNG) and several Melbourne locals who will be talking about how to eat sustainably in the city.
As part of the convivia events, there’s an urban food garden tour and several food gardening workshops in regional Victoria. This year, Slow Food Victoria is also launching are our first short film competition - Slow Shorts (www.slowshorts.com) and Feast on Film, a festival of documentaries about the politics of how we eat (http://www.acmi.net.au/feast_on_film.aspx). It should be a very exciting event with something for everyone.
The website and the program can be accessed at www.atasteofslow.com.au. Also find the pdf document of the program below. Check it out!
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