Urban Broadcast Collective

In this episode of This Must Be The Place Elizabeth speaks with Associate Professor Seamus O’Hanlon of Monash University, about his new book, “City Life: the new urban Australia”. To quote the official blurb: “Remember when our cities and inner-cities weren’t dominated by high-rise apartments? This book documents the changes that have come with the globalisation of the Australian city since the 1970s. It tells the story of the major economic, social, cultural and demographic changes that have come with opening up of Australia in those years, with a particular focus on the two biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, which have been transformed. But throughout it also looks at how these changes have played out in the smaller capitals and regional centres. How does one of the most urbanised, multicultural countries in the world see itself? This book challenges received ideas about Australia and how it presents itself to the world, and how in turn many Australians perceive and understand themselves. Rather than rehashing old stereotypes about mateship, the Bush or Anzac, this book places the globalised city and its residents at the heart of new understandings of twenty-first century Australia.” In the podcast, Elizabeth and Seamus discuss deindustrialization; post-industrialization; the field of global histories (tracing the flow of commodities etc – kind of like those ‘salt’, ‘cod’ and other single-item books Elizabeth reads so often); gentrification; successes and failures of deregulation; the rise of the international student industry; tennis and live music and other things governments are desperate to lay claim to; and more. How have the changes wrought by globalization played out in specific Australian places, who wins and who loses, and what are the divisions that remain? What opportunities have been lost? What can a historian’s view offer to urban planners today? Are high-rise student/investor apartments running the risk of becoming the new Fordist factories past? Was Adelaide really a go-ahead city in the early 1970s? Does looking at urban history bring out your inner libertarian? Why don’t Irish people like seat belts? “For all its faults, the post industrial economy can be more inclusive than the old industrial economy. But I think decisions were made – political not economic - to basically say we’re going to write off whole generations and regions, and I think that’s wrong”. “City Life – the new urban Australia” is available through New South Publishing. Unlike Elizabeth’s book you can buy it at normal book shops and it has nice pictures. www.newsouthbooks.com.au/books/city-life/

In this episode PlanningxChange interview Kate Roffey who has extensive experience as a CEO and Senior Executive within the commercial, government and not-for-profit sectors. In her current role as Director Deals, Investment & Major Projects at Wyndham City, Kate is focused on the growth of key international and national industry sectors and facilitating investment from both public and private entities via the creation of innovative deals that leverage value capture concepts to fast track delivery. Kate is also responsible for overseeing major projects in the areas of transport, construction and mixed used developments.

In this episode PlanningxChange interview the dynamic Olivia Christie about her role as a project manager on various large scale commercial projects and specialist developments within the hospitality sector. Olivia talks of the importance of team spirit, co-operative engagement with regulators and the benefits of flexibility. She also talks about what she has learn't as a developer of a high quality mid sized residential development in Melbourne's inner south. Olivia talks about her career development in a traditionally male-dominated industry sector.

Hannah Arendt, in The Origins of Totalitarianism, and on the rise of Anti-Semitism in Europe, recounts a joke popular after the first World War: “an anti-Semite claimed that the Jews had caused the war; the reply was: Yes, the Jews and the bicyclists. Why the bicyclists? Asks the one. Why the Jews? Asks the other”. To Arendt the joke illustrates how scapegoating is understood: if bicyclists seem self-evidently harmless, this incongruity shows deep-seated rationaliation of bigotry against Jewish people. (The book goes on to examine identity, rights, and nation states - or it seems to, Elizabeth has only read 50 of 700-ish pages). In the context of nowadays Australia, the bicycle ‘joke’ resonates less and seems even less funny. Actually it’s hard to believe it was ever funny, but most jokes go flat with time. Cycling issues are divisive both on Australia’s roads and its internet forums. In this episode Elizabeth speaks with two researchers interested, in effect, in questions of “why the bicyclists?”: why are Australians so angry about cycling? Tom Andrews is a PhD student in law at the University of Melbourne writing on the history of criminal procedures. Dr Peter Chambers is a senior lecturer in criminology, global crime and boarder security at RMIT University. They have a shared interest in conflicts between cars and vulnerable road users and recently published an article in the Conversation, “Rising cyclist death toll is mainly due to drivers, so change the road laws and culture”, examining statistics on deaths on Australian roads: 1,222 in 2017-18, with 1,100 due to driver inattention. They are critical of responses focused on high-tech sensors and separated infrastructure: arguing these disavow statistics on causes of cyclist deaths and ‘bake in’ infrastructure for paying less attention. Debates downplay real people and causes of injuries, in favour of anecdotes and hypotheticals – “once saw an X”, “what if a Y”. This contrasts with how other sectors –eg. aviation- respond to risk. It also poses questions. Tom recounts a literally frothing-at-the-mouth encounter with rage about cyclists-“there’s nothing about that level of anger that is easy to explain”–and how a comment moderator told him “in Australian media if you publish a piece on violence against women, or about cycling, there will be a rush of aggressive comments”. The episode discusses how ‘third rail’ cycling issues tap into questions of culture, history, and jurisprudence (how people discuss and understand rules). In criminal law, a separate set of offences for driving was introduced because of reluctance of juries to convict drivers of manslaughter. In civil law, prior to Victoria’s no-fault personal injury insurance, when injury occurred as a result of cars people had to go through the (stressful, costly) general legal system for compensation. Registration in large part pays for TAC insurance, proportionate to risks of injury from different motor vehicles. How does this relate to frequent calls for cyclists to be registered? Is a bike an unregistered vehicle? Peter semi-facetiously suggests arguments for cyclists to be registered are less interested in specific implications for rights and responsibilities than “cyclists should be registered…and then put in camps”. It’s a rambling chat touching many third rails – helmets (“in Australia it’s easier to imagine touching someone’s car as a form of assault to the person, than it is to imagine trusting people to make informed decisions about risk and headwear”), liability (strict versus presumed), parking, property, rights to public space, colonialism and land appropriation, gender, f-bombs, ‘boulie tacks’. And Big Lebowski quotes (“at least it’s an ethos”).

Sadie Black: Café and community in Melbourne’s West. Melbournians have been told for thirty plus years now that café society has been a key driver in cultural growth, valuing of place, and foundation of communities (cue Ray Oldenberg). David has been ‘on the ground’ for the last year or more tracking the rise and rise of Sadie Black, a café in his neighbourhood in Melbourne’s west. He spoke to the owners, Chris and Meaghan Blackwell, about their hopes and ideals, the gamble of opening a café in the first place, and the local response.

“Aim for nicer toilets, that’s my main tip for Australia”: Perspectives on Japanese cities from an 8-year old Australian, Juliette. This episode of This Must Be The Place is a kind of follow-up to the late-2017 episode, “Three travelling planners discuss their initial impressions of Japanese cities”, in which Elizabeth, Helen and Nicole did a round-up of their impressions – as planners and geographers, but largely uninformed by research – of Japanese cities in comparison to Australia. Here we hear impressions of Japan from a slightly different perspective – courtesy of Juliette, who is 8 years old and one of Elizabeth’s nieces, and who recently spent about 2 weeks on holiday in Japan. The episode was recorded at a dinner party in Jan’s backyard (so there’s a bit of plate clanking, and chattering, and some other guests including Nyoko from Japan sometimes chiming in). Juliette discusses: • Toilets - “aim for nicer toilets, that’s my main tip for Australia”; • Streets – with crowds of people, but “there wasn’t that many cars, and people were just walking in the middle of the road”; • Children walking to school (in single file, parentless, and on Saturdays); • Riding bikes, without helmets; • Traffic - “they drove considerably noticeably slower than they do here, and they weren’t eager to run the people on the bikes over” (a bit of link to the recent TMBTP episode on ‘roads, rights and rage’); • The uncomfortable dynamics of cat, owl, and other animal cafes (at one “there were 5 cats lined up at the window just looking out”); • Trains (bullet, rapid, and local) - “and there was one running pretty much every 5 minutes”; • Food – wasabi octopus, kit kats, vending machines, milk tea; • Making sense of the world via dire warning cartoons; and • (Perhaps a bit too much for a planning podcast) things about Harry Potter, porcupines, and video games. There are also musings on the dynamics of public space in different countries. The day after returning to Australia, there was “a man doing graffiti in the telephone booth”, and Sarah (Juliette’s mother’s) bike got stolen. Juliette reflects on how unexpected things like this rarely happened to them as tourists in Japan, which has some pros and cons. “My overall conclusion is there’s some things which I would definitely miss about Japan” (for example “I miss everyone actually being polite to you”), “but then there’s some things which you just have none of in Japan, like crazy guys, or graffiti artists”. Also preferred (in a way) about Australia is “you never know what’s going to happen – like you never know when someone’s going to steal your bike”.

PlanningxChange 46 features Doctor Elizabeth Taylor academic and podcaster ('This Must be the Place' – fellow UBC member). Her first book 'Dry Zones: Planning and the Hangovers of Liquor Licensing History' considers the temperance movement of the late 19th and early 20th century and the campaign for 'local control' of alcohol outlets in Victoria Australia. The author makes the case that these campaigns helped form the basis of contemporary planning practice. Also that many of the contested planning battles of today echo the events of 100 years ago.

In PX45, author David Sornig discusses his recently published book 'Blue Lake'. It concerns an area adjacent the Melbourne CBD known for many years as 'Dudley Flats'. This area contained squatter camps, rubbish dumps, noxious industry and the working infrastructure of the metropolis. Originally a place of pristine beauty, hence the title of the book, the area was degraded and became 'the other', a place outside respectable Melbourne. A wonderful pseudo - geographical study of an urban area typically overlooked.

A special podcast by PX as part of the PIA Victorian Division 2018 Symposium – In PX42, Jess Noonan and Peter Jewell interview Pru Goward. Pru is the New South Wales Minister for Family and Community Services, Minister for Social Housing and Minister for the prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. An earlier portfolio included Minister for Planning. Prior to Parliament Pru was Australia's Sexual Discrimination Commissioner. She had a long career at the ABC where she received many awards including a special Walkey Award. A wide ranging discission on public policy and the need for fresh ideas. (PX42).

In PX 44, Jess Noonan and Peter Jewell interview long term journalist and author Peter Mares about his new book 'No Place Like Home: Repairing Australia's Housing Crisis'. An interesting discussion on contemporary housing and planning policy in Australia.