Brisbane urban growth model : an integrated infrastructure management framework for Brisbane, Australia

In recent years, local government infrastructure management practices have evolved from conventional land use planning to more wide ranging and integrated urban growth and infrastructure management approaches. The roles and responsibilities of local government are no longer simply to manage daily operational functions of a city and provide basic infrastructure. Local governments are now required to undertake economic planning, manage urban growth; be involved in major infrastructure planning; and even engage in achieving sustainable development objectives. The Brisbane Urban Growth model has proven initially successful to ensure timely and coordinated delivery of urban infrastructure. This model may be the first step for many local governments to move toward an integrated, sustainable and effective infrastructure management.

Transforming people, place, and technology : towards re-creative city

This session is titled TRANSFORM! Opportunities and Challenges of Digital Content for Creative Economy. Some of the key concepts for this session include: 1. City / Economy 2. Creativity 3. Digital content 4. Transformation All of us would agree that these terms describe pertinent characteristics of contemporary world, the epithet of which is the ‘network era.’ I was thinking about what I would like to discuss here and what you, leading experts in divergent fields, would be interested to hear about. As the keynote for this session and as one of the first speakers for the entire conference, I see my role as an initiator for imagination, the wilder the better, posing questions rather than answers. Also given the session title Transform!, I wish to change this slightly to Transforming People, Place, and Technology: Towards Re-­creative City in an attempt to take us away a little from the usual image depicted by the given topic. Instead, I intend to sketch a more holistic picture by reflecting on and extrapolating the four key concepts from the urban informatics point of view. To do so, I use ‘city’ as the primary guiding concept for my talk rather than probably more expected ‘digital media’ or ‘creative economy.’ You may wonder what I mean by re-­creative city. I will explain this in time by looking at the key concepts from these four respective angles: 1. Living city 2. Creative city 3. Re-­‐creative city 4. Opportunities and Challenges to arrive at a speculative yet probable image of the city that we may aspire to transform our current cities into. First let us start by considering the ‘living city.’

Urban informatics

The increasing ubiquity of digital technology, internet ser-vices and social media in our everyday lives allows for a seamless transitioning between the visible and the invisible infrastructure of cities: road systems, building complexes, information and communication technology, and people networks create a buzzing environment that is alive and exciting. Driven by curiosity, initiative and interdiscipli-nary exchange, the Urban Informatics Research Lab at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Australia, is an emerging cluster of people interested in research and development at the intersection of people, place and technology with a focus on cities, locative media and mobile technology. This paper seeks to define, for the first time, what we mean by ‘urban informatics’ and outline its significance as a field of study today. It describes the relevant background and trends in each of the areas of peo-ple, place and technology, and highlights the relevance of urban informatics to the concerns and evolving challenges of CSCW. We then position our work in academia juxta-posed with related research concentrations and labels, fol-lowed by a discussion of disciplinary influences. The paper concludes with an exposé of the three current research themes of the lab around augmented urban spaces, urban narratives, and environmental sustainability in order to illustrate specific cases and methods, and to draw out distinctions that our affiliation with the Creative Industries Faculty affords.

Cultural and creative industries

This chapter evaluates the rise of creative industries from four standpoints: the growing interest in creativity in the early 21st century; the 'culturalisation' of economic life with the rise of service industries; clustering and uneven development in the cultural economic geography of the creative industries; and the future of arts and cultural policy.

Globalization, suburbanization, and the creative workforce : Findings from Australian suburban communities

This paper considers the changing relationship between economic prosperity and Australian suburbs, noting that what has been termed “the first suburban nation” in experiencing an intensification of suburban growth in the 2000s, in the context of economic globalization. The paper reports on a three-year Australian Research Council funded project into “Creative Suburbia”, identifying the significant percentage of the creative industries workforce who live in suburban areas. Drawing on case studies from suburbs in the Australian cities of Brisbane and Melbourne, it notes the contrasts between the experience of these workers, who are generally positive towards suburban life, and the underlying assumptions of “creative cities” policy discourse that such workers prefer to be concentrated in high density inner urban creative clusters.

Knowledge-based development for cities and societies : integrated multi-level approaches

Over the past twenty years, the conventional knowledge management approach has evolved into a strategic management approach that has found applications and opportunities outside of business, in society at large, through education, urban development, governance, and healthcare, amongst others. Knowledge-Based Development for Cities and Socieities: Integrated Multi-Level Approaches enlightens the concepts and challenges of knowledge management for both urban environments and entire regions, enhancing the expertise and knowledge of scholars, resdearchers, practitioners, managers and urban developers in the development of successful knowledge-based development policies, creation of knowledte cities and prosperous knowledge societies. This reference creates large knowledge base for scholars, managers and urban developers and increases the awareness of the role of knowledge cities and knowledge socieiteis in the knowledge era, as well as of the challenges and opportunities for future research.

Developing a knowledge-based urban development analysis framework : the case of multimedia super corridor, Malaysia

Purpose: In the global knowledge economy, investment in knowledge-intensive industries and information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructures are seen as significant factors in improving the overall socio-economic fabric of cities. Consequently knowledge-based urban development (KBUD) has become a new paradigm in urban planning and development, for increasing the welfare and competitiveness of cities and regions. The paper discusses the critical connections between KBUD strategies and knowledge-intensive industries and ICT infrastructures. In particular, it investigates the application of the knowledge-based urban development concept by discussing one of South East Asia’s large scale manifestations of KBUD; Malaysia’s Multimedia Super Corridor. ----- ----- Design/methodology/approach: The paper provides a review of the KBUD concept and develops a knowledge-based urban development assessment framework to provide a clearer understanding of development and evolution of KBUD manifestations. Subsequently the paper investigates the implementation of the KBUD concept within the Malaysian context, and particularly the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC). ----- ----- Originality/value: The paper, with its KBUD assessment framework, scrutinises Malaysia’s experince; providing an overview of the MSC project and discussion of the case findings. The development and evolution of the MSC is viewed with regard to KBUD policy implementation, infrastructural implications, and the agencies involved in the development and management of the MSC. ----- ----- Practical implications: The emergence of the knowledge economy, together with the issues of globalisation and rapid urbanisation, have created an urgent need for urban planners to explore new ways of strategising planning and development that encompasses the needs and requirements of the knowledge economy and society. In light of the literature and MSC case findings, the paper provides generic recommendations, on the orchestration of knowledge-based urban development, for other cities and regions seeking to transform to the knowledge economy.

Ubiquitous eco cities : infrastructure, technology and management

Efficient and effective urban management systems for Ubiquitous Eco Cities require having intelligent and integrated management mechanisms. This integration includes bringing together economic, socio-cultural and urban development with a well orchestrated, transparent and open decision-making system and necessary infrastructure and technologies. In Ubiquitous Eco Cities telecommunication technologies play an important role in monitoring and managing activities via wired and wireless networks. Particularly, technology convergence creates new ways in which information and telecommunication technologies are used and formed the backbone of urban management. The 21st Century is an era where information has converged, in which people are able to access a variety of services, including internet and location based services, through multi-functional devices and provides new opportunities in the management of Ubiquitous Eco Cities. This chapter discusses developments in telecommunication infrastructure and trends in convergence technologies and their implications on the management of Ubiquitous Eco Cities.

The variant concept of transportation disadvantaged : evidence from Aydin, Turkey and Yamaga, Japan

Transportation disadvantaged groups, in the previous studies, are defined as those who are low income earners, family dependent, limited access to private motor vehicles and public transport services, and also those who oblige to spend relatively more time and money on their trips. Additionally those disable, young and elderly are considered among the natural groups of transportation disadvantaged. Although in general terms this definition seems correct, it is not specific enough to become a common universal definition that could apply to all urban contexts. This paper investigates whether travel difficulty perceptions vary and so does the definition of transportation disadvantaged in socio-culturally different urban contexts. For this investigation the paper undertakes a series of statistical analysis in the case study of Yamaga, Japan, and compares the findings with a previous case study, where the same methodology, hypothesis, and assumptions were utilized in a culturally and demographically different settlement of Aydin, Turkey. After comparing the findings observed in Aydin with the statistical analysis results of Yamaga, this paper reveals that there can be no explicitly detailed universal definition of transportation disadvantaged. The paper concludes by stating characteristics of transportation disadvantage is not globally identical, and policies and solutions that work in a locality may not show the same results in another socio-cultural context.

Social infrastructure planning and sustainable community : example from south east Queensland, Australia

Social infrastructure and sustainable development represent two distinct but interlinked concepts bounded by a geographic location. For those involved in the planning of a residential development, the notion of social infrastructure is crucial to the building of a healthy community and sustainable environment. This is because social infrastructure is provided in response to the basic needs of communities and to enhance the quality of life, equity, stability and social well being. It also acts as the building block to the enhancement of human and social capital. While acknowledging the different levels of social infrastructure provision from neighbourhood, local, district and sub-regional levels, past evidence has shown that the provision at neighbourhood and local level and are affecting well-being of residents and the community sustainability. With intense physical development taking place in Australia's South East Queensland (SEQ) region, local councils are under immense pressure to provide adequate social and community facilities for their residents. This paper shows how participation-oriented, need-sensitive Integrated Social Infrastructure Planning Guideline is used to offer a solution for the efficient planning and provision of multi-level social infrastructure for the SEQ region. The paper points out to the successful implementation of the guideline for social infrastructure planning in multiple levels of spatial jurisdictions of Australia's fastest growing region.

Queensland Government’s people’s question time : the challenges and opportunities of population growth in Queensland

As AITPM National President, I was invited by Queensland’s Premier, Hon. Anna Bligh MP, as an audience guest to People’s Question Time on Wednesday 24 March 2010, which focused on ‘The Challenges and Opportunities of Population Growth in Queensland’. On the panel were: Premier and Minister for the Arts, Anna Bligh; Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, Kate Jones; Minister for Infrastructure and Planning, Stirling Hinchliffe; Michael Rayner – Growth Management Summit Advisory Panel, Principal Director, Cox Rayner Architects; and Greg Hallam – Executive Director, Local Government Association of Queensland. The moderator for this session was Law Academic Erin O’Brien, of Queensland University of Technology.

Subtropical design in South East Queensland : a handbook for planners, developers and decision makers

Subtropical Design in South East Queensland provides a direct link between climatic design, applied urban design and sustainable planning policy. The role that character and identity of a place plays in achieving environmental sustainability is explained. Values of local distinctiveness to do with climate, landscape and culture are identified and the environmental, social and economic benefits of applying subtropical design principles to planning are described. The handbook provides planners and urban designers with an understanding of how subtropical design principles apply within the different contexts of urban planning including the entire spectrum of urban scales from the regional scale, to the city, neighbourhood, street, individual building or site. Twelve interactive principles, and interrelated strategies, drawn predominantly from the body of knowledge of landscape architecture, architectural science and urban design are described in detail in text, and richly illustrated with diagrams and photographs.

AITPM national newsletter President's report June 2010

This is my penultimate report as National President of the Australian Institute of Traffic Planning and Management, Inc. As an academic, I would like to take this opportunity to raise some issues and challenges I see in transport professional education in Australia. My general view is that the transport profession has until recently been less conspicuous to others as an identifiable discipline. This is both a blessing and somewhat of a curse. People mostly enter, or sometimes fall into, the transport profession having taken a degree in civil engineering, other engineering, urban and regional planning, economics, industrial psychology, business, followed by the less obvious disciplines. This order is probably about relative to the proportion of members’ background qualifications in our ranks too. However, once a graduate destined to become a transport professional has spent about five years or so out of the academic estuary, they tend to specialise in an area that cannot necessarily be easily correlated to the well known courses I have rattled off above. I can say from experience that it is not out of the question to see SIDRA models having been prepared by a transport professional who did not take traffic engineering as part of a civil engineering degree. So I see a couple of key challenges for the transport profession, which happens to be represented by a number of bodies, with our AITPM perhaps being the peak body, into the future,

Methodology for evaluating the landscape character of Malaysian heritage urban river corridors

The effects of rapid development have increased pressures on these places exacerbated by the competition between two key industry sectors, commercial base and tourism development. This, in supplement with urbanisation and industrialisation, has posted a high demand for the uses of these spaces. The political scenario and lack of adaptation on ecological principles and public participations in its design approach have sparked stiff environmental, historical and cultural constraint towards its landscape character as well as the ecological system. Therefore, a holistic approach towards improving the landscape design process is extremely necessary to protect human well being, cultural, environmental and historical values of these places. Limited research also has been carried out to overcome this situation. This further has created an urgent need to explore better ways to improve the landscape design process of Malaysian heritage urban river corridor developments that encompass the needs and aspirations of the Malaysian multi-ethnic society without making any drastic changes to the landscape character of the rivers. This paper presents a methodology to develop an advanced Landscape Character Assessment (aLCA) framework for evaluating the landscape character of the places, derived from the perception of two keys yet oppositional stakeholders: urban design team and special interest public. The triangulation of subjectivist paradigm methodologies: the psychophysical approach; the psychological approach; and, the phenomenological approach will be employed. The outcome will be used to improve the present landscape design process for future development of these places. Unless a range of perspectives can be brought to bear on enhancing the form and function of their future development and management, urban river corridors in the Malaysian context will continue to decline.

The Brisbane Cordon scheme : part A - preliminary investigation

It could be said that road congestion is one of the most significant problems within any modern metropolitan area. For several decades now, around the globe, congestion in metropolitan areas has been worsening for two main reasons. Firstly, road congestion has significantly increased due to a higher demand for road space because of growth in populations, economic activity and incomes (Hensher & Puckett, 2007). This factor, in conjunction with a significant lack of investment in new road and public transport infrastructure, has seen the road network capacities of cities exceeded by traffic volumes and thus, resulted in increased traffic congestion. This relentless increase in road traffic congestion has resulted in a dramatic increase in costs for both the road users and ultimately the metropolitan areas concerned (Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics, 2007). In response to this issue, several major cities around the world, including London, Stockholm and Singapore, have implemented congestion-charging schemes in order to combat the effects of road congestion. A congestion-charging scheme provides a mechanism for regulating traffic flows into the congested areas of a city, whilst simultaneously generating public revenue that can be used to improve both the public transport and road networks of the region. The aim of this paper was to assess the concept of congestion-charging, whilst reflecting on the experiences of various cities that have already implemented such systems. The findings from this paper have been used to inform the design of a congestion-charging scheme for the city of Brisbane in Australia in a supplementary study (Whitehead, Bunker, & Chung, 2011). The first section of this paper examines the background to road congestion; the theory behind different congestion-charging schemes; and the various technologies involved with the concept. The second section of this paper details the experiences, in relation to implementing a congestion-charging scheme, from the city of Stockholm in Sweden. This research has been crucial in forming a list of recommendations and lessons learnt for the design of a congestion-charging scheme in Australia. It is these recommendations that directly inform the proposed design of the Brisbane Cordon Scheme detailed in Whitehead et al. (2011).