The impact of COVID-19 on Australian cities and communities has challenged Australia to reflect on and rethink the way we live, study and work, and to adapt the way urban spaces are planned and conceived to ensure communities are more resilient and inclusive.
The Monash Commission brings together Australian and international leaders to conduct in-depth and independent inquiries that capture the best available evidence and public perspectives to assist Australia and other nations to respond to global challenges.
The second inquiry of the Monash Commission will examine the role of the ‘intermediary cities’ – urban centres that are not major Central Business Districts (CBDs) – to refine our understanding of liveable communities and how we can foster their development.
Commissioners will examine the characteristics of and opportunities for intermediary cities and make meaningful, practical recommendations to plan, develop and create policy for new and existing cities, particularly in the post-COVID-19 context.
Monash University President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Margaret Gardner AC, founder of the Monash Commission and Executive Sponsor for the inquiry, said: “Even before the pandemic, cities across the globe were grappling with accommodating sprawling development and congestion, and debating what planning and innovation would ensure sustainable growth to promote the quality of life for citizens.”
“The repercussions of the pandemic have not been felt evenly by communities, which again raises the need to rethink the way we plan and conceive the places in which we live, work and study to ensure we are resilient and inclusive into the future,” Professor Gardner said.
“The Monash Commission has chosen to focus on a compelling and multi-dimensional issue for societies across the world, which is why the Commissioners brought together for this panel are experts that span the many facets of this topic, from planning and architecture to innovation, technology and governance.”
Respected industry leader and former cabinet minister, Mark Birrell AM, who is currently Chairman of the Australia Post Super Scheme and Non-Executive Director at Transurban, will chair the second inquiry of the Monash Commission. He will be joined by:
- Terri Benson, Managing Director of Birdon, with experience in a range of both executive and non-executive director roles in the government utility and private infrastructure sectors.
- Professor Kees Christiaanse, Architect and Founder of KCAP (Rotterdam), a world-renowned architect and urban planner with expertise in the redevelopment of industrial precincts.
- Professor Khoo, Teng Chye, Professor in Practice, Department of Architecture, and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, a leading expert in the fields of liveability, engineering and urban planning.
- Professor Kris Olds, Professor, Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison, with research expertise in the globalisation of higher education and research, as well as the integration of infrastructure, platforms and cities.
- Gabrielle Trainor AO, Non-Executive Director and Advisor, ACT City Renewal Authority, and the Western City and Aerotropolis Authority, with experience spanning more than 25 years on a wide range of planning, infrastructure and city renewal projects in the public and private sectors.
- Julie Wagner, President of the Global Institute on Innovation Districts and President of Urban Insight, a prolific urban researcher specialising in the growth and evolution of innovation districts.
- Professor Jinhua Zhao, Director of the MIT Mobility Initiative and Edward and Joyce Linde Associate Professor of City and Transportation Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a specialist in behavioural science, mobility and transportation technology.
- Professor Ken Sloan, outgoing Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise and Governance) at Monash University and incoming Vice-Chancellor of Harper Adams University.
Monash University will assist the Commission by helping to acquire fact-based evidence and research, as well as convening community, industry and government stakeholders to discuss this topic to ensure a broad perspective is heard to analyse issues.
Mr Birrell said the Commission’s focus would be deciphering the discussions of 2020 and finding the future-focused recommendations that are achievable to implement.
“The Commission wants to encourage fresh perspectives on sustainable urban development and planning in a post-COVID world. We will look beyond CBDs and focus on ways to improve the urban centres and secondary cities that are so important to our quality of life and prosperity,” he commented.
More information on the Monash Commission can be found here.