While Jacobs’ book was primarily a critique of 1950s American planning policy, her quote above remains relevant over half a century later.

Around the world, governments, developers and planners are grappling with difficult decisions about how cities should develop. In an age when technology is knocking down barriers to participation and opening up opportunities for collaboration, the best and most progressive cities are those where communities are playing an active role in helping decision-makers make the right decisions.

When you think about it, it’s a no-brainer. Design, planning and development in a city’s context cuts across governance, investment, business and stakeholder buy in, and goes to the heart of a city’s identity. Who better to provide pragmatic, user-driven advice on how cities should develop than those riding our trains and trams on a daily basis, driving or cycling on our roads, playing in our parks and shrugging off the daily frustrations that affect most major cities?

This year, ArchTam has launched two people-powered, city-wide conversations about the future of Melbourne and Sydney. Melbourne NEXT and Sydney Connected both sought ideas and input from residents, visitors and those with links to the two cities on issues ranging from business growth and new industry development to social diversity, transport links and the emergence of city precincts.

Sydney Connected was launched in partnership with the recent Sydney Design Festival. We received over 500 responses to our online survey, and the results – released to industry late last month – paint a picture of a vibrant and diverse population wanting a similarly vibrant and diverse city.

It comes as no surprise that, as Sydney confronts the growing pains associated with population growth that will see it home to more than 6 million people in coming decades, 65 percent of respondents named ‘seamless transport links’ as critical to the city’s future.

The replacement or upgrade of elements of Sydney’s creaking public transport infrastructure has, of course, been a topic of discussion for policy-makers for some time, and no doubt a sore point for frustrated commuters for even longer.

While this insight isn’t anything new, it’s yet another important call to action. Certainly, the potential of integrated multi-modal public transport networks comprising heavy rail, light rail and buses is enormous; the public transport networks of Hong Kong and Berlin demonstrate how effective a well-designed and integrated network can be.

But Sydney Connected demonstrated community expectations not just in terms of public transport, but in terms of where and how Sydney-siders are living, or will live.

Thirty-five percent of respondents think new housing solutions – evident in Sydney’s growing appetite for apartment living – and the development of precincts within and beyond the City of Sydney are critical to the city’s future.

In some ways, such a finding could be seen as the latest nail in the coffin of the great Australian dream of house and land ownership. In others, however, it simply points towards changing tastes and a realisation that, as Sydney’s population grows, vertical communities and apartment developments will offer the 21st century amenities – including transport links – residents and visitors expect.

There are, of course, all sorts of questions surrounding the sustainability of Sydney’s inner-city apartment boom, as well as others of affordability and social cohesion. But we can also see, through  building precincts such as Green Square Town Centre in inner-city Sydney and further west in Parramatta, there is enormous potential for diverse and functional communities that are properly planned, properly linked to transport, and able to cater for diverse and ever-changing needs.

Sydney Connected and Melbourne NEXT have proven valuable opportunities for ArchTam to engage the community around the necessary steps our two major cities need to take to evolve. It’s surprised us all how passionate many responses have been, and we’re hoping from this passion follows momentum for positive change.

If Sydney is going to provide “something for everybody”, as Jacobs said in 1961, there needs to be ongoing opportunities for communities to have their say, to connect with policy-makers and planners, and to feel they’re contributing to the future planning decisions that will ensure the Harbour City remains inclusive, accessible, adaptable, and above all, connected.

 James Rosenwax (james.rosenwax@archtam.com) is managing director, Design + Planning, Australia and New Zealand, ArchTam.

The post People power for a connected Sydney appeared first on Blog.

Jennifer McAllister of ArchTam’s Infrastructure Advisory in Sydney spoke with the Centre for Livable Cities in Singapore about the challenges and opportunities of the public engagement process. Listen to her comments.

Jake Herson (jacob.herson@archtam.com) is managing editor of the Connected Cities blog.

The post Citizens in city-making appeared first on Blog.

Cidade da Copa, development planned for Recife, Brazil around the 2014 World Cup.

In an op-ed in the New York Times last month (“Let them eat soccer”, June 25), the Brazilian writer Elio Gaspari captured the corrosive effects governmental corruption and class divergence have had in Brazil. But the echoes of recent protests may carry a more specific lesson for planners and leaders, not just in Brazil but around the world.

Triggered by bus fare hikes, then ballooning around a range of causes—including corruption, substandard healthcare, inadequate schools, and World Cup stadium expenditures—an underlying theme resonated around the disconnect between the needs of everyday citizens and the perceived interests of leaders and the state. The disconnect became a galvanizing force between classes in a country famous for social strata.

There are scores of different issues here, and no easy solutions, but at the core a reminder for leaders and planners of the democratic principle of transparency in building infrastructure for the common good. When it comes to large-scale efforts for transitory events, major investment must be guided by long-term interests.

If there isn’t a local tradition of governmental openness and public participation—and an expectation that the planning holds a primary vision toward the public interest beyond the game—then people have a right to ask questions. And if they aren’t hearing plausible answers and seeing progress, “Vem pra rua”— come to the street, as they chant.

A major target of the protests became the investments being made in the World Cup 2014 and Rio 2016 Olympics. Why a government struggling to provide basic infrastructure and proper schooling and should be investing in global events quickly became the headline story. Yet delivering a positive social and physical infrastructure legacy for local communities ought to underpin the planning of these types of events.

In two Brazilian cities, ArchTam is advising on projects that in fact demonstrate a concerted legacy focus. In Recife, the World Cup Stadium is the anchor for an new city quadrant, Cicade da Copa, that introduces transportation infrastructure to a previously disconnected zone and restores ecological functions to a site previously disrupted by a long history of agriculture. In Rio De Janeiro, the Olympic Park in Barra da Tijuca will provide the celebration grounds for the biggest cluster of Olympic venues during the Games, and in the long-term transform an underutilized waterfront district in the heart of Barra (a zone of Rio planned in the 1960’s when monumental land use planning was in vogue). The intention with both of these projects is to usher in accessible neighborhood development and encourage public-private partnership to meet Brazil’s growing urban needs.

Cidade da Copa, development planned for Recife, Brazil around the 2014 World Cup.

In these cases, local and international planners are analyzing lessons from around the world and responding to unique Brazilian conditions. In particular, lessons from  London’s  2012 Leah River Valley transformation (where a comprehensive environmental clean-up and infrastructure investment prior to the games focused on invigorating a once-derelict section of the city for its community) informed the approach to both of these projects.

The recent protests in Brazil underscore the importance of ensuring that major events are planned with a focus on the future—and fully communicating the specific value of those efforts to the public.

The protests can be a reminder that an important validation of mega-events should be in how they spur investment in local schools, hospitals, parks, water, energy and transportation infrastructure. Managed with this criteria in mind, these events can deliver real value for the public and are a metric for the maturity of a well-functioning governance structure and private sector. The World Cup and the Olympics should be opportunities for people to come to the streets, not in frustration, but in celebration—in sharing their city and culture with the world, reveling in excitement of competition, and knowing that in the long run, the community can be the real winner. They should be the source of long term value, allowing people to live, work and play in healthy neighborhoods where abundant mobility and a thriving ecology are the new norm.

Stephen Engblom (stephen.engblom@archtam.com) leads Design + Planning in the Americas for ArchTam.

Adam Williams (adam.williams@archtam.com) is an urban planner with ArchTam in Rio and Melbourne.

Muaricio Duarte (mauricio.duartepereira@archtam.com) is an urban designer with ArchTam in Recife.

The post What recent protests in Brazil mean for cities and planning appeared first on Blog.

Cidade da Copa, development planned for Recife, Brazil around the 2014 World Cup.

In an op-ed in the New York Times last month (“Let them eat soccer”, June 25), the Brazilian writer Elio Gaspari captured the corrosive effects governmental corruption and class divergence have had in Brazil. But the echoes of recent protests may carry a more specific lesson for planners and leaders, not just in Brazil but around the world.

Triggered by bus fare hikes, then ballooning around a range of causes—including corruption, substandard healthcare, inadequate schools, and World Cup stadium expenditures—an underlying theme resonated around the disconnect between the needs of everyday citizens and the perceived interests of leaders and the state. The disconnect became a galvanizing force between classes in a country famous for social strata.

There are scores of different issues here, and no easy solutions, but at the core a reminder for leaders and planners of the democratic principle of transparency in building infrastructure for the common good. When it comes to large-scale efforts for transitory events, major investment must be guided by long-term interests.

If there isn’t a local tradition of governmental openness and public participation—and an expectation that the planning holds a primary vision toward the public interest beyond the game—then people have a right to ask questions. And if they aren’t hearing plausible answers and seeing progress, “Vem pra rua”— come to the street, as they chant.

A major target of the protests became the investments being made in the World Cup 2014 and Rio 2016 Olympics. Why a government struggling to provide basic infrastructure and proper schooling and should be investing in global events quickly became the headline story. Yet delivering a positive social and physical infrastructure legacy for local communities ought to underpin the planning of these types of events.

In two Brazilian cities, ArchTam is advising on projects that in fact demonstrate a concerted legacy focus. In Recife, the World Cup Stadium is the anchor for an new city quadrant, Cicade da Copa, that introduces transportation infrastructure to a previously disconnected zone and restores ecological functions to a site previously disrupted by a long history of agriculture. In Rio De Janeiro, the Olympic Park in Barra da Tijuca will provide the celebration grounds for the biggest cluster of Olympic venues during the Games, and in the long-term transform an underutilized waterfront district in the heart of Barra (a zone of Rio planned in the 1960’s when monumental land use planning was in vogue). The intention with both of these projects is to usher in accessible neighborhood development and encourage public-private partnership to meet Brazil’s growing urban needs.

Cidade da Copa, development planned for Recife, Brazil around the 2014 World Cup.

In these cases, local and international planners are analyzing lessons from around the world and responding to unique Brazilian conditions. In particular, lessons from  London’s  2012 Leah River Valley transformation (where a comprehensive environmental clean-up and infrastructure investment prior to the games focused on invigorating a once-derelict section of the city for its community) informed the approach to both of these projects.

The recent protests in Brazil underscore the importance of ensuring that major events are planned with a focus on the future—and fully communicating the specific value of those efforts to the public.

The protests can be a reminder that an important validation of mega-events should be in how they spur investment in local schools, hospitals, parks, water, energy and transportation infrastructure. Managed with this criteria in mind, these events can deliver real value for the public and are a metric for the maturity of a well-functioning governance structure and private sector. The World Cup and the Olympics should be opportunities for people to come to the streets, not in frustration, but in celebration—in sharing their city and culture with the world, reveling in excitement of competition, and knowing that in the long run, the community can be the real winner. They should be the source of long term value, allowing people to live, work and play in healthy neighborhoods where abundant mobility and a thriving ecology are the new norm.

Stephen Engblom (stephen.engblom@archtam.com) leads Design + Planning in the Americas for ArchTam.

Adam Williams (adam.williams@archtam.com) is an urban planner with ArchTam in Rio and Melbourne.

Muaricio Duarte (mauricio.duartepereira@archtam.com) is an urban designer with ArchTam in Recife.

The post What recent protests in Brazil mean for cities and planning appeared first on Blog.