Urban Design Forum has come a long way since its relaunch three years ago, growing our community, partners, and our impact. We are now updating our strategy for the next three years to ensure we are providing value for members and, more broadly, supporting the public interest in the design and governance of our cities. Over the last three years, our focus has been on three pillars: creating a supportive network of urban professionals (building community), sharing knowledge on best practice urbanism (knowledge sharing) and advocating for better urban education, systems and outcomes (advocating for change). We need your help—what should Urban Design Forum focus on over the next three years?
Submit your thoughts and ideas through our current strategy survey, and go into a draw to win one of two $100 Readings voucher.
Save the Date: Monday, 13th of May 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM Bar Holiday, Carlton
Join us for our next Forum Forum event for 2024 with guest speaker Michael Frazzetto, Director of Six Degrees Architects, who will share his team’s experience working on the City of Melbourne’s Munro development.
Michael will discuss the opportunities and challenges around mixed-use and how the project achieves Rob Adam’s ‘Rules for Good City Making’, including Density, Mixed-use, Connectivity, High-quality public realm and Local character.
We’ll start with a welcome drink followed by a general members update and a presentation by our featured guest speaker, and finish with some informal drinks and/or dinner.
Forum Forum is held every two months. These events are the perfect opportunity to meet people in our industry in a relaxed setting, make new friends or catch up with old ones, and share inspiring insights with other members.
Last week representatives from @aila.victoria (AILA), @pia_planning (PIA), @aus_institute_architects (AIA) and Urban Design Forum came together for a robust conversation to evolve our joint submission for the next strategic plan for Victoria. Plan for Victoria will define how the Victorian government addresses the state’s 2050 housing and land use needs. 💫
We’re advocating to ensure communities benefit from this increase in density, through increases in open space, biodiversity, public transport, cycling, walking and community infrastructure; a focus on social equity, pathway to Treaty; and ensuring we have the skills we need to deliver this plan.
Thank you to the AIA for providing the venue, to Iain Butterworth for facilitating, and to the professional, academic and institutional contributors to the session and this significant piece of advocacy work.
To stay up to date on this joint submission, subscribe to our newsletter on our website.
Last week, we kicked off our first sessions of Mentor Forum and welcomed 30 mentees to the start of our program, both online and in person. So far, discussions have jumped into design processes, the ins and outs of masterplanning, collaborative projects, upskilling, and global career opportunities. A big thanks to our incredible mentors, @liammouritz, @bcevski, @targolkhorram, @jessemcnicoll, @nicole___allen, @carley.a.wright , @dragomeister, Rob Adams @adamsurban_au and Riley Flanigan.
Sessions Two and Three will be held over the next 8 weeks, and we heard there'll be a few exciting site visits!
Last month, we explored the recent works along the Upfield rail corridor guided by volunteers from the North Western Program Alliance (NWPA), Urban Design Advisory Panel (UDAP) and Tract Consultants. Raising the railway has led to significant urban design gains in both Coburg and Brunswick, and we learnt about the intricacies and challenges of such a large-scale project, such as capturing water in the landscape, replicability to help minimise costs, integration of history and personalisation from the different communities along the corridor. Once again, thanks to all who made it and to our informative guides.
Keep an eye out on our socials to attend our next Urban Tour-ism events!