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Transport as a Tool for Transformation
Councils and communities around Australasia are grappling with complex transport challenges which threaten to stifle their economies and weaken their communities. Typically they are either confronted with too much traffic, congestion, and harsh environmental conditions, or too few linkages to satisfy community and business needs. Yet some new processes are delivering remarkable outcomes, saving […] more...
Partnerships for growth excel
A cluster of unique Lismore City Council projects, facilitated by Urbanismplus, have attracted a prestigious New South Wales Local Government Award. “Urbanismplus namely, Kobus, facilitated several charrettes with both hospitals and the public which were instrumental in unlocking and developing this award winning partnership.” – Brent McAlister, Executive Director for Sustainable Development, Lismore City […] more...
Soft urbanism could save cities millions
With the ever-present need to do more with less resources, Council’s across Australia and New Zealand are working innovatively to find new ways to leverage off, and partner with, external organisations. In some cases the savings could be in the millions. Urbanismplus have helped to drive innovation in this area over the last 5 years, […] more...
Defending Sustainable Urbanism
Sustainable urbanism is fast becoming a casualty of the financial squeeze. Local authorities are cutting important strategic initiatives and, in some cases, sprawl is set to make a comeback by loosening growth boundaries. To counter this requires efforts which go beyond the conventional urban design approaches. Urbanists need to illustrate: How sound economics can be […] more...
Up to $50m gains for Lismore in new approach to fast tracking sustainable growth policies
Lismore Council have undertaken a series of dramatic initiatives to enable housing choices in its city that will retain high earning individuals, attract others who will create new businesses as well as deliver a component of affordable housing options. This could mean up to $50 million additional local retail expenditure and over 1,700 jobs in […] more...
Property Council declares University Hill as ‘Best Master Planned Community’ in Australia
A second major win for this project which was conceived in 2004 by a unique client/council/consultant team led by urban designer Kobus Mentz, now director of Urbanismplus and supported by TTM, Prosperous Places and Urbacity (then Patrick Partners). University Hill was been declared the 2011 ‘Best Master Planned Community’ in Australia at the Property Council’s […] more...
Planning crystallises into action at Wollongong
Wollongong’s position as the capital of the Illawarra Region will be substantially strengthened by its new Action Plan for the CBD. The plan lays out future priorities and includes costs, timelines and responsibilities. It pulls together over 60 projects, including business retention, investment attraction, streetscape and public space upgrades, a focus on building quality and traffic improvements. more...
New Town wins esteemed UDIA award
Designed in 2004 by a team led by Kobus Mentz, University Hill has been awarded the 2010 ‘Master Planned Development Award for Excellence’ by the Urban Development Institute of Australia – Victoria (UDIA). University Hill is a comprehensive mixed-use development at Bundoora, City of Whittlesea. Located next to RMIT University, this project is developed by MAB […] more...
ICTC conference “Intelligent City Wide Networks”, Geelong
The 2009 International Cities and Town Centres Society’s (ICTC) annual conference provided a platform for recent experiences and new ideas to be shared amongst the built environment. Kobus Mentz presented a paper titled “Intelligent City-Wide Networks”. The paper outlined new techniques to enable all disciplines to meaningfully participate in the creation of inclusive transport networks. […] more...