The fourth annual Smart Urban Futures Conference on liveable, walkable, sustainable communities will have a strong focus on sustainable transport. The conference will be held in Melbourne on Tuesday March 28 and Wednesday March 29, 2017.

Heading the list of speakers is Brent Toderian, Principal of TODERIAN Urban WORKS and founding President of the Council for Canadian Urbanism.  One of the World’s leading urban planners, Brent was Chief Planner of Vancouver from 2006-2012. He now advises cities from Brisbane to Copenhagen, Sydney to Halifax.

Other keynote speakers include:

• Dr Tim Williams, CEO, Committee for Sydney
  Tim was previously CEO of the Thames Gateway London Partnership and in 2003 he was voted by his peers as the leading person in UK urban renewal. He has written key reports on affordable housing and urban design – he wrote much of the current Mayor’s Design Guide for London.
• Professor Billie Giles-Corti, Director of RMIT’s Urban Futures Enabling Capability Platform
  For two decades, Billie and a multi-disciplinary research team have been studying the impact of the built environment on health and wellbeing. Currently Director of the McCaughey VicHealth Community Wellbeing Unit at Melbourne University, in 2017 she will take up her new role at RMIT.
• Justin Madden, City Strategy Executive – City Operations Leader, Arup
  Justin held seven Ministerial portfolios across 11 years in the Victorian Parliament, including Minister for Planning from 2006-2010. He now works for Arup in strategic project planning and infrastructure development across Australasia and the South East Asian region.

In addition to speakers and panel discussions, the conference will include a workshop session exploring whether the planning for our streets and communities is taking us in the right direction.  What are the obstacles and how do we tackle them?

A walkshop hosted by the City of Stonnington will also provide an opportunity to explore innovative approaches to encouraging walkable neighbourhoods that change the way cars and people interact on streets and in public spaces.

Conference participants will also gain preferential access to a masterclass in behavioural interventions to encourage walking for transport, along with Victoria Walks’ official supporters, on 27 March 2017.

The Smart Urban Futures conference is jointly presented by the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) and Victoria Walks.