Hustle & Bustle podcast

Matt Collins - Politics + Planning & an update on PIA Qld

Matt Collins is a highly skilled and experienced planning leader with a background in political studies and journalism. He is currently the QLD and NT State Manager for the Planning Institute of Australia.
In this week's episode, I ask Matt about politics and planning. We also discuss what the Planning Institute's priorities are.
Matt has significant experience in leadership, planning, policy and government. Prior to commencing with PIA, he was General Manager of the Queensland Government’s Cities Transformation Taskforce, where he led the state’s strategic cities agenda, including in relation to City Deals. He has also consulted for a range of major firms on planning, infrastructure and city-making, and has been a senior advisor to Ministers in the Queensland Government. He holds a Master of Urban and Regional Planning, as well as a degree in journalism and public policy.
In this episode, we discuss:
his perspective about how to navigate politics as a planner, in an ethical and positive manner
how politics and planning influences community trust
what planners can do to improve the community’s trust in the planning system
the role that PIA is playing to advance better planning, particularly in QLD

Jaime Traspaderne - Adapting to Climate Change

This week on the podcast, I am joined by the first Arup-ian to join me on the podcast, Mr Jaime Traspaderne. Jaime is an architect, urban designer with international experience, he is the Arup Qld leader for Urban design and Master planning, and co-leader of Cities local business leader for Qld.
Jaime has expertise and passion for designing communities for climate change and integrating natural environment, including the green and blue elements, into the built environment.
We chat about:
the changing climate and how South East Queensland needs to respond
acting now to protect our lifestyles
grey, blue and green infrastructure 
how blue and green infrastructure make cities more resilience
delivering integrated blue green infrastructure in our cities
 

Dr. Sharon Harwood - Designing with Country

This week on the podcast, I interview Dr. Sharon Harwood.
Sharon is passionate about working with communities to develop place-based solutions to planning challenges. Her specialty and passion is in Indigenous planning and planning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait land owners. She has extensive experience engaging with communities through Northern Australia. 
She is a Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia, and recipient of the 2018 Queensland Planner of the Year & 2019 Australian Planner of the Year. She was recognised for her outstanding leadership and contribution in the area of indigenous peoples’ rights and interest in planning.
She is Adjunct Associate Professor at James Cook University and Charles Darwin University. And has recently started a new position with Coffey as a Senior Associate in Social Impact.
We chat about:
- importance of including indigenous people in our planning processes
- recent changes to the legislative framework for indigenous engagement
- how to consult properly with Indigenous people
- who is responsible for engaging with Indigenous people
- most memorable moment in engaging with Indigenous people
I loved this chat. I hope you do too!

SEASON 2. Nicholas Kamols - Young Planner of the Year

Welcome back to season 2 of the podcast! First episode back for 2022, and I am so thrilled to be joined by the 2021 Qld Young Planner of the Year, Nicholas Kamols. 
Nick is an exciting up and coming planner, who is really pushing the boundaries of traditional urban thinking. He is innovative, passionate, motivated and is really re-defining what it means to be a part of our profession.
We chat about:
what led him to being a planner and what keeps him passionate about planning
bridging the gap between academia and planning practice through his Masters of Philosophy and PhD, where he is looking to solve systemic workplace issues, such as how institutional cultures affect participatory planning, and institutional decision-making processes. 
he founded a social enterprise called PowerWells, the social enterprise – where he and his team are repurposing batteries to give renewable energy to off-grid communities in Indonesia.
how Planning seems to be spatial, but it really a social endeavour
his interest in Effective Altruism,  Long termism, Future casting and Back casting, the Metaverve, Inter planetary species and other cool things 
his interest in helping shape the 2032 Olympics and the obligation to contribute
And lots more!
This is the PhD book chapter mentioned in our chat: https://eprints.qut.edu.au/226785/This came out last night: https://thefifthestate.com.au/urbanism/planning/brisbane-climate-positive-olympics-the-pressures-on-queensland/
These are some others from Nick too:
MPhil article: https://eprints.qut.edu.au/209031/MPhil Thesis: https://eprints.qut.edu.au/208256/
Hope you enjoy this first episode back for Season 2!
 

Ep.18 Dorina Pojani - Brisbane‘s car-free community

In this episode, I interview Dorina Pojani, who is Senior Lecturer in urban planning at The University of Queensland. 
Her research interests encompass built environment topics, including urban design, urban transport, and urban housing, in both the Global North and South. She has completed her graduate studies in the US and Belgium, besides her native Albania. Over the years, she has held guest teaching or research positions in Austria, Chile, and Italy, and has been a consultant for various UN agencies including the United Nations Development Program, UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific, and UN Habitat. Prior to joining academia, she worked in urban design and planning in California. Her latest book is Trophy cities: A feminist perspective on new capitals, published by Edward Elgar, London. Offering a fresh perspective, the book analyses the socio-cultural and physical production of seven planned capital cities, including Canberra.
We discuss one of her latest research pieces looking at Brisbane's car free community. 
We chat about:
Dorina's background and upbringing that led to her researching Brisbane’s car free community
What some of the main reasons people are shunning the car in Brisbane.
What are the societal benefits of being car-free?
How do we as planners and city shapers support a greater portion of the population in SEQ to make the switch to car-free?
It's a shorter 20 min chat, hope you enjoy!

Ep.17 Matthew Leman - future of planning schemes

This week I interview Matthew Leman. Matt is an urban and regional planner, having graduated from QUT in 2016, and has worked across private sector, State and local governments. He is also a digital native, meaning he was born after the internet.
Matt brings a unique perspective to planning and asks “how can we ensure ‘planning’ is bought up-to-speed with current technology and consumer expectations?”
In this is episode:
- Matt surprises me with a thank you
- speaks of his personal challenges buying a suitable home to live in
- explains his experiences of interacting with planning schemes 
- speaks to the current crisis of trust
- details the opportunity for the future of planning schemes
- suggest the new approach to planning which is an Exemplary based planning system
- challenges us to look outside of planning to what we as digital consumers find easy to use and engaging & then apply that same approach to planning
Thanks so much Matt for sharing your thoughts on the podcast this week! 
* Please note: the views expressed on this episode are his own, and do not necessarily represent that of his employer.

Ep.16 Update & highlights from last 3 weeks

This episode is an update & apology for skipping 2 weeks of podcast episodes!  
I made it 15 weeks in a row of new weekly episodes. But a range of professional events have occurred post-covid restrictions which has meant I needed to have a short break from podcasting.  
Good news is I’m now back for the rest of this season, with only a few more episodes left until it’s a wrap on season 1!  
In this episode, I share my highlights from 2 key professional events I attended in recent weeks:
1. the 2021 Planning institute of Australia qld conference held on Sunshine Coast in late October, including presentations from:
- Lucy Turnbull AO (former Lord Mayor Sydney, greater western Sydney commission, & wife of former PM Malcolm Turnbull)
- Kerry Doss (State planner, DSDILGP) 
- Sara Golingi & Jaime Traspaderne (Arup)
- Judge Fleur Kinghom & Dr Sharon Harwood
- Ben Johnston (futurist - metaverse, 2 realms, digital influencers etc)
2. PIA Qld awards for excellence  - list of the award winners for the categories.
I also ask for your input as I plan season 2 of the podcast in 2022. I’m open to any suggestions for topics/ guests.  And I announce the guest I’ll be interviewing this week!   
Its a shorter 20 min episode. Hope you enjoy it!  

Ep.15 Dr Stefan Hajkowicz - technology & shaping cities

This week on the podcast, I interview Dr Stefan Hajkowicz.
Dr Stef is Principal Scientist at CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency. At CSIRO, he is Director of Data 61, leading a team of researchers helping governments, companies and communities explore plausible futures and make wise choices. Stefan is widely published in international literature, including his best seller Global Megatrends which details 7 significant shifts to influence our future.
Stefan is passionate about digital tech and it’s influence on the built environment. I asked him “How will technology reshape our cities and regions over the next decade?”. Stef unpacks this topic, observing what planners and city shapers need to know about technology changes.
We chat about:
artificial intelligence & how planners can get computers to do the mundane tasks
E commerce influence on city centres
Work from home now & trends into future
Tech hubs & what we need to do to support these emerging businesses
Creating a ‘digital twin’ of cities and regions
And so much more!
It’s the longest episode on the podcast to date at about 35 minutes. But we pack alot of good info into that time!

Ep.14 Amy Degenhart - Exemplary missing middle housing

This week I sat down with Amy Degenhart, Director of degenhartSHEDD urban design + architecture.
Amy is the driving force (architect & developer) behind exemplar missing middle housing, including ENVI micro urban village in Southport, Gold Coast CBD. ENVI is an award winning exemplary small lot house and land development, featuring 10 terrace home ranging from 1 bedroom to 3 bedrooms.
Amy shares her passion and expertise in addressing the housing supply and affordability challenge within South East Queensland, through pioneering this new typology of housing, which delivers an affordable home in an inner city location, and exemplary design outcomes.
We discuss;
the design thinking behind Envi
What needs to change in policy and implementation to repeat Envi
observations about benefits of co-designing houses and subdivision
similarities with Queenstown
I hope you enjoy this discussion!
More information on the ENVI project here:
The Micro Lot Development | Envi Micro Urban Village

Ep.13 Nicole Boulton - Planning cities for women

In this episode, I chat with Nicole Boulton.
Nicole is Principal Planner at PSA consulting and the new Chair of the Professional development committee at Planning Institute of Australia Queensland division. 
Nicole is also a mother of 2 young children, a wife, and volunteers on her son‘s P&C Committee. 
I chat with Nicole about her new role as PD chair, as well as ask her about work life balance and she shares her top tips to juggling it all. This includes a great reminder (during mental health awareness week) to check in with yourself about your mental health. 
The main topic of this conversation is Nicole‘s passion of planning for women. Nicole shares some of her research on the key issues affecting women in cities, and what we might do to address these, including an interesting case study from Vienna. 
More info on Vienna here https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/cities/2019/may/14/city-with-a-female-face-how-modern-vienna-was-shaped-by-women