Emerging Planners Panel on Transport Planning in the Regions
At the event, I also had the privilege of participating as a moderator at the Emerging Planners Quick Fire Panel. As an academic associated with the University of New England (UNE), Australia’s pioneering regional university, it was an honour to help lead such an engaging discussion on the topic of designing for human scale with stretched resources in the regions. The panelists—emerging professionals in planning and transport who represent PIA NSW Emerging Planners Network and the Transport Professionals Association (TPA)—offered a plethora of fresh ideas, bringing to the forefront the unique challenges and opportunities faced by regional Australia.
From left to right, the panelists included Denver D'Souza Alcântara MPIA, Amber Nehal MPIA, Sarah Guan and Preet Desai, with me as the moderator (on the far right).
In this blog post, I would like to highlight five key ideas that were raised during the panel discussion:
1) The Need to Balancing Standards with Lived Experience
One key takeaway from our discussion was the idea of balancing standards with lived experience. In regional planning, resource constraints are an ongoing challenge; however, the panel underscored the importance of prioritising community needs, even amid these challenges. This notion closely aligns with a fundamental regional planning principle: embracing the voices and experiences of the community to shape effective, inclusive infrastructure solutions.
2) The Importance of Legacy and 'Intergenerational' Planning
Another key point is the need to think about our ‘legacy’ in transport planning, especially in the regional context where resources are stretched. Infrastructure that we invest in today can potentially last up to a century. Thus, we need to consider the future generations who will inherit the transport infrastructure we invest in today. Will the transport infrastructure still be ‘fit for purpose’ in 50 or 80 years?
3) Navigating Trade-Offs in Transport Planning
Our conversation also explored the process of navigating trade-offs in transport planning. Often, decisions must be made under pressure, which can have long-term impacts. By assessing these trade-offs, regional planners can better understand how to allocate resources where they are needed most, ensuring a positive influence on the daily lives of residents.
4) Opportunities for Mode Shift and Vibrancy
We delved into the potential opportunities for mode shift and vibrancy in regional town centres. Actionable ideas were presented to enhance active transport, fostering greater accessibility, safety and sustainability. This strategy can significantly transform the landscape of regional transportation, making towns more liveable and communities more connected.
5) The Need for a Paradigm Shift in Regional Transport Planning
The panel importantly highlighted that too often, regional communities are treated as dots to be connected or linked. Instead, we need to instigate a paradigm shift and prioritise promoting transport connectivity within individual regional cities and towns. This is particularly important given the increasing number of young families that are calling the region home. Without adequate public or active transport connectivity in place, these families are forced to rely on their car for their daily mobility needs, thus contributing to congestion during peak hours and reducing the vibrancy of regional communities.
The panel session was 'quick-fire' in format, so we kept it high-energy and fast-paced!
Insightful Messages from Other Presentations
Beyond the panel, I was inspired to see such a strong focus on ‘equity’ and ‘inclusion’ by other sessions at the symposium. The following two central themes resonate deeply with me:
Less Plans, More (Actual) Planning: There are many plans out there, each prepared and published by different agencies. These often result in a fragmented approach, particularly in transport planning. Stakeholders need to coordinate together in the planning process to ensure more integrated, effective decisions are made.
Be Responsive to the Region’s Needs: Acknowledging unique local needs of each regional community unlocks tailored, ‘fit-for-purpose’ solutions, critical for success in our regions.
Reflecting upon these discussions, the underlying message returned to the essentiality of effective collaboration across agencies to tackle the multifaceted challenges of transport planning and equity, especially in regional areas. It was wonderful to see the regions being an ongoing part of the discussion throughout the event!
Photo Gallery
Below are other photos from the event, courtesy of PIA (unless noted otherwise):
The event venue at Quay Quarter, right in the heart of Circula Quay.
We were on Level 45, with incredible views of the Sydney Harbour.
What a view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House! (Source: Isara Khanjanasthiti)
Another angle of the majestic view! (Source: Isara Khanjanasthiti)
Me with the panelists and Kajal Antil, Co-Convenor of the PIA NSW EP Network Committee (third from the right).
We were excited going into the session, but we had plenty of preparation...
Several thought-provoking ideas were raised by the panelists.
We made sure to effectively manage the 30-minute timeslot we had, with enough breadth allocated to all the questions.
We concluded with a 'rapid-fire closing round', in which each panelist had to provide one-sentence answers to all the questions.
All the panelists were expressive, clear and insightful in their responses.
Admittedly, I was really nervous before and during the panel session, as it was the very first time I'd ever done this!
But the panelists did such an amazing job, and I believe we delivered a fun session with fresh, innovative ideas from emerging professionals in planning and transport!
Concluding Thoughts
Finally, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the panelists for their contribution to the panel session. Their passion, energy, enthusiasm and knowledge show that our future is in great hands! I would like to also express my gratitude to PIA NSW for organising the wonderful event and for the invitation to moderate the EP panel session. It was such a pleasure to play a small part in the event.
