Two hundred and fifty delegates from across Australia and overseas met in Perth, Western Australia on 6-7 July 2005 to discuss Transit Oriented Development (TOD), with an emphasis on “making it happen”. Conference delegates and presentations represented a wide spectrum of interests in TOD, including commercial property development, property finance, professional consulting and contract management, government and academia.
The aim of TOD is to create more compact and varied urban development, within walkable/cycle-friendly precincts served by strong/fast public transport links, to reduce car dependency and provide a wide choice of housing styles within easy reach of shops, recreation, civic amenities and jobs. The focus of the conference was on ‘how to do it’ – there are no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solutions – including appropriate urban design and public transport applications, appropriate and opportunities for new land use mixes, marketing
sales strategy for TOD housing, and pathways for planning approvals.
Invited speakers included Professor Robert Cervero (UCLA) and Luca Bertolini (University of Amsterdam), who provided insights into current practice and experience in the USA and Europe, and Cr Janet Rice (City of Maribyrnong, Victoria) on her experience of gaining acceptance for TOD in local neighbourhoods. Case studies and other information were also provided from Western Australia, Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales, the USA and Europe.
Keynote and Principal Speakers
Hon. Alannah MacTiernan MLA
Alannah MacTiernan is Minister for Planning and Infrastructure in Western Australia.
She graduated in Arts and law at the University of Western Australia. She practiced law for a
decade, and entered public life in 1988 with her election onto Perth City Council, where she
served until 1994. She was first elected to Parliament in 1993 , and was appointed
Minister for Planning and Infrastructure in 2001. This portfolio combines planning,
lands, transport and roads, and includes three departments, eight port authorities,
five development authorities and the Pastoral Lands Board.
Robert Cervero
Robert Cervero is Professor and Chair of the Department of City and Regional
Planning, University of California, Berkeley. He is a leading authority on transit
oriented development and author of numerous articles and research monographs on TOD and
sustainable transportation planning.
Luca Bertolini
Luca Bertolini is Senior Lecturer in Geography and Planning at the University of Amsterdam.
Since completing a pioneering cross-national, cross-disciplinary study on the redevelopment of
railway station areas – for his doctoral research – he has concentrated on research
and teaching at the interface of urban and transport development.
Jeremy Dawkins
Jeremy Dawkins is Chairman of the Western Australian Planning Commission. A planner, academic and designer, he was city planner at Fremantle, commissioner of the Australian Heritage Commission and foundation director of the postgraduate urban planning program at the University of Technology Sydney. Most recently he reorganised the planning of Sydney Harbour for the New South Wales Government and, for the Australian Government designed a new national model for streamlined planning approvals.
John L. Renne
John Renne is Visiting Research Associate in the Planning and Transport Research Centre, and Assistant Professor and Associate Director of the Maritime and Intermodal Transportation Center in the University of New Orleans. He has studied and taught at Rutgers University, the University of Colorado and Murdoch University. He has a particular interest in TOD, and more broadly in transportation and land use planning, smart growth and sustainable development, urban design, and international policy.
Peter Newman
Peter Newman is Professor in City Policy and Director of Murdoch University’s Institute for Sustainability and Technology Policy. Peter is chair of WA’s Sustainability Roundtable and Sustainability Commissioner in New South Wales. Peter was seconded to the Department of Premier and Cabinet as Director of the Sustainability Policy Unit from 2001-2003 to oversee development and adoption of the Western Australian Sustainability Strategy.
Warwick Hemsley
Warwick Hemsley is the Managing Director of Peet and Company Ltd. He has overseen the rapid expansion of the company to its current position as one of Australia’s largest and most successful developers and syndicators of residential land projects. A total of 41 current and future land projects in growth corridors in major cities across Australia include local projects such as Perth’s first transit oriented estate, The Village at Wellard and the HIA award-winning Lakelands Estate, north of Mandurah, as well as extensive developments in Melbourne’s west, south east and north. Under Mr Hemsley’s direction, Peet & Company Ltd was successfully listed on the Australian Stock Exchange last year.
Ross Holt
Ross Holt is Chief Executive of LandCorp, Western Australia’s specialist government land development agency. He constantly challenges his team to identify new ways to improve the business and provide leadership in the property industry including undertaking a range of transit-oriented developments as part of LandCorp’s commitment to sustainability.
Paul Conti Paul Conti is Principal of Perth-based Conti Consult, property and real estate practice consultants, and specialists in strategic marketing of new urban development including Transit Oriented Development. Paul has been in Real Estate since 1965 and in 2002 was awarded REIWA’s Kevin Sullivan Memorial Award for excellence achievement and integrity. He has consulted to a number of key projects in Western Australia, including Subiaco, East Perth and Midland Redevelopment Authorities.
Janet Rice
Janet Rice is a Councillor with the City of Maribyrnong in inner city Melbourne, Chair of the Melbourne Metropolitan Transport Forum, a Board Member of Victorian Local Governance Association and a member of State Council of The Greens Victoria. In her spare time she earns a living as a consultant in facilitation and community involvement, and is a parent of two lively kids! Janet is passionate about people being involved in decisions which affect their lives, about transport in Melbourne and across the country, and about working for a more sustainable and just world. She’s a keen commuter cyclist and worked for Bicycle Victoria for four years initiating and building Bicycle Victoria’s Ride to Work campaign.
Mike Mouritz
Mike Mouritz is Executive Director, Urban Policy at the Department for Planning and Infrastructure, Western Australia. His role includes policy and program delivery for coordination of urban land use, infrastructure and transport planning. Mike has over 20 years experience in planning, environment and development issues, in both private and public sectors, and has a particular interest in the interaction between places, people and their pursuits and a special interest in enhancing urban sustainability. Mike has a PhD in City Policy from Murdoch University.
Stuart Hicks
Stuart Hicks is Chairman of the Planning and Transport Research Centre, of the John Curtin Institute for Public Policy at Curtin University of Technology, and of the National Transport Commission. He is a former Director General of Transport in Western Australia.
Opportunities and Challenges for Local Government to promote Transit Oriented Development
A summary report of the local government workshop results on TOD will be released by ICLEI in the coming weeks and interested parties can contact the author if interested
There goes the neighbourhood? Or saving the world? And what’s Barry Humphries got to do with it all? Community views about transit orientated development
Conference Program
