Prof Barbara Norman - Planning Renaissance

Hustle & Bustle podcast

Prof. Barbara Norman is the Foundation Chair of Urban and Regional Planning and Director of Canberra Urban and Regional Futures at the University of Canberra. She has a substantial professional background having worked at all levels of government and her own private practice. Her current research and teaching interests include sustainable cities and regions, coastal planning, climate change adaptation and urban governance.

Professor Norman is a highly esteemed professional, including:

• immediate past Chair of the ACT Climate Change Council
• Visiting Fellow at the Australian National University
• Life Fellow and past national president of the Planning Institute of Australia
• Life Honorary Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (UK)
• qualifications include a Bachelor of Town & Regional Planning, Masters of Environmental Law and a PhD on sustainable coastal planning
• contributing author to IPCC 5 WG 2 report on Impacts 2013
• awarded an Australian Centenary Medal for her contribution to the community through urban and regional planning.

In this episode we chat about:

• Barbara's career highlights
• What motivates her
• The importance of planning
• Tackling climate change
• Her new book to be launched at COP27 later this year

Some of the key takeaways from this discussion:

• the value of planning is being restored and going through a renaissance
• planners are driven by common good / community good
• we can achieve much more when we cooperate and collaborate - would be great to see all Australian Planning Ministers coming together
• its time to embed climate change in planning law across Australia
• we need to map existing climate risks across Australia to identify areas of vulnerability, and then prepare place-specific plans for most vulnerable communities.
• must not add to the legacy of vulnerability
• need to upskill planners and built environment professionals to gain confidence in planning for climate change
• we are past the point of climate guidelines - its time for regulations. Industry want certainty
• Insurance industry are looking to planning profession to be proactive
• Carbon neutral developments are lacking evaluation and monitoring
• 90% of built environment will still be here in 2050 - focus on re-use and improving existing urban fabric to create resilient and sustainable outcomes
• possible legacy for Brisbane 2032 would be to embed climate change process in everything we do

References referred to by Barbara:

• IPCC report on Adaptation - link
• Glasgow Climate Pact - outcome of COP26 - link

Hope you enjoy this chat :)