Shaping urban landscapes: key insights from the Future Cities Summit
At a glance
As Future Communities Partner for the Property Council of Australia's (PCA) Future Cities Summit 2024, GHD was proud to play an active role in exploring the future of Australian cities and urban areas, engaging in inspiring discussions with the many attendees on how to make cities more sustainable, equitable and inclusive for our current and future generations.The keynote address by Professor Greg Clark CBE FAcSS provided a thought-provoking frame for the event by benchmarking Australian cities in an international context. Professor Clark revealed that while Australian cities have a reputation for quality of life and robust economic opportunity, our cities are slipping down the global rankings in terms of adaptation agility – an important measure of sustainability and resilience – as well as our ability to attract future investment.
Intergenerational equity was another major focus of the event, with various presentations and discussions exploring how to create future community value through various types of economies: sharing, circular, experience, and innovation. Australia's unique opportunity to embrace the concept of "urban superclusters" – areas that can leverage the energy transition, water security, creative industries, financial services, and more – was another highlight.
For Michelle Cramer, GHD Future Communities Leader – Australia, the summit provided an important opportunity to raise awareness around the implications of rapid urbanisation. "Fifty percent of our global population currently reside in cities, and this is expected to grow to 85% by the end of the century, and it's no different in Australia," said Michelle.
While we’re already struggling to adapt in many respects, this rapid growth will bring with it a multitude of more intense challenges, from addressing congestion and transportation issues to finding innovative solutions for funding infrastructure and creating job opportunities. It's critical that we work together to identify solutions that align with our aspirations for future generations and communities."
To this end, there was a strong sense of urgency and a call to action for better governance, innovative strategies, and collaboration between different sectors represented at the PCA Future Cities Summit, and ultimately the need for a broad commitment to ensuring that our cities and urban areas are well-managed and sustainable, and provide a high quality of life for all residents.
GHD’s Future Communities initiative shares this commitment. We believe communities are at their best when they are connected, resilient, productive and inspired. We help our clients achieve the right balance of these four integrated enablers to deliver thriving places and spaces that put people first. By connecting our global network of capability across our enterprise, our integrated teams are ready and able to address the unique challenges of communities everywhere.