Vancouver’s EcoDensity Policy: Reflections on Australian Planning’s Cultural Cringe and Cultural Imperialism

Australia‘s “cultural cringe”   One of the challenges of being a “migrant” in Australia is understanding the “cultural cringe” that infects so much of Australian life. I’ve lived and worked here for 45 years and it still puzzles me. For those not familiar with it, it is an internalised inferiority complex that causes us to… Continue reading Vancouver’s EcoDensity Policy: Reflections on Australian Planning’s Cultural Cringe and Cultural Imperialism

NIMBY Psychology: What Can a Planner Do?

Last night we had a lively discussion in Brisbane hosted by the Planning Institute, Queensland Branch.   Stephanie Wyeth, a highly experienced engagement practitioner and Director of Urbis, Queensland, and I spoke about the practical aspects of community engagement in a well-attended “How-To” seminar.     I spoke about NIMBY Psychology: What Can a Planner… Continue reading NIMBY Psychology: What Can a Planner Do?

NIMBY psychology at Harvard University February 2013

  NIMBY psychology comes to Harvard — from Australia!   February was an exciting month for me. I spent it teaching in the Graduate School of Design (GSD) at Harvard University and giving lectures and classes at MIT and Tufts University.   It was exceptionally cold for a person who lives in the sub-tropics. A… Continue reading NIMBY psychology at Harvard University February 2013

NIMBY Psychology: Lunch-time Colloquium, Tufts University, 6 February 2013

6 February 2013 What’s Psychology Got to Do with NIMBY?:   Exploring the Deeper Meanings of Community Resistance to Proposed Housing Density Increases                   I spent several hours teaching and meeting with facultry at Tufts University during my month in Boston.   My hosts included Julian Aygeman,… Continue reading NIMBY Psychology: Lunch-time Colloquium, Tufts University, 6 February 2013

“Realising the Revolution”: Medium-Density Housing in Queensland by Bridget Rogan and Fran Toomey

First posted June 8, 2012 – 3:21 pm   Two Brisbane Planners Call for a “Revolutionary” Approach to Increasing Housing Density: Realising the Revolution?     In a recent paper to the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) Queensland conference, Bridget Rogan and Fran Toomey of the Council of Mayors (SEQ) presented the results of work… Continue reading “Realising the Revolution”: Medium-Density Housing in Queensland by Bridget Rogan and Fran Toomey

Wendy Sarkissian on Nimby Psychology at The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, Adelaide, 29 May 2013

                  NIMBY psychology is coming to Adelaide!   On 29th May at 6 pm, I will be presenting on NIMBY psychology at a free public lecture at the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre at the University of South Australia. The lecture is free but seating is lmited… Continue reading Wendy Sarkissian on Nimby Psychology at The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, Adelaide, 29 May 2013