The Heat Dome: What can one woman do?

What can one woman do? … when a woman knows she is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates her mind wonderfully. After Samuel Johnson   Climatically, things are not well. The weather is crazy. The coldest Spring on record. Too cold to sit outside – in mid-May! The wettest summer on record is… Continue reading The Heat Dome: What can one woman do?

Toderian’s 10 Lessons in More Engaging Citizen Engagement”: A confused response

“Engagement Done Well” In a few days, Vancouver planner Brent Toderian will be speaking in Sydney, where last year he was training planning bureaucrats in the NSW State Government in community engagement. His conference topic is “Density Done Well”.  My topic in the preceding session was “Engagement Done Well”, making the point that density done… Continue reading Toderian’s 10 Lessons in More Engaging Citizen Engagement”: A confused response

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

All Hell Breaks Loose with Proposed Housing Density Increases in Vancouver!

  All hell is breaking loose in Vancouver. I wish I were there to watch it.   For decades, the so-called Lotus Land has prided itself on its premier status as the most liveable city in the world.     Etc.   And so on.     Visiting Overseas Experts Its retired or retrenched planners… Continue reading All Hell Breaks Loose with Proposed Housing Density Increases in Vancouver!

Wendy’s Blog: Bringing Planning to Life

                    Wendy’s Blog: Bringing Planning to Life   This is my blog as an independent planner.   My aim is to bring planning to life.   And en route, to bring life to planning.   It has four components:   Professional posts Personal posts Posts from… Continue reading Wendy’s Blog: Bringing Planning to Life

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?

Social Planner’s Distress Call: The NBN Information Session in Nimbin

    The inappropriate dress and exposed breasts of the woman from Ericsson were the best (or the worst, depending on your perspective) features of the NBN Information Session in Nimbin Town Hall today.   Oh dear.   Social Planner’s Distress Call.   Again.   It’s been a hard week and it’s only Monday.  … Continue reading Social Planner’s Distress Call: The NBN Information Session in Nimbin

Reflecting on EcoEnco, Environmental Ethics and Deep Ecology

  EcoEnco Recently I spent a wonderful week at the EcoEnco retreat in south-western Western Australia with an intergenerational group of passionate, green, committed, like-minded people. See: https://ecoenco.com     The focus of our work for that week was Deep Ecology.   As our work deepened and our friendships strengthened, I realised that not all… Continue reading Reflecting on EcoEnco, Environmental Ethics and Deep Ecology

Banging on about Bang the Table

A couple of times recently, I’ve heard Australians complain about the Australian online engagement firm, Bang the Table (BTT) (see https://bangthetable.com/).   I’ve done their training and greatly admire their work, which I see as directly complementary to my more “hands-on” approaches.   I decided it was time to sort things out in my own… Continue reading Banging on about Bang the Table

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