Who else is on the @NZGreens Kids in the City webinar hosted by @JulieAnneGenter right now? *waves* (yes this is my second webinar today!)
Great hearing from the amazing Emma McInnes from @WomenInUrbanism talking about the impact of basing transport systems on (male centred) 9-5 commute patterns.
Now have Cr Sara Templeton from Chch pointing out the need to have women and children involved in decision-making and having a voice. Chch rebuild devoted a block to a playground in the city (Margaret Mahy Playground, it's amazing, you should go if you can!)
And the final panellist is (Urban Design) World Famous @skyejduncan a NZer who works for @GlobalStreets - worked on the universal street design guide that flips focus on car as king, to put people first, especially the more vulnerable.
Skye points out our streets are our largest network of open space in cities, we have designed a lot of physical activity out of our lives, road deaths are preventable and leading cause of death worldwide for age 5-29 yo.
Really good discussion about the barriers to change - shifting a culture that cares more about our cars than about our kids - no magical answer, need to set a new baseline and remove impediments right through the system (political, technical, funding, etc).
Question about whether driving will be the next smoking in terms of being a major public health issue and should be framed more aggressively in that way?
Response from @skyejduncan that different framing works for different audiences and aspects. Agrees though that we will likely look back and wonder why we let so many people die from preventable car-related reasons (accidents in particular). Definitely a helpful analogy...
... in terms of recognising that what we thought was unreasonable in terms of smoking restrictions two decades ago is now seen as perfectly reasonable eg not smoking in bars etc. We can change the conversation for our streets too.
Sara Templeton and Emma McInnes agree shaming people isn't effective. A lot of people don't have choices now to not drive, in particular women. The people who should be embarassed are those who haven't put the systems in place to give people other choices, not drivers.
Now talking about different metrics and data - Sara points out Chch has their cycle counters publicly available and regularly updated, helpful to point out when people say no one cycles. Emma adds that some politicians just don't want to see it unfortunately.
Emma talks about how a councillor changed their position on SkyPath when they were getting deluged with submissions in favour of it, so many their phone fell off the table during the public meeting. Hah! (Please don't ever do that to me folks, actually do, that would be cool!)
Sara pointing out the value of getting people to come and share their stories, eg woman with her baby in a sling at the meeting talking directly to her own experience. Emma mentions the difficulty though for people to participate in these meetings, challenge of accessibility.
Skye mentions that there is a bunch of metrics on @NACTO - what cities tend to measure now is car movements, and that dominates conversations. Focus is on how do we shift to quantitative and qualitative measurements of the full range of street users.
Also big value in taking decision-makers to a site, to the community impacted. Can really shift perspectives. I think this might include the metrics Skye mentioned globaldesigningcities.org/publication/gl…
Query specifically around the cancellation of light rail in AKL (booooo!) @JulieAnneGenter clarifies it isn't cancelled, City Centre to Mangere still a govt priority, reverting back to original process. She is v keen to have AT and Akl Council at the table to get great outcome.
Emma points out that it's going to be a great project, LRT is an enabler of people friendly streets, and its ok if it takes longer to get a better result. JAG points out it will still take less time than the 37 years it would have taken under National!
Discussion about international examples of light rail and how when there is successful on boarding and off boarding for all then it gives great mobility choices to many. Can be a good spine for other transport choices to work with eg cycling, car-share. Many smaller cities...
... around the world prioritise public transit as a public good, which pays off for decades to come. Skye v hopeful for NZ! Also makes space for nature in our cities.
Sara - essential we have more nature around us, where we are living, especially as we live more intensely. Not all manicured, but allowing space for exploration. Emma - Covid19 showed us how essential it was that people could access local parks, not just a patch of grass.
(Shoutout from me for the amazing Te Auaunga project through Wesley - Walmsley and Underwood Parks rejuvenated, with playground, naturalised creek, community fale, pump track, and more! thx @nzdodo @BikeAKL for this excellent summary bikeauckland.org.nz/a-river-runs-t…)
Emma points out the difference between the two playgrounds in AKL's city centre - Myers Park which can be quite creepy, not activated enough, versus Silo Park with amazing activation. Huge benefits to including nature in our streets and urban environments.
Skye mentions the learning that happens through access to nature, sense triggered, watching autumn leaves fall and how they crunch and change colour. Because city space is limited we need to work hard to make it work with as many functions as we can.
JAG summing up now - importance of including those less represented especially mana whenua - need more people who are passionate about this to get involved; professionally, politically, in your neighbourhood, groups like @GenZeroNZ @WomenInUrbanism @BikeAKL - share your stories..
... make submissions, VOTE! (thx for the shoutout JAG <3) Share the positive guidelines that organisations like @GlobalStreets have created, sometimes the decision-makers don't know! Hold your politicians to account, (agree!) push for gender mainstreaming, measure!
Thx to @NZGreens and @JulieAnneGenter for hosting a really interesting discussion tonight, hope these tweets were useful for people (sorry I was distracted by my missing cat turning up near the start!)
