Monday, 30th September 2013: Business & policy Dialogue
Tuesday 1 October to Thursday, 3rd October: Academic and Policy Dialogue
www.isngi.org
ENDORSING PARTNERS
The following are confirmed contributors to the business and policy dialogue in Sydney:
• Rick Sawers (National Australia Bank)
• Nick Greiner (Chairman (Infrastructure NSW)
www.isngi.org
What makes a city liveable? Implications for next
generation Infrastructure services
Presented by: Mrs Joanne Leach, University of Birmingham
What makes a city liveable? Joanne Leach
University of Birmingham
2 October 2013
This presentation
• About us
• City Description Framework
• Envisioning a future liveable UK city
• City Analysis Methodology
Liveable Cities
Transforming the Engineering of Cities
to deliver Societal and Planetary Wellbeing
• Engineering and Physical Sciences Research
Council (EPSRC) funded
• UK consortium of four universities
• Five year programme, starting in May 2012
• £6M
• ~40 academic team members
• ~80 stakeholder partners
Liveable Cities
Our focus is on an 80% carbon-reduced, resource-
secure UK city in which wellbeing is optimised
• How do UK cities function today?
• How should a future liveable city function?
• What is stopping us from achieving future
liveability?
• How can engineering overcome the barriers?
o Innovative engineering solutions
o Transforming engineering itself
Liveable Cities
While this process is conceptually straightforward, the
implementation of change relies upon a fit to the
context, exogenous and endogenous influences and
city capacity and capability, and faces many barriers,
such as resistance to individual and societal behaviour
change, political will to enact change in a climate of
short-term electoral cycles, professional inertia, the
capability and capacity to effect changes and the
perceived risks associated with doing things differently.
Nevertheless it has the potential to make explicit the
opportunities and consequences of action or inaction.
Thought starters
Infrastructure underpins urban liveability
• What do we mean by liveability?
• What do we mean by infrastructure?
Complexity / reflexivity / managing risk (uncertainty)
Opposing forces?
• Project versus systems thinking
• Emergence versus control
• Rigid versus flexible / self-regulatory / adaptive
• Infrastructure versus critical infrastructure
Sustainability: economic, social and environmental
Our focus is on an 80% carbon-reduced, resource-
secure UK city in which wellbeing is optimised
• How do UK cities function today?
• How should a future liveable city function?
• What is stopping us from achieving future
liveability?
• How can engineering overcome the barriers?
o Innovative engineering solutions
o Transforming engineering itself
Liveable Cities
Today
Three UK case studies + international case studies
• Birmingham – largest local authority in Europe
• Lancaster – ancient settlement to transition town
• Southampton – port city
• Vienna
• Singapore
• South America
City Description Framework
Future Liveability
Emergence versus control
Vision components
To be a low carbon city, providing the highest possible
resource security with the highest wellbeing whilst
ensuring a quality environment, economic vitality and
appropriate governance.
Vision + aims
To be a low carbon city, providing the highest possible
resource security with the highest wellbeing whilst
ensuring a quality environment, economic vitality and
appropriate governance.
• Minimise operational and embodied carbon
• Maximise individual and community wellbeing
• Enhance biodiversity and ecosystem services
• Enhance the built environment
• Ensure economic vitality
• Ensure resource security
• Ensure appropriate governance
Vision + aims
To be a low carbon city, providing the highest possible
resource security with the highest wellbeing whilst
ensuring a quality environment, economic vitality and
appropriate governance.
• Minimise operational and embodied carbon
• Maximise individual and community wellbeing
• Enhance biodiversity and ecosystem services
• Enhance the built environment
• Ensure economic vitality
• Ensure resource security
• Ensure appropriate governance
Aim + objectives
Minimising operational and embodied carbon
• Minimise energy use from carbon fuels
• Minimise water use and maximise its reuse
• Minimise waste produced and maximise its reuse
and recycling
• Optimise food supply chain
• Minimise high carbon mobilities (transport) of
people and objects (including food)
• Use of low carbon and low impact materials
• Use of low carbon resources
• Conduct all activities in the lowest carbon way
Minimising operational and embodied carbon
• Minimise energy use from carbon fuels
• Minimise water use and maximise its reuse
• Minimise waste produced and maximise its reuse
and recycling
• Optimise food supply chain
• Minimise high carbon mobilities (transport) of
people and objects (including food)
• Use of low carbon and low impact materials
• Use of low carbon resources
• Conduct all activities in the lowest carbon way
Aim + objectives
Use of low carbon and low impact materials
Use of renewable resources on all residential new
builds
• Use of timber from renewable resources
• Use of recycled aggregates
• …
Objective + measures
Applicability
How a city / local authority might use the City
Description Framework and City Analysis Methodology
Roadmap
Our focus is on an 80% carbon-reduced, resource-
secure UK city in which wellbeing is optimised
• How do UK cities function today?
• How should a future liveable city function?
• What is stopping us from achieving future
liveability?
• How can engineering overcome the barriers?
o Innovative engineering solutions
o Transforming engineering itself
Liveable Cities
Liveable Cities
Our focus is on an 80% carbon-reduced, resource-
secure UK city in which wellbeing is optimised
• How do UK cities function today?
• How should a future liveable city function?
• What is stopping us from achieving future
liveability?
• How can engineering overcome the barriers?
o Innovative engineering solutions
o Transforming engineering itself
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