UrbanTalk Podcast

In this episode, the UrbanTalk Podcast welcomes Dean Boone – Director and Founder of landscape architecture firm, distinctive Living Design. Dean speaks with us about the role of the landscape architect and how projects can get the best possible landscape outcome. In addition, he gives a brief introduction to Designing with Country, explaining what it involves and how a developer might begin the process.

Mixed-Use developments make up many of the new projects that are constructed in our cities, but they aren’t all created equal. When done correctly mixed-use can provide an affordable, sustainable, inclusive and convenient way of living that contributes positively to our cities.

Gary Henighen – Senior Associate at award-winning architecture and design studio, Architectus – joins us to discuss architecture and mixed-use development.

We're joined by Simon Kuestenmacher, Director of Research and co-founder of The Demographics Group, to discuss some of the findings from the 2021 Census and what they mean for Australia. The data from the census can play a huge role in how we plan our cities and approach development in the future. A demographer like Simon has the ability to see problems years in advance, so how can we respond to challenges like housing, aged care, worker shortages and the decentralisation of our cities?

Belinda speaks with Kylie Legge, founder of social research company Place Score to discuss how we measure and think about liveability in our cities. Place Score has done fantastic work in collecting data from communities all over the country to discover what they value, need and want from their neighbourhood. The goal is to use this data to help councils and the private sector create great, people centric places and spaces.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a shift in the way we use our cities and interact with our local neighbourhoods. More people are shopping local, working from home and using local amenities as a result of lockdowns.

Our host, Belinda Barnett, speaks with Sonny Embleton, head of urban design at Gyde Consulting, to talk about the implications this will have on city and town planning in the future.

Hyecorp's Co-Managing Director & Head of Development, Stephen Abolakian joins us to discuss the steps of development and his philosophy and approach to the process.

Our host, Belinda Barnett, touches on who she is and what can be expected from UrbanTalk and the podcast series.

UrbanTalk is an online platform that aims to bridge the gap between the development sector and community by sparking a thriving, inclusive and progressive dialogue around development in Australia, that creates great places. Our podcast is educating the public and demystifying everything to do with the development sector.