Energising communities at Green Cities
As the rate of technological change accelerates, harnessing the harmonising power of nature has never been more important, heard the audience at the 12th annual Green Cities conference last week.
The joint conference of the Property Council and Green Building Council of Australia, Green Cities brought together the industry’s leading thinkers with politicians and policy makers for two days of dissecting and debating the compelling issues of today and tomorrow.
Energy, emissions and a zero carbon future were obvious themes, but the dizzying speed of technological change also wove its way through most sessions.
The property industry’s leaders are undoubtedly grappling with a rapidly changing world. Artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles, drones and data analytics were all under the microscope.
“We are living in very uncertain times,” said Lendlease’s Kylie Rampa in the kick-off session. She’d just come back from Silicon Valley “quite depressed” by the rapid progress of robotics and what that would mean for employment and “dislocation of communities”.
“It’s happening much faster than I thought,” Rampa said, but added that her optimism returned when she reflected on our ability to “adapt and repurpose”, and the beautiful bespoke architecture that awaited.
Multiplex’s John Flecker was upbeat, reminding the audience that a robot may lay the bricks, but artificial intelligence was unlikely to take over a complex construction supply chain that is dependent on human interaction.
Frasers Property Australia’s Rod Fehring pointed to the potential for excess capacity – identified through data analytics and enhanced through autonomous vehicles – to reinvent the way space is used.
Some roles will be operated entirely by one person at a switch board, Fehring said, which will expand opportunities for human beings to think “synthetically and laterally”.
No one can entirely plan for the future – because no one can keep up. But human beings are inherently adaptable, and we will find solutions, Flecker added.
And these solutions are increasingly mind-blowing. The audience heard about large-scale solar installations and LED lighting retrofits saving millions, social media and smart city innovations putting decision-making power in the hands of people, and social sustainability projects adding new layers of shared value.
The optimism in the room was palpable. Key note speaker Professor Ross Garnaut argued that we are living through a “global energy revolution” driving a “great period of innovation”. “If we do things right, we will be the world’s natural home of low-cost energy,” Professor Garnaut said.
Stockland’s managing director Mark Steinert set the audience’s pulse racing in a conversation about the “heart starters” in the race to renewables. Steinert talked about the 31 Tesla charging stations which meant customers could plug in their electric vehicles on the journey between Melbourne and Cairns without spending a cent. He also predicted a not-too-distant future in which “Alexa will tell you that you are burning through $300 an hour, and ask if you want to turn down the air-conditioning”.
The counterpoint to this world of high-tech wizardry was to bring the power of nature back to our cities, the audience heard. As our cities grow and densify, plants are essential for people.
Pascal Mittermaier, managing director of the cities unit at The Nature Conservancy had a sobering thought. The average high schooler spends up to seven hours on a screen each day but less than 30 minutes outdoors in nature each week. “What happens when people with little exposure to nature start making decisions about cities?” he asked.
The news wasn’t all bad. Dr Jacki Schirmer, an associate professor in health research at the University of Canberra, unpacked her findings into the efficacy of plants. She’s found that workplaces that boast five ‘biophilic’ or natural elements – light, views and images of nature, plants and water – record 100 per cent satisfaction from employees.
And “gardens have a lovely way of gluing people together” said gardening guru Jamie Durie.
“Cities are places of hope,” said Anthony Albanese, shadow minister for infrastructure. They are in a rapid state of flux but how we respond to the challenges we face will “make all the difference”. We have before us a “serious responsibility” but also a “unique opportunity” to create cities that energise communities for generations to come.
Summing up the two days, Property Council chief executive Ken Morrison said it was clear “there is no shortage of innovation in this industry, but we’ll need all that innovation and more to meet the challenges ahead”.
Those challenges will be debated and dissected some more when the industry’s leaders gather in Darwin from 12-14 September for The Property Congress. The Early Bird discount rate is now available. Book online today.