Our Work
The relationships between technology, data, people and place are changing rapidly. We believe our planning and design practices have not caught up.
We are creating the Future of Place Handbook to help us take advantage of these changes, and shape the best places for people.
We use the 'future of place' term as meaning the transformation of spaces - such as car parks, footpaths, laneways, parks, plazas, highstreets, suburban centers, neighborhoods and precincts - to advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Our North Star
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's) are being used as the guiding framework for thinking about the future of place. These 17 Goals are an urgent call for action by all cities and countries to provide peace and prosperity for people and planet.
SDG 11 alone seeks to shape cities that are inclusive, resilient and sustainable. Goals 3, 5 and 8 address issues of wellbeing, equity and prosperity. And issues relating to infrastructure, landscape and governance are further advanced in SDG 9, 15 and 16 respectively.
All of these issues are 'place' issues.
With a milestone of 2030, the SDG's are the perfect framework to think about the future of place, and how technology and data can help accelerate these outcomes for people and place.
The Primer
We have compiled our 'Big Picture' Primer for the Future of Place project to share our 'why?'. We encourage you to review the e-book and share your views. Email us anytime at: engagement@futureofplace.org
The Enablers
There are a series of new innovations that are emerging, and in some cases having a profound effect on our places and spaces.
These innovations include:
- Electric and autonomous vehicles
- E-commerce trends
- Micro mobility
- Carsharing and mobility as a service platforms
- Urban food delivery
- Micro transit and delivery systems.
There are also core technology and data enablers that are underpinning these changes.
These enablers include:
- Internet of Things
- 5G Connectivity
- Interoperability
- Security and Privacy
- Cloud computing
- Community-generated data
- Advanced analytics and visualization
- Artificial intelligence.
And we must not forget the power of the smartphone, the ubiquitous tool helping us find, appreciate and record our place experiences.
The Future of Place Handbook will provide guidance to policymakers and practitioners on how to embrace these enablers and shape places and spaces that are sustainable, productive and inclusive.
Our collective goal remains the same - the best places for people. However, the enablers of successful places have evolved, as described above.
The Future of Place project explores these new enablers and looks to harness them to shape the best places for people.