The Penrith City Council is sharing learnings from its Cooling the City Masterclass by making the recordings of the event available online.
The council hosted the Masterclass on February 18, to explore initiatives on creating cooler and more liveable urban spaces. The event was developed in response to councilor concerns arising from community feedback on the impact of urban heat on Penrith’s future liveability.
The all-day Masterclass attracted 350 built environment professionals. It featured presentations from leading scientists, international and national academics, sustainability experts, green champions, as well as industry leaders.
Video presentations from the Masterclass are now available to view on the Council’s YouTube channel.
“As NSW moves to focus on the economic recovery from COVID-19, development and infrastructure projects are going to play a key role in revitalising our economy. We need to integrate quality urban design outcomes as we work towards this,” says Penrith Mayor, Ross Fowler OAM.
“The Masterclass content is a good reminder of our future focus to deliver exceptional liveability outcomes and resilience for our communities.”
The Masterclass presenters include Dr Josh Byrne from Josh Byrne & Associates; Western Sydney University Assistant Vice-Chancellor, Dr Andy Marks; Sustainability Advisor at Frasers Property Australia, Sean Kahn; University of Utah’s Dr Diane Pataki; Beck Dawson from Resilient Sydney; Western Sydney University’s Senior Research Fellow, Dr Sebastian Pfautsch; the Environment Commissioner for the Greater Sydney Commission, Rod Simpson; CSIRO’s Senior Principal Research Scientist, Dr Simon Toze; and Steve Hartley from the NSW Department of Planning.
Along with bespoke solutions, a number of case studies and new research on tackling Sydney’s urban heat dilemma were presented. These evidence-based presentations were aimed at raising awareness and inspiring practical solutions among leading planners, developers and other professionals working in the built environment as well as the New South Wales government.
“The time for action is now. We encourage anyone who wants to learn more about sustainable development to take the time to engage with these materials,” says Fowler.
The Cooling the City Masterclass video playlist is available here.