Quotes and paraphrases from his final breakfast event, Friday, May 14

Targets
Canberra needs to set itself goals such as 10 large projects and 100 small projects in 1,000 days. This would involve 10 concept shifts. Also one major paradigm shift to the concept of:

Green urbanism
This would build on a foundation that exists in the Bush Capital, as it does in few other cities. Canberra could capture the green agenda and Canberrans be encouraged to live sustainably. This would include how buildings - new and existing - utilise energy, encouraging innovative and environmentally sustainable businesses and products, and promoting and expanding on existing green innovation. Green urbanism would attract visitors, residents and businesses that align themselves with these values.
“Because Canberra is small enough this concept would be noticed.”

Specific recommendations
• One thousand incubators to grow industries such as science, technology and the arts. These would be spread throughout the city.

• 10,000 new inhabitants in 10 years “You need to create a destination. Let daily life be the thing to attract people to the city.”

• Link town to gown. The Civic community library could be designed with people in mind. It could be combined with an ANU library and its hive of young students, a café, newsagents and other people-attracting features. “The ANU is a point of disconnection. It should be the vital hub connected to the city. At the moment they are separated, isolated blobs.”

• “Everyone loves water. The link with water seems key.”

“There needs to be a bit of wildness. Do something that is surprising and counter-intuitive, that says to people, ‘I didn’t think Canberra would do that sort of thing. I thought it was just boring’.” Wild events could include: a lunch for 5,000 people on the bridge for Canberra Day or the biggest dance party in Australia

• “The biggest risk for Canberra is the fact that it’s risk-averse.”

• “When these concepts are launched in a document don’t use words like ‘strategy’ or ‘policy’ etc. Write the poem like poetry and launch it like a drama.”

Key points
• “Canberra is not a city. It is a series of human settlements connected by very large roads.”

• “Canberra has a culture of caution. There is a lack of urgency in the city because the people who live here find it so comfortable”.

• “Canberra could benefit from a touch of craziness.”

• “It’s the city where the buildings say, ‘No’. You need to be a city that says, ‘Yes’.”

• “Canberra, where event the graffiti is tidy.”

• “The car should be a guest, not a driver of development. Cars here behave as if they own the bloody place.”

• “The strong but invisible creative, scientific and technological strengths of Canberra need to be more visible.”

• “Everything seems to be white.”

• “There are quite a number of carparks”

• “The world needs to know you’re creative. Don’t say you’re creative, just do it.” He quoted the example of Montpellier in France where in the innovation centre of the streets were named after famous scientists and other city signs and symbols led visitors to the conclusion that it was a creative and innovative city.

Key aspects of Jon Stanhope’s response to Charles Landry’s comments
• “We love Canberra but we don’t look at our city through rose-coloured glasses.”

• “We do need to be more flexible … and build on the strengths we have.”

• “Civic certainly hasn’t reached it’s potential.”

• “The Canberra Plan sees Civic as the future ‘dynamic heart’ of our city.”

• “Canberrans love and value the environment so let’s take it to the next step.”

• “Green urbanism beautifully sums up our desire to have a lively city which is environmentally responsible, where respect for the environment influences everything in the planning process, from the type of building materials we use to the way we manage public transport.”

• “Canberra in the 20th century was recognised internationally as one of the world’s great planned cities. In the 21st Century we should aspire to be a world leader in this new concept of ‘green urbanism’.”

If you would like a copy of Charles Landry's presentation from the final ICAN breakfast event on Friday, May 14, please email ican@asflimited.com.au