National workshop on water-sensitive cities
May 2009
Commissioner Chris Davis and delegates at the workshop
The Commission has collaborated with the International Water Centre and Monash University to hold a high-level workshop to discuss action to facilitate a faster take-up of water-sensitive-cities projects.
The one-day meeting, at Old Parliament House, Canberra, assessed progress on creating water-sensitive cities around Australia, discerned the major problems/issues around the state capital cities and identified strategies and actions to facilitate fast take-up of water-sensitive-city investments.
The workshop had input from presenters who held a number of two-day workshops on the same topic in Perth, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. The five lead-up workshops were held during February and were attended by some 500 water industry professionals. The contribution of the 500 professionals attending the state workshops was collated and presented at the workshop.
The aim of the Canberra workshop was to draw out the lessons from the previous workshops for government policy on water-sensitive cities. It was attended by about 70, including policy makers from Commonwealth agencies, key state officials involved in water-sensitive urban design and related areas, selected national and peak bodies, and other key stakeholders and individuals.
During the course of the day workshop participants:
- shared a brief history of the latest international knowledge and evidence for moving towards water-sensitive cities in Australia from social, engineering, climatology and urban design perspectives
- were given an understanding of the policy background to water-sensitive cities in Australia
- discussed the key characteristics of water-sensitive cities
- shared the views of approximately 500 Australian water industry practitioners in relation to the key issues, opportunities and actions required to achieve a water sensitive city
- developed an understanding of what might be the appropriate response professionally, organisationally or politically to effect transition to water-sensitive cities in Australia.
For further information on the outputs of the series of workshops go to www.watersensitivefutures.org