Transport Planning as Freedom Planning

Transport Planning as Freedom Planning

What if we planned public transport with a goal of personal freedom? Join us at Auckland Conversations as we explore this idea with Jarrett Walker, one of the original designers of Auckland's new bus network.

5:00pm: Networking & refreshments
5:30pm: Start
7:00pm: Finish

The challenge of public transit today is not just having good ideas but being able to explain them.  It's crucial to integrate the task of planning with the tasks of explanation and of creating leading innovative processes that engage and empower the public. The goal is managing behaviour change in a positive way – changing the way people travel and the positive outcomes that can produce for Auckland. 

Jarrett Walker, a popular speaker and author of the popular book Human Transit, is one of the field’s great explainers.  His worldwide transit consulting practice is all about helping communities see their options, and think about their goals, so that they make great decisions for themselves.

We aim to start a conversation here about how transit works, what choices it presents, and how we can use it to create a better Auckland with some real-life examples of change that’s about to reshape the way we use the CBD and beyond.

Eddie Tuiavii, Senior Hearings Advisor at Auckland Council will MC the night. Jarret will also be joined by a panel of industry experts including: 
Jessica Rose, Albert Eden Local Board member and representative for Women in Urbanism Auckland
Daniel Newcombe, Manager Strategic Projects, Central, North & West, Auckland Transport
Ludo Campbell-Reid, Design Champion and General Manager Auckland Design Office, Auckland Council

This Auckland Conversation is brought to you in partnership with Auckland Transport and with support from MRCagney, celebrating 15 years in Aotearoa.

Reduce your impact on congestion, emissions and parking. Plan your trip and bike to the event! There will a bike rack available outside the main lobby entrance.

Listen to the podcast

Jarrett Walker

President, Jarrett Walker + Associates

Jarrett Walker, PhD, is an international consultant in public transit network design and policy. He has been a full-time consultant since 1991 and has led numerous major planning projects in North America, Australia, and New Zealand. He is President at Jarrett Walker + Associates, based in Portland, Oregon, and Principal Consultant with MRCagney in Australia.

He is the author of the popular public transit blog HumanTransit.org, and the book Human Transit: How Clearer Thinking about Public Transit Can Enrich Our Communities and Our Lives(Island Press, 2011). This book is a friendly, non-technical introduction to transit’s underlying geometry, and the real value judgments that must be explored to make both transit and development policy. His background integrates an arts and humanities PhD (Stanford, 1996) with long technical experience in all aspects of transit and its role in city-building. He is a frequent keynote speaker, teacher, and facilitator of decision-making processes.

Jessica Rose

Albert Eden Local Board member and representative for Women in Urbanism Auckland

A woman of many hats, Jessica comes from a community lead background. She started her journey just under a decade ago, through grassroots activations and advocacy for bicycles as a safe, inclusive and accessible transport mode.  Since 2016 she has been serving in her first term on a local board, working as a lead for transport, environment, and sustainability. She holds a second job as a programme manager for placemaking at Homes, Land and Community [HLC] working with people and neighbourhoods Auckland wide.  Her interest in people and behaviour started with a BA in Anthropology and more recently post graduate diploma in HRM, researching how diverse people react to change in organised environments.

Jessica served on the committee for Frocks on Bikes, and also for Bike Auckland as a champion for a safer and more connected transport network for women.  She has been with Women in Urbanism [WiU] Aotearoa since their inception in 2017, whose mission is to transform our towns and cities into more beautiful, inspiring and inclusive places for everyone.  WiU believe that planning public spaces, transport systems and built environments for women, results in equitable access for all.  

In a world where work-life balance can mean a blending of the two, Jessica is in the process of self building an eco home in suburban Auckland.  Ever the sustainable transport professional, the project started in 2014 and the location was chosen for its access to the freedom of nearby public transit options.  

Eddie Tuiavii

Senior Hearings Advisor, Auckland Council

Eddie is currently a Senior Hearings Advisor with Auckland Council and is former member of the Pacific Peoples Advisory Panel. Prior to working for council, he served as the Public Affairs Specialist for the U.S. Embassy. A University of Auckland alumnus, Eddie has a background in sociology, education and politics and over the last 10 years has served as an education and governance specialist on many regional and national advisories. Eddie frequents Midwest U.S.A where he has lived and worked for the Kettering Foundation  - a multinational organization dedicated to understanding "what is takes for democracy to work as it should" - advancing deliberative democracy and democratic dialogue with citizens, leaders and legislators from more than 70 countries around the world. 

Ludo Campbell-Reid

General Manager of Auckland Design Office, Auckland Council

Ludo Campbell-Reid is a globally renowned thought-leader on Cities and Sustainable Development. He is a City Planning & Urban Design expert with over 24 years’ public & private sector experience on large-scale city transformation projects in London, Cape Town and Auckland.

Ludo is currently the General Manager of Auckland Council’s Auckland Design Office (ADO), a department of multi-disciplinary built environment professionals charged with spearheading Auckland’s design-led urban renaissance.

Ludo is also Council’s Design Champion and is accountable for achieving design excellence in Council’s plans, policies and projects; working alongside the private sector and community to deliver exemplary design outcomes and promoting the council’s design-led city agenda across the organisation, the wider Auckland community and internationally.

In 2015 he was described by Metro Magazine as one of the Top 50 Most influential Aucklanders. The NZ Property Council People Awards in 2016 labelled him as the "lightning rod for the transformation of downtown Auckland". While Paperboy magazine branded him as "the Design Champion with an unshakeable faith in Auckland". He was nominated as one of NZs Most Creative People by Idealog magazine (2017) and made an Honorary member of the Designers Institute of New Zealand in 2018. 

Daniel Newcombe

Manager Strategic Projects - Central, North & West, Auckland Transport

Daniel leads a team in the Strategy Division at Auckland Transport who help plan major projects for the future of Auckland, including major public transport projects for the Northwest and North Shore. Daniel also leads the strategic transport planning for the city centre, bringing together the integration of light rail, traffic, bus, cycle and pedestrian networks, along with supporting wider urban realm outcomes.  Daniel has a Bachelor’s degree in Planning and a Master’s degree in Engineering, and has worked around Auckland and overseas for the last 20 years, on projects such as the Waterview tunnel, light rail, busways, harbour crossing, bus lane and cycleway projects.  An early adopter of an e-bike, Daniel is often seen cycling in his suit around the city centre between meetings, normalising cycling as a transport mode for non-lycra-wearers.

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