PPS Presents:
Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper: Lessons from Australia
February 8
I didn’t go.. because it was too cold… I know… bbbbut it was streaming live!
In the face of economic hardship, how can cities capitalize on their inherent creative ingenuity and create places in low-cost, immediate and hyperlocal ways?
Join us Tuesday, February 8th for the launch of our new series on Lighter, Quicker, CheaperPlacemaking keynoted by Marcus Westbury, founder of Renew Newcastle and Renew Australia.
When Marcus Westbury began the Renew Newcastle initiative in late 2008, building owners would not return his calls because the tax write offs outweighed the meager rents their Central Business District real-estate was yielding. In the two years since, Westbury recruited and incubated over 60 artisanal businesses transforming the district into the heart of one of Lonely Planet’s Top 10 Cities in the World for 2011.
Marcus Westbury will discuss the low-cost, high return strategies that transformed Newcastle as well as the Renew Australia initiative he has founded to catalyze similar creative culture-based revitalization in cities around the country. The event will also examine the “Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper” movement that is transforming cities around the world through an array of interventions that can revitalize spaces with a fraction of the investment that communities would spend through traditional planning and development. These include flexible approaches to development, experiments in re-allocating street space, pop-up uses and architecture, local markets, public art and public events that efficiently enable an enriching urban experience.
When: Tuesday February 8, 2011, 6:00 pm to 8pm
Where: Project for Public Spaces, 700 Broadway 4th Floor, New York, NY 10003
Cost: Free, wine and light fare provided
