A new era for Walking? Delivering transformative change for urban environments and climate change
The Government has announced its intent to replace and refocus the Resource Management Act. Together with the Local Government Act this is where most of our walking planning gets done. One aim of that work will be to deliver:
Planning for positive outcomes, and managing adverse effects to achieve them: Re-orientates decision-making from principally managing ‘adverse effects’ to seeking to achieve specified positive outcomes across natural and built environments to support intergenerational wellbeing – all within environmental limits (but still also managing adverse effects).
The proposed Strategic Planning Act would integrate high level planning for transport, resource management and local government investment, while the Climate Change Response Act would provide mechanisms for addressing adjustments to climate change effects such as sea level rise.
The Climate Change Commission has delivered its first report to the Government. In its draft advice the Climate Change Commission set a target of 25% walk mode share increase and stated that:
Reducing transport emissions is crucial to meeting our climate targets. Action here will have an immediate and lasting impact . . . In Aotearoa we need to change the way we build and plan our towns and cities and the way people and products move around. This includes making walking and cycling easier with good cycleways and footpaths . . . An integrated national transport network should be developed to reduce travel by private car. There needs to be much more walking, cycling and use of public and shared transport.
Now on Zoom - check out the link for each day
This Summit will focus on the steps that are needed to deliver on these two transformative visions. Visions that will embed walking as fundamental to a healthy, sustainable and social future for all of us, part of our valued human heritage and a right. We know urban populations strongly value walkability, that walkable neighbourhoods and well-designed cities improve public health and community resilience, that walkability can be measured in economic benefits and that well-designed denser cities encourage walking. This Summit will investigate how we get the improvements we need and deserve.
A two day event on 24 - 25 June 2021 with speakers talking to the above themes, and walkshops to highlight the issues on the street.