The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA), Smart Cities Council Australia and New Zealand (SCCANZ) and Internet of Things Alliance Australia (IoTAA) has released the Future Street position statement, calling on government at all levels to embrace our streets as important public spaces. This is to be done using the principles of the installation that was part of the 2017 International Festival of Landscape Architecture.

Future Street was a public activation, demonstrating the design concepts and technology for our future public spaces. Transforming a prominent Sydney street and reclaiming it for the people of the city, Future Street sparked ideas about how these spaces could be different and what that means for the community.

“Designing streets that are greener, more complete and smarter had a tremendous response from the tens of thousands of people who visited and walked through the installation,” says SCCANZ Executive Officer, Adam Beck.

Future Street also tests the possibilities of what is possible if we dedicate less of our public spaces to cars and return them for people to use. This is both for new and different mobility options, but also to live and enjoy our cities and streets.

AILA, IoTAA and SCCANZ advocate for:

  1. Governments to embrace our streets as important public spaces that can generate and produce opportunity for our communities, and not just harm and pollute them
  2. The designing and building of streets to be greener, more complete and smarter
  3. Governments amending policy and regulatory requirements to facilitate the design and management of streets in accordance with the Future Street approach

The release of the Position Statement comes on the same day that World Architecture News (WAN) recognised the installation and the work of design partner, Place Design Group, as the winner of the 2018 Urban Challenge.

“Place Design Group was proud to be part of this project, as to us it represents the start of a larger narrative and movement that critically involves all built environment professionals, particularly landscape architects, to reclaim our streets and to challenge the long held grasp that cars and car dominance have had upon them, ensuring the future of our streets is greener, more complete and smarter,” says Place Design Group director, Chris Isles.