Purpose of this blog

The purpose of this blog is to write up my experiences as I go, particularly in relation to the Churchill Fellowship research. My project is to research sustainable community and town centre projects mainly in the UK, but also other stopovers. I'll be studying both the environmentally sustainable design features of these projects, and the processes by which they are engaging the wider community in awareness and action on sustainability issues.

I plan to visit both new mixed-use zero-carbon town centre projects, and existing town centre regeneration projects, where local communities are active in building community awareness, skills and projects to address environmental issues. I'd like to establish networks, and link what we have achieved at Earthsong Eco-Neighbourhood with the work of others in the wider global context.

My research questions:

• What are some key examples of leading edge sustainable townships and communities that address both environmental and social sustainability?

• What aspects of design and construction are being used in new projects to create environmentally sustainable townships, neighbourhoods and communities?

• How are existing town centres and neighbourhoods retrofitting for significant improvements in environmental sustainability?

• What are some key effective processes by which the wider community is engaged in awareness and action on sustainability issues?

• How are leading-edge sustainable projects utilising their experience to inform, inspire and educate the wider community?

How this information will contribute to my work:

Earthsong is in transition from the construction phase to settling in as a community and developing educational and outreach programmes. The Earthsong Centre will be used increasingly as a venue for tours and workshops to inform and promote socially and environmentally sustainable design and technologies.

Our local town centre of Ranui is also in transition, and will undergo almost complete re-development over the next 5 years. A network of landowners, community groups and council are working together to create an integrated town centre that supports cultural diversity and environmental sustainability. This can be achieved through both encouraging well designed public space and buildings, and involving and empowering the local community. The Ranui Town Centre redevelopment is an extraordinary opportunity to model how the existing suburban fabric of our cities can be recreated in a more sustainable configuration. Ideas and knowledge from my research will enhance the scope of this project to demonstrate a range of measures that can be replicated in other New Zealand towns and suburban centres, to reduce environmental footprint and increase awareness of sustainability issues and actions that can be taken.

I strongly believe that both the physical design and the social connections are essential elements of learning to live more sustainably on this planet. It is the synergy between these two elements that fascinates me. This research will come at a very useful time both for embarking on our educational programme at the Earthsong Centre, and for the Ranui redevelopment project. Our survival depends on the human species becoming an asset to the planet, not a liability, and I'm committed to doing what I can to work towards this.