4. Imagining better informed, smarter and faster citizen collaborative urban planning by 2040

GUESTS: DR. LARA MOTTEE AND DR. ANTHONY KIMPTON

How could we plan development differently? How could we ensure that urban and regional development truly serves people and the planet? One major shift could lie in how we involve citizens—not just in consultations, but in shaping decisions from the ground up. Can we, for instance, imagine future planning processes in which communities co-design solutions using the same tools as experts—like real-time data visualisation, interactive spatial models and scenarios, and digital platforms that make complex information easier to understand?

Helping me unpack these topics are my two wonderful guests:

Dr Lara Mottee, Research Fellow, John Grill Institute for Project leadership, School of Project Management, The University of Sydney. AND

Dr. Anthony Kimpton, (He/Him/His) Lecturer (Urban and Regional Planning) School of Surveying and Built Environment, University of Southern Queensland.

INTERVIEW TALKING POINT SEGMENTS time elapsed in minutes.

GENERIC AND SERIES INTRODUCTION – 0.00

GUEST FORESHADOWING COMMENTS – 2.52

EPISODE INTRODUCTION – 3.34

GUEST SELF INTRODUCTION AND WORK IN 2025 – 6.08

IMAGINATION EXERCISE 1 - TIME TRAVEL TO 2040 – 30.52

EXERCISE 2 - SIGNALS OF THE FUTURE IN 2025 – 43.00

EXERCISE 3 - THREE-ASSERTVE ACTIONS FOR 2025 – 55.12

CLOSING GUEST COMMENTS - 1.08.44

AUDIENCE INVITATION – 1.13.07

END OF EPISODE – 1.16.18

RESOURCES

DR. LARA MOTTEE:

 Carlos Moreno Ted Talk about Paris’ 15min city plan: Carlos Moreno: The 15-minute city

His book: New book! The 15-Minute City: A Solution to Saving Our Time and Our Planet - Carlos Moreno

Marco Te Brömmelstroet 

Speaking about the Australian Context (2024):

Marco’s Research Lab at the University of Amsterdam: The Lab of Thought

Future-making methods in projects Whyte, J., Mosca, L., Comi, A., & Liu, L. X. (2025). Project leadership for futuremaking. Project Management Journal, 56(2), 173-181.      Comi, A., Mosca, L., & Whyte, J. (2025). Future making as emancipatory inquiry: A value‐based exploration of desirable futures. Journal of Management Studies.

Social Impact Assessment in Transport Planning    By Dr Lara K Mottee, fact sheet about Social Impact Assessment and best practice project-based assessments of impacts on communities and societies from infrastructure projects:

University of Technology Sydney – Resources

Talk with your local Council planners! E.g., Toowoomba Regional Council:   Contact Council

Real Deal placed-based projects to support community-led transition using the practices of community organizing.  

DR ANTHONY KIMPTON

Planning Institute Australia (2021) State of the Profession

Planning Institute Australia (2025) Understanding PlanTech