‘Meeting Expectations’ is the theme for the 2009 AFAC (Australasian Fire & Emergency Service Authorities Council)/Bushfire CRC Conference. It will examine the expectations of government, community, industry and itself. How do the emergency services interpret and meet the expectations of all these groups? How do they measure, understand and respond to the often contradictory demands and expectations from various sectors? What are we really striving to achieve? There will also be increased emphasis on issues facing urban firefighting and SES activities. The conference will cater to urban and rural fire, state emergency services, land managers, local, state and federal government, private industry and community groups. The call for papers is now open and closes on 1 February 2009.
07 January 2009
CLIMATE: NSW Community Climate Summit, Sydney 19-21 February 2009
The first of its kind in NSW, the Community Climate Summit will provide an opportunity for everyday Australians to discuss our response to the critical issue of climate change and to make recommendations to the NSW Government. The NSW Minister for Climate Change and the Environment, Hon Carmel Tebbutt MP, will open the summit and will receive the community’s recommendations after the event.
Climate change will impact on all Australians, now and in the future. It is therefore vital that we hear from a diverse and representative mix of everyday citizens, who have a critical perspective, in considering our response to the challenge of climate change.
The Nature Conservation Council of NSW is undertaking a broad recruitment drive inviting community members who are non aligned with the environment movement to register for the summit, and they need your help to spread the word - click here and scroll down to find out how you can help.
PLANNING: Melbourne Planning Summit, 29-29 April 2009
The Melbourne Planning Summit will provide an opportunity for discussion and review of latest developments in urban planning in Melbourne, as well as facilitating the exchange of ideas on how to achieve sustainable planning objectives. The conference will cover issues including Melbourne's urban growth planning update, the new Victorian transport strategy, lessons learnt from the Melbourne 2030 Audit, urban expansion, the role of planning in achieving better environmental outcomes, factoring climate change into planning and infrastructure decisions, and water management and water sensitive urban design. It will feature sessions on innovative urban partnerships and planning best practice case studies.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT NRM: Survey, Capacity of NSW Local Government to engage and participate in Natural Resource Management
This survey report, prepared by the Local Government and Shires Associations of NSW, identifies the varying capacity councils across NSW have to engage and participate in NRM and it highlights areas where councils might need support to strengthen their delivery of NRM.
INFORMATICS: New book, Handbook of Research on Urban Informatics: The Practice and Promise of the Real-Time City
Alive with movement and excitement, cities transmit a rapid flow of exchange facilitated by a meshwork of infrastructure connections. In this environment, the Internet has advanced to become the prime communication medium, creating a vibrant and increasingly researched field of study in urban informatics.
The Handbook of Research on Urban Informatics: The Practice and Promise of the Real-Time City brings together an international selection of 66 esteemed scholars presenting their research and development on urban technology, digital cities, locative media, and mobile and wireless applications. A truly global resource, this one- of-a-kind reference collection contains significant and timely research covering a diverse range of current issues in the urban informatics field, making it an essential addition to technology and social science collections in academic libraries that will benefit scholars and practitioners in an array of fields ranging from computer science to urban studies.
