Make My City Work campaign launched

Australia’s leading green building organisation, the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), has applauded the launch of the new ‘Make My City Work’ campaign.

Launched yesterday in Canberra by the Property Council of Australia, the campaign aims to mobilise online community support for better planned, financed and managed cities.

According to the GBCA’s Executive Director - Advocacy and International, Robin Mellon, a national discussion about the future of our cities is imperative to ensure that they will be truly productive, sustainable and liveable.

“Currently, three quarters of Australians live in cities - and that will grow to four in every five Australians by 2050,” Mellon said.

“Our cities also generate around 80% of the nation’s economic activity, so the productivity of our cities is vital to Australia’s economic future.”

The Make My City Work campaign encourages debate about the form and shape of our cities and provides a platform for Australians to declare their views to government.

“Cities must be front and centre of any discussion about Australia’s future. We need a broad conversation, a diversity of views and a range of tools to help us reshape our vision and measure the success of Australia’s cities,” said Mellon.

One of those tools is the Green Star - Communities rating tool, which the GBCA is preparing to launch mid-2012. This independent, transparent, national scheme will assess and certify the sustainability of community-level development projects.

Green Star - Communities is one of the world’s first rating tools to assess environmental issues within communities - such as minimising energy and water consumption, and reducing dependence on motor vehicles - alongside broader holistic sustainability issues, such as economic prosperity, liveability and community diversity.

“Australia’s cities have never faced so many challenges - from transport congestion and housing affordability, to population growth and adapting to climate change. We need smart urban policy and joined-up thinking to address these challenges and we congratulate the Property Council of Australia for turning up the volume on this debate,” Mellon concluded.