Two representatives from Local Government in Victoria were awarded the 2024 MEFV overseas study tour…
2023 Overseas Study Tour
Study Tour reports by the two participants of the 2023 MEFV Study Tour to USA and Canada have been completed and are available in the Reports section of this website. A summary of the reports by Anita Johnstone and Evan Nisbit follow –
Reimagining Public Space 2023 and beyond. Anita Johnstone, Manager City Assets and Presentation, Bayside City Council.
The 2020 pandemic demonstrated the value of local community, wellbeing, and connection. People saw the places they had taken for granted in a new light. The years that followed prompted a shift in the design and use of public space. This report aims to explore the themes that emerged leading up to and during this time across diverse cities in the USA and Canada. 4 key themes emerged.
• Re-energised gathering places and destination parks
• Multiple use and repurposed assets
• Partnerships to provide more community spaces
• Healthier cities that focus on wellness
The recommendations outlined under these themes are not designed to be a 1 size fits all for Local Government in Victoria, but rather a suite of options that can be considered based on specific community needs. Utilising the results of this report that are fit for purpose for individual Council’s in Victoria will deliver value for money to the Victorian community. When combined with extensive community consultation these recommendations will help Council’s meet current and future public space needs and make smarter funding decisions.
Input into this report was gathered by visiting many organisations in the USA and Canada, including
• The 2023 American Public Works Association Conference and Expo in San Diego, California
• City of Temecula, City of Irvine, and City of Los Angeles, California
• City of Georgetown, City of Austin, and City of Leander, Texas
• City of Seattle, City of Tacoma, and Kitsap County, Washington
• City of Vancouver, and City of Surrey, British Columbia.
Best Practices in Development Engineering: Lessons from the United States and Canada. Evan Nisbet, Coordinator Priority Development, Baw Baw Shire Council
Municipal land development engineers play a crucial role in shaping our communities and enabling the growth of our urban areas. Development engineering is centred around ensuring that new municipal assets such as roads, drainage systems and reserves are designed and constructed to a high standard. Doing so ensures that the community is well-served by infrastructure and safeguards ratepayers against costly infrastructure upgrades and repairs into the future. The municipal engineering study tour, which forms the basis of this report, involved visits to California, Texas, Washington and British Columbia. The cities visited ranged in population from 70,000 to 4 million and all had diverse practices to deal with the challenges of growth.
Informed by meetings with eleven cities in the USA and Canada, many of which have been experiencing rapid growth, this report will touch upon some of the diverse and best practices within the following topics related to development engineering:
• prioritisation methodology for projects funded by development contributions
• use of seed infrastructure to facilitate growth • statistics and reporting on land development activity
• financial mechanisms for cities to capture some of the value of upzoned land and deploy those funds for infrastructure upgrades
• use of technology to simplify plan checking, approvals and construction supervision
Input into this report was gathered by visiting many organisations in the USA and Canada, including
• The 2023 American Public Works Association Conference and Expo in San Diego, California
• City of Temecula, City of Irvine, and City of Los Angeles, California
• City of Georgetown, City of Austin, and City of Leander, Texas
• City of Seattle, City of Tacoma, and Kitsap County, Washington
• City of Vancouver, and City of Surrey, British Columbia