Increasing diversity in our cities, with Greg Chemello
Greg is the CEO of Moreton Bay Regional Council with more than 35 years of experience in the property and development sectors. He has held senior professional, management and leadership roles within both property asset owners, and advisory and consulting businesses. Prior to joining the Council, Greg’s most recent roles were General Manager of Economic Development Queensland, and Interim Administrator of Ipswich City Council.
What do you love about cities?
One of the defining differences between cities and smaller towns is that incredible diversity you get in the larger cities. I love the diversity of built form, but I love the diversity of communities as well. Inner parts of New Farm, for example, has some overly busy streets and there's some quiet little streets. So, that's what I like: old and new, rich and poor, strange, attractive and ugly buildings. So, it's the diversity and the complexity.
What changes have you seen in cities over the past 20 years that matter the most to you?
I've observed an increasing diversity in cities and the worst part of that is the greater divergence between poverty and wealth in cities, that aspect that I don't particularly enjoy. And the traffic congestion is noticeable in all our cities and is worsening, and I fear it will get worse before it gets better.
Tell us about a project/s you’ve worked on that has been most important to you?
The project that matters most to me is the Gabba redevelopment; I was a development director for that over 20 years ago now. The beauty of that job and why it was so valuable to me was there was a fixed deadline: the Sydney Olympics were happening, and that date was not going to move. We delivered that project in 21 months; a good deadline focuses your mind and focuses your action, I've found. A similar thing applies to budget: if the budget isn't moving, if that's also fixed, it does help drive discipline in delivery.
How did this project/s shape your professional practice?
I tend to create those structures now. So, where the deadlines aren't set rigidly, or the budget isn't set rigidly, or the quality standards aren't defined, I'll try to prescribe those, and that just gives me a bit of frame of action. I think it's a reflection of that key project; if they're not there, I'll create them.
What are the outcomes you strive for in every project?
The key for me in any project is the ability for me to drive past in 20 years’ time and be proud of it. In local government, the key is to be able to drive past and be proud of that decision you made today. That focuses people's minds because it gets away from what's easiest, what's politically most expedient, what's cheapest, and what's the most satisfactory from the current community's point of view. It's what you're going to be proud of in 20 years’ time.
“The key for me in any project is the ability for me to drive past in 20 years’ time and be proud of it. ”
What are the key practices you draw upon to help you achieve these outcomes?
I don't think I consciously have a methodology or approach that drives it. It is about doing the right thing. I would also argue that long-term outcomes are profitable.
To be a great ancestor for future generations, what does our sector need to focus on today?
To be a great ancestor, our sector really needs to focus on the long-term community outcomes. We tend to be diverted by the immediate issues of budgets and programs and community consultation, and all the very important aspects of delivering urban outcomes, but the fundamental driver for me is that long-term outcome for the community and to be able to drive past in 20 years’ time and be proud of what you've achieved. We need to remind ourselves that our core responsibility to our communities is delivering for the long-term.
What has to change or be amplified in our system to make these things a priority?
In both industry and government, we've made things overly complicated, and we lose sight of the long-term obligations. So, decluttering the planning and design framework would be a great help, and that will enable people to then focus on the longer term. Also, we don't convey to our communities very well at all, right, the fundamentals of growth. Lastly, I think we'd benefit by not specialising so much. I hired young German architecture students and found out that their degree was a combination of structural engineering, architecture, construction and software; these kids knew how things got put together. So, I started recruiting a lot of grey-haired old people from the UK and Europe, with skills spanning conceptual design, detailed design, construction methodology, and even maintenance. Their job was to teach the younger ones these skills.
What's one piece of advice you would give to emerging urban leaders?
Ask those hard questions. Ask why does this fit? How does this help us achieve what we claim that we're doing? Ask those questions. I think most thinking people would respect that a lot more and you'll learn a lot more, you'll grow a lot more, and you'll grow a lot faster.
