Creating mutual benefit with Peter Browning
Peter is a Senior Urban Strategist at Studio THI. Peter is an experienced community and urban development practitioner working with private, government, university and community sectors. He specialises in community and urban change, ensuring strategies are grounded in an understanding of people, and that projects create and share social value.
What do you love about cities?
Cities are like a grand performance of people in their culture. They tell a story about our social and political economy. They tell us what we value and how this changes over time.
What changes have you seen in cities over the past 20 years that matter the most to you?
The biggest challenge I’ve seen is urban equity – the affordability of housing, either renting or purchasing. Increasingly we've become a society of property owners and non-property owners. The issue of affordability has mainly been addressed by ‘out of urban development’, far away from jobs and services. The other major change is zero-carbon. There have been big shifts, but there's a lot further to go. Since we've signed up to 2050, the overall operating environment will continue to change affecting every part of the urban development system. The planners, developers, and builders who can deliver net zero will thrive. The challenge will be doing this without further exacerbating urban equity.
What are the outcomes you strive for in every project?
I strive to create and share value for the community from urban development processes – through new places, facilities, skills, development, and employment. I try to find space where there is mutual benefit – where one and one equals five. Sometimes it's the simplest solutions that can make the biggest difference.
To be a great ancestor for future generations, what does our sector need to focus on today?
We need change management and leadership. And by leadership, I mean everybody… elected officials, professionals, developers, community, and community agencies. All levels of the system need to be aware of the challenges, opportunities, and options. We need ambition and visionary leadership that results in outcomes that people love. Without it, we run the risk of communities not supporting urban transition and entrenching problems.
What has to change/ be amplified in our system to make these things a priority?
We need government and the sector to recognise that we are involved in change management and leadership. That means going beyond consultation and engagement to actively develop urban citizenship and literacy. We need to have a vision and build trust, by deeply understanding where the community is at, what their drivers are and what their values are. Not just those we normally hear from, but the whole community. It’s important to help the community be aware and understand the problems and choices; help them articulate expectations, their own preferences and needs, and the needs and values of others, the community and the environment. That means introducing new engagement models and advisory bodies that better represent both existing and future communities.
“We need government and the sector to recognise that we are involved in change management and leadership. That means going beyond consultation and engagement to actively develop urban citizenship and literacy.”
What has to change/ be amplified in our individual practice to make these things a priority?
We need to recognise that we're all leaders and have an active role to play. We have to give ourselves permission to be bold and explore new models of working with others in the sector. And we need to develop both the technical solutions and the urban cultural solutions that will support the elements of change.
What's one piece of advice you would give to emerging urban leaders?
Keep turning up, be present, be patient, bring both your thoughts and feelings… and give that respect to others. Working on urban change is like being in a complicated opera. It's a big story, with lots of actors. Some have bigger roles than others, but in the end, it needs them all to work.
