14 November, 2018
Kindly Hosted by the University of Technology Sydney

Could our conversations about public transport be simpler if we started from a different place? At a recent event by the Committee for Sydney, Jarrett Walker, the author of Human Transit, invitesd us to ask: What if we wanted people to be free? Jarrett puts the challenge simply. If you can’t go places, you can’t do things, so better transport options literally mean more freedom. All transport planning is freedom planning.

Building on his 25 years as a public transport planning consultant, as well as his background as a literature scholar, Mr Walker explored how the idea of freedom can transform and simplify our conversation about what public transport should be. Diving into his deep experience with transport networks across the world, Jarrett brought a useful perspective to the challenge of how we develop Sydney’s public transport network so that it supports modal shift and improves citizen experience.

Mr Walker lived in Sydney from 2006 to 2011 and has led many major planning studies across Australasia, North America, Europe and Russia. Recent successful projects include bus network redesigns in Auckland, Houston, and central Moscow. He also wrote the ACT’s Strategic Public Transport Master Plan in 2011, and is currently working on a redesign of Dublin’s bus network.

Following a keynote address, Committee members heard from a panel which included:

• Jarrett Walker | President and Principal Consultant, Jarrett Walker + Associates
• Kerryn Wilmot | Research Principal, Institute for Sustainable Futures
• Sebastian Smyth | Executive Manager, City Access and Transport, City of Sydney

The Committee for Sydney also produced a Cityscapes podcast following with Jarrett following the event, which can be listened to here.

A special thanks to UTS for hosting the event.