Young planners unveil their vision for Brisbane

A group of UQ students have devised a blueprint to help promote Brisbane as a world city.

Masters of Urban and Regional Planning students Isabel Ceron Castano, Heather Lopez, Rebecca Frederiks and Noura Al Nasseri beat a number of entrants from other institutions to take out the Excellence Award for tertiary student projects at the recent Planning Institute Australia (PIA), Queensland Awards.

Their "24H Brisbane" policy proposal was designed to shake-up Australian attitudes to cities and lead them into the 21st century.

“Our policy questions that 'big country town' vision. We think it is time for Brisbane to step up and show itself as a world-class city, second to none in facilities, attractions and cultural milieu,” Ms Castano said.

The student’s project demonstrated the social and economic benefits of a 24 hour city, highlighting the need for businesses to step away from traditional constraints on opening hours to embrace the changing face of Brisbane.

"We saw the potential Brisbane has as a vibrant city that can have a prosperous and sustainable night-time economy – one that expands further than just pubs and night clubs," Ms Lopez said.

The PIA Queensland Division commended the project as the most innovative, original and accessible entry in the category.

A number of UQ town planning alumni were also honoured with Laura Gannon receiving the Queensland Young Planner of the Year Award and Warren Rowe (Strategic Planner for the Gold Coast City Council), Greg Van (Founding Partner of Buckley Van Town Planning Consultants) and Gary White (Deputy Director-General, Queensland Department of Infrastructure and Planning) elected as life fellows of the PIA for their contribution to planning.

Media: Kate Swanson (07 3346 7406, k.swanson@uq.edu.au)